Why Did Odesa Authorities Hide UAH 1.1 Billion?
The February 21 session of Odesa City Council left many questions unanswered, especially regarding the distribution of budget balances from previous periods. Green Leaf examined the issue in detail.
Figures for undistributed budget balances
The city ended the 2023 budget year with large balances in City Council accounts, which according to the city office of the State Treasury amounted to UAH 1,537,806,632.66.
It should be noted that these budget-balance figures are reflected exclusively in the State Treasury Service report on execution of Odesa’s budget, or can be obtained by submitting a request to the Treasury, because this information is not shown in the city budget decision for the current year.
Of these funds, UAH 2,000,000 of the general fund constitutes the working balance of budget funds — the amount that cannot be spent.
All other funds, under Article 72 of the Budget Code of Ukraine, both in the general and special budget funds, may be used to cover the budget deficit by amending the local budget decision.
However, by its February 21 session decision, the city authorities used only UAH 418,097,530 to cover the budget deficit. As for the rest of the money, the city authorities, as usual, pretended that it did not exist.
If all figures are compiled in a table separating the general and special funds, the result is as follows:
| Indicators | General fund | Special fund | Total |
| Budget balance at the end of 2023 | 1 435 194 254,56 | 102 612 378,10 | 1 537 806 632,66 |
| Working balance of budget funds in 2024 | 2 000 000,00 | 2 000 000,00 | |
| Budget balance excluding the working balance as of January 1, 2024 (funds that may be directed to expenditure financing) | 1 433 194 254,56 | 102 612 378,10 | 1 535 806 632,66 |
| Budget balances used by the decision of February 21, 2024 | 340 152 330,00 | 77 945 200,00 | 418 097 530,00 |
| Unused budget balance | 1 093 041 924,56 | 24 667 178,10 | 1 117 709 102,66 |
Conclusion
These actions by the city authorities may indicate the following:
1. The unwillingness of Odesa City Council to fully fund the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the city’s territorial defense.
2. From the perspective of the Odesa City Council leadership, an absence of problems in the city that require municipal budget funding.
3. By creating a UAH 1.1 billion “stash,” the Odesa City Council leadership will later be able to use these funds to finance projects exclusively for “connected persons.”