The City is introducing a special budget procedure

The financial forecasts concerning PIT revenues have unfortunately been confirmed. The decisions of the Polish government have generated 129 million PLN in lost receipts for the City budget. In this situation, as announced earlier, the City is introducing special procedures for budget management.

Initial forecasts assumed that in 2022 Szczecin would be looking at PLN 742 million in PIT revenues. After the tax amendments were approved by the central authorities, several months ago the City's financial services calculated that Szczecin’s budget would receive PLN 613 million. This figure is now confirmed and in line with earlier calculations.

Significantly reduced revenues combined with the galloping rate of inflation mean growing expenses for the City. This can be seen, for example, in the prices of electricity and gas. For example, last year Grupa Zakupowa Miasta Szczecin (the Szczecin City Procurement Group – consisting of 159 units and 12 cultural institutions) paid PLN 8,636,450 for electricity. In 2022, the bill will be almost twice as high, amounting to PLN 16,103,532 gross. Whereas schools that use gas heating, in 2021 spent for this purpose about PLN 140,000, and this year the price for one institution is about PLN 360,000. The City will have to pay the bills.

Therefore it is necessary to manage the city budget according to special rules that ensure extremely careful and prudent use of resources. On the one hand, there will be close on-going monitoring of budget revenues, and on the other hand, all changes in expenditures will be thoroughly discussed at meetings with the Mayor of Szczecin to determine whether or not they are necessary, and to search for alternative solutions to achieve savings.

In particular, the introduction of new tasks will require an economic justification and the indication of financing sources and the financial implications for subsequent financial years.

The introduction of special budgetary supervision is intended to increase the efficiency of the City’s financial management in these difficult times.