«We will not survive without additional funds», — Sienkevych will ask for state support for Mykolaiv

Screenshot of the executive committee meeting

The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, plans to appeal to the President, the government and the Ministry of Finance for additional state support for the city. According to him, Mykolaiv's budget for 2026 is critically limited and the city will not be able to perform basic functions without government assistance.

The mayor said this during a meeting of the executive committee on Wednesday, 24 December, according to NikVesti.

According to Oleksandr Sienkevych, the city authorities, together with the deputies, are currently reviewing all budget expenditures in detail — literally «to the penny». Priority is given to the so-called protected items: salaries, utilities, taxes, as well as basic needs such as fuel, transport, office supplies and other expenses without which the work of city services is impossible.

At the same time, he said, the financial situation in the city is complicated by the general increase in costs — higher salaries, electricity tariffs, and the cost of goods and services. At the same time, no significant increase in city budget revenues is expected.

«Our budget is very small, and given that everything is increasing: the minimum wage, electricity, all goods and services, we do not expect large budget revenues. Therefore, we will appeal to the state. I will personally appeal to the President, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Finance to get additional subventions. Our budget revenues have fallen. 26% of personal income tax, which was the military personal income tax, was taken away from us, and we will not survive in Mykolaiv without additional funds,» said Oleksandr Sienkevych.

Earlier it was reported that the budget requests of the Mykolaiv City Council for 2026 include an increase in the average estimated salary for local government employees to 25,000 hryvnias of after-tax income, which is 66.7% more than in 2025, when this figure was 15,000 hryvnias.

As a reminder, the Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, promised that the city's budget for 2026 would include an object-by-object list.

As you know, previously the budget of Mykolaiv was approved with an object-by-object description. In fact, this means that the draft budget used to specify specific objects with the exact amounts to be allocated for them. However, for the last 5 years at least, the city budget has been adopted without an object-by-object description. Although this is not a legal requirement for the adoption of the budget, it promotes transparency: deputies and the public can see exactly where the funds will go, and it reduces the manoeuvre of «manual allocation» throughout the year and increases public accountability.

As a reminder, members of the Mykolaiv City Council claim that the draft city budget for 2026 has not yet been made public and provided to the deputies, despite the fact that the city council session is scheduled for 30 December, which, according to them, contradicts the council's regulations.

See also the NikVesti articles: «City Council Session Approves Budget Adjustments for 2025: What Housing and Utilities Will Receive and What Articles Were Cut».