Tbilisi city budget rejected, again

Tbilisi City Council has failed to approve the 2014 capital city budget for the second time.

Disagreements between Tbilisi City Government and the City Council surrounding the budget have been ongoing for more than a month. 

Despite the revised budget being increased by 65 million GEL because of improving mistakes, this was still rejected at last night’s Council session. Seventeen members voted in favor of setting the Tbilisi city budget while 22 others objected. In order to establish the budget, 24 members need to agree. 39 members participated in the vote. 

The main reason of disagreement was because the City Government presented the budget draft which had increased the proposed budget by 65 million due to non-financial activities, which meant Tbilisi City Hall would accumulate finances by selling the real assets which were registered on its balance.  

The City Council argued that the budget was planned "unrealistically” in light of the upcoming self-Government Elections where the newly elected city government would unable to implement it.  

"What if the newly elected Government is unable to sell the real assets and consequently fail to finance the social projects? [The] Tbilisi city population will have great problems. Then the UNM will blame Georgian Dream of being incapable,” City Council chairman Irakli Shikhiashvili said, adding the budget aimed to reach this result.

He said the "discredited” city Government tried to use the budget to manipulate the Tbilisi population and believed they must leave. 

This is the second time the Council rejected the budget draft represented by the City Government. The first time was at the end of December last year and at the time, the City Council and Government blamed each other. 

According to the Law, the city budget must be approved by March 11. Otherwise the City Council and Government will have to resign and the self-government elections will be held earlier.

Meanwhile, the city Government planned to create a new budget with the city population.