In 2024, Yerevan Municipality employees` bonuses to increase by 87% - Luys Foundation

ArmInfo. In 2024, the bonus  fund for employees of the Yerevan Municipality will be increased to  an unprecedented scale - by 87%. This is stated in the analysis of  the Luys Foundation regarding the current year's budget approved by  the Yerevan Council of Elders.

According to the source, the budget envisages an increase in  municipal revenues, which is mainly due to an increase in local taxes  and duties, including an increase in their rates, as well as a  planned increase in property tax revenues.

In particular, it is planned that in 2024 Yerevan's revenues will  amount to 124.6 billion drams, which is 19.5 billion drams or 18.6%  higher than the city budget revenues in 2023. By the way, according  to the revised plan, the revenues of 105.1 billion drams originally  approved by the budget in 2023 have increased by 13.1%. In other  words, compared to the revised plan for 2023, the expected increase  in the total revenues of the city budget in 2024 will be 4.9% or 5.8  billion drams.

According to the authors of the studies, it is surprising that  despite the sharp increase in parking fee rates, the 2024 budget  provides for very "modest" revenues from this type of payment. "One  gets the impression that this fact was almost not taken into account  in the current year's budget: either it was deliberately ignored  "just in case" in order to avoid accusations of replenishing budget  funds, or because of fears that a sharp increase in rates will lead  to a sharp decrease in the number of parked cars. "It is possible  that in the future, due to an increase in this type of collection, if  actual budget revenues exceed those planned, the authorities will  present this as another "unprecedented" achievement in revenue  collection," the Luys Foundation notes.

The authors of the studies remind us that the city authorities  justify the need for a sharp increase in parking fees by the urgent  need to "relieve" Yerevan, especially its center, of cars. However,  there is no doubt that such a radical solution to the problem should  have been preceded by a number of priority steps. Moreover, it is  possible that the expected positive results will be largely  neutralized, and this change will ultimately have only a fiscal  effect, which will further aggravate the existing serious social  polarization of society," the authors of the studies emphasize.

They also expressed concern about the sharp increase in local tax  rates. A study of budget programs shows a reduction in funding for a  number of important urban development projects against the background  of an increase in allocations for the implementation of secondary  projects. In particular, allocations for the "Holiday Decoration"  project will increase 3.1-fold compared to the 2023 budget and amount  to 123.9 million drams. It is also planned to increase the volume of  the remuneration fund to an unprecedented extent. The amount of  bonuses and special payments in the 2024 budget will increase by  86.6% compared to 2023 and more than 2.8-fold will exceed the  corresponding allocations of the 2022 budget.

It is planned that in 2024 the capital's budget deficit will be 0.3  billion drams compared to 0.4 billion drams in the 2023 budget. By  the way, in 2023 the deficit was planned at 11.3 billion drams, while  in the nine months of last year a surplus of 0.4 billion drams was  actually recorded. "The problems that exist at the national level of  budget planning are more pronounced and deeply manifested in the case  of budget planning of the city of Yerevan. The deviation between the  planned and actual volumes is too large.  Moreover, budget  performance reports show that very often the deviation from the  actual amount increases rather than decreases as a result of the  planned revision of the approved budget volumes. In this sense, the  skepticism regarding the implementation of the 2024 budget of the  capital of Armenia is quite well- founded," said the statement of the  "Luys" Foundation.