2018

The activities planned in Tartu’s budget for 2018 take us towards the goals set in the city’s vision „Tartu 2030“ and in the development plan for years 2018-2025. The budget of 2018 is also based on the coalition contract signed by the Estonian Reform Party and the Estonian Centre Party coalition for managing the city of Tartu in 2017-2021, keeping in mind the main goal - to improve the quality of life of the residents and make Tartu more attractive for investors and city guests.

Priorities in the budget:

• The city of Tartu is a competitive employer: raising wages of education, social and cultural workers;
• Ensuring access to education: we stick to the plan to renovate all Tartu school buildings in 12 years;
• Valuing culture: We work to make it possible for Tartu to become the European Capital of Culture in 2024, scholarships for museum workers, motivating writers, Tartu – UNESCO City of Literature activities;
• Increasing Tartu’s reputation as a tourist destination;
• Making roads to schools and kindergartens more secure and comfortable;
• Building Maarja’s Support Center’s family houses;
• Implementing modern IT solutions to empower business, urban wellbeing and inclusion;
• Integrating the former Tähtvere municipality into city’s activities.

Revenues from operating activities

The revenue in 2018 is EUR 142.1 million. It is 7.0 million euros or 5.2% more than the specified budget in 2017.

• 55.0% or 78.2 million of the budget revenue is from tax revenue (+7.3% compared to 2017). Income tax accounts for 97.2%, or 76.1 million, of tax revenue. The main part of the increase in tax revenues stems from the increase of income tax revenue, in particular as a result of increasing wages and a 0.26 percentage point increase in the share of the taxable income received by the local authority of the taxpayer’s residence.
• The sale of goods and services accounts for 12.6% or 17.9 million euros (+ 0.6% compared to 2017).
• The subsidies received accounted for 31.9% of the budget revenue, reaching 45.3 million euros (+ 13.3% compared to 2017). The increase in subsidies received is related to the accession of Tähtvere municipality, but it is also affected by the changes in the parameters of the equalization fund as well as the state's allocation of additional resources to the funds paid to local governments.
• Other revenues (special use of water, fines, stock sales, etc.) account for 0.5% or 0.7 million euros (-84.0% compared to 2017) of the budget revenues. The reason for this decline is a large compensation received from the state under a court order in 2017 to compensate for the costs of children with special educational needs.

Operating expenses

Expenses in 2018 are EUR 133.7 million. It is 6.5 million euros or 5.1% more than the specified budget in 2017.

The costs of operating expenses are divided into nine different areas, which in turn are divided into three categories in terms of economic content: management costs, personnel costs and grants. The three major areas are education, economic affairs and social protection.

• Education accounts for 57.1% or 76.3 million of operating expenses.
  • Compared to 2017:
    • Labor costs are 53.4 million euros (+ 8.6%). Growth is associated with an increase in student numbers and an increase in wage levels; in kindergartens the growth is also linked to an increase in wage levels. In addition, the number of staff members has increased due to the increase in the number of groups and other changes in the structure of existing groups;
    • amount to 5.8 million euros (+ 9.2%). Growth is mainly from additional resources from the state to improve recreational education and from the city’s own resources for private kindergartens.
    • expenses amount to 17.2 million euros (decrease -10.4%). The decrease in expenses is primarily due to decrease in the projects’ budget, where funds for specific contracts clarify during the financial year.
• The economic affairs area is 11.9%, or 15.9 million euros, increasing by 6.3% or 0.9 million euros compared to last year. Growth is related to the cost in organizing city's public transport (increase of 0.68 million euros), support to Tartu airport (an increase of 0.2 million euros), and Tähtvere rural municipality's accession to the city of Tartu (increase of 0.15 million euros).
• The social protection area accounts for 9.3% or 12.4 million of operating expenses. Compared to 2017, costs rise by 11.3% or 1.3 million. The increase is related to a 6.9% growth in labour costs and an increase of 33.8% in management expenses. The key factors for growth in 2018 are the funds provided by the state’s government for substitute homes (increased by EUR 1.2 million), as well as crisis support grants, which are related to the state’s subsistence level established for each financial year. In 2018 the subsistence level increases from 130 € to 140 € (an increase of 0.1 million).

The remaining 21.7% of operating expenses, or 29.0 million euros (+ 6.6%), are divided into six areas as follows:

• General public services 10.9 million
• Recreation, culture and religion 8.2 million
• Environmental protection 6.0 million
• Housing and community amenities 2.8 million
• Public order and safety of 0.6 million
• Health 0.4 million

Personnel costs as a whole make up 50.1% or 67.0 million, management costs 36.5% or 47.8 million. The grants account for 12.7% or 17.0 million of operating expenses, and other expenses are 0.7% or 0.3 million.

Investments

In the 2018 budget, investment costs are planned at 35.3 million euros, which is 5.8 million euros, or 14.2% less than in 2017.

Investments consist of:

• The acquisition of fixed assets, which is 73.1% of investments, i.e. 29.9 million euros, decreasing by 6.6 million euros.
  • The largest investment objects are:
    • Renovation of Raatuse School EUR 6.1 million;
    • Development of a bicycle rental system EUR 2.8 million;
    • Reconstruction of Variku School EUR 2.1 million.

• Grants, 13.0% or 4.6 million euros, increasing by 2.9 million euros.
  • Largest grants will be allocated to:
    • the project SmartEnCity or Smart district project for financing apartment associations (0.3 million euros);
    • Tähtvere Leisure Park (Tähtvere Puhkepark) to the repair the roof of the song festival ground, to repair the spectators area, ramps and pavements, and do other repair works (0,27 million euros);
    • the reconstruction of the Church of Mary (Maarja kirik) (0.1 million euros).

• Other expenses, which account for 2% or 0.8 million euros, increasing by 0.2 million euros. Other expenses include interest on loans.

Investments will be financed from revenue from the current year’s budget (EUR 18.5 million), operating income (EUR 8.4 million), financing activities (EUR 5.9 million) and liquidity deployment (EUR 2.5 million).

Financial position

• The surplus from primary activities (difference between the revenue from operating activities and operating expenses) is 8.4 million euros, from which interest expenses and investments are financed. The goal is to maintain this level in the coming years in order to maintain investment capacity.
• Net debt burden (liabilities minus liquid assets (cash and cash equivalents) by the end of 2018 accounts for 51% of operating income, i.e. 72.1 million euros. Thus, Tartu firmly stands within the limits of the permitted net debt burden set out in the KOFS (Local Government Financial Management Act, https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/128122012004).
• The volume of liquid assets will decrease by 2.5 million euros in 2018, or 1.7% of operating income.