The adoption of Sofia’s budget for 2008 was accompanied by uncertainty, disappointment and dissatisfaction among city councillors on March 6, given that the law required them to vote on the document by the end of February, but the administration postponed the process by a week.

At the start of the meeting, municipal councillors said that there was a big chance that it could be declared illegal in court should anyone decide to challenge it, since it was passed after the deadline. Some councillors went as far as saying the city hall had not done its job.

However, after a three-hour debate, the budget was approved with 39 votes in favour and 16 against. Bulgarian Socialist Party and Democrats for Strong Bulgaria councillors voted against.

The most remarkable amendment made after public discussions is the allocation in real terms of 5.3 million leva “for construction and renovation of sidewalks and bicycle lanes” in Sofia. This is the first time in its history that the city has allocated such an amount for bicycle lanes, Bikevolution association chairperson Radostina Marinova told The Sofia Echo. “For the first time, Sofia municipality registers that it is concerned about the public spaces and about free transportation of people,” Marinova said. She said that it was a result of Bikevolution’s insistence on a transparent allocation of municipal funds.

New street lighting will also be put up, with 1.8 million leva earmarked through budget amendments.

Additionally, the city allocated half a million leva more than the amount it had initially planned for new social services, while a further million will be spent on improvements to children social homes. New childrens' kitchens in Sofia will be supported by a separate 1.5 million leva.

To enable the implementation of its development programme for its northern districts, the city allocated 500 000 leva, and for rehabilitation and development of the Severen Park (North Park) and Zapaden Park (West Park), a total of 1.2 million leva.

Other amendments to spending in the Sofia budget include two million leva for parks lay out and the maintenance of gardens and green spaces between apartment buildings. The Green Sofia programme received an additional million leva.

The city earmarked an extra million leva to clear illegal landfills, while for riverbeds cleaning, the amount in addition to the planned spending reached two million leva.
Sofia municipality will spend 741 000 leva to create an online connection between the 24 Sofia administrative districts. Its co-financing budget for sport projects was supplemented with 500 000 leva and for school activities will receive an additional1.059 million leva.

Cemeteries would be renovated with an extra three million leva above the initially planned figure; a similar amount would be given to 27 day-care centres for equipment replacements.

The additional spending tallies up to 29.1 million leva and would be financed mainly with money raised from planned hikes to local taxes, which will rise by 23.8 leva, the city hall said. About 25 million leva would come from increased tax on acquiring property and a further million from the higher tax on vehicles, with an additional 800 000 leva budgeted from fines and sanctions. Revenue from real estate property tax is to go down by three million leva.

However, the future of these tax hikes remains in doubt since they were passed after the legal deadline and could be challenged in court.

All budget amendments were proposed by Sofia city hall’s finance and budget committee, which approved them by seven votes in favour and two against on March 6.