Kyiv City Council Approves Record-High Budget for Individual Member Funds in 2025

All-Time High for Kyiv's Discretionary Member Funds in 2025

According to Главком: The Kyiv City Council has approved a record sum of nearly 2 billion hryvnias for its members' discretionary funds for 2025, granting each councilor 15 million hryvnias to allocate. The majority of this budget, approximately 1.24 billion hryvnias, has been designated for one-time financial assistance to constituents. An analysis by the 'Chesno' (Honestly) movement, based on city council documents and deputies' reports, has brought the use of these funds under public scrutiny. These funds are a common feature in Ukrainian local governance, intended for community projects but often criticized for a lack of oversight.

Substantial Budget Increase and Spending Patterns

The annual budget for the program allowing city council members to address socio-economic issues, fulfill campaign promises, and carry out voter mandates has grown by one-third compared to 2024 and is ten times larger than in 2022. The planned expenditures of the councilors varied significantly:

• Six deputies planned to spend within 5 million hryvnias;
• 13 deputies planned to spend between 5 and 10 million hryvnias;
• 33 deputies planned to spend between 10 and 15 million hryvnias;
• 63 deputies planned to spend the full 15 million hryvnias.

The overall utilization rate of the funds was 94.35%, leaving 126 million hryvnias unspent. Seventy-eight council members voted in favor of increasing the fund size, while three deputies from the 'European Solidarity' party-Serhiy Artemenko, Oleksandr Suprun, and Viktoriia Ptashnyk-did not support the decision. Among those who fully utilized their allocations, 38 deputies directed 100% of their funds to financial aid for constituents.

Four deputies-Bohdana Tymoshchuk from the 'Batkivshchyna' (Fatherland) party, Oleksii Okopnyi from 'European Solidarity', and non-aligned members Mykhailo Nakonechnyi and Yuliia Ulasyk-spent all 15 million on such material aid. Deputy Volodymyr Slonchak from 'Batkivshchyna' left only 2,800 hryvnias in his fund, directing the rest to assistance. Olesia Samoliudchenko from the 'Unity of Oleksandr Omelchenko' bloc provided aid to 7,584 citizens, totaling 14,946,072.60 hryvnias.

It is noteworthy that on April 17, 2025, Deputy Volodymyr Prokopiv was served with a notice of suspicion by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police for allegedly organizing a scheme to illegally transport individuals liable for military service to Europe. These developments highlight both the potential benefits and the risks associated with the management of discretionary funds in the Kyiv council.

The allocation of Kyiv City Council's discretionary funds for 2025 has sparked significant public and expert debate, particularly regarding the provision of social needs for the population. - Source: experts

Given the substantial increase in funding, it is crucial for council members to ensure transparency in how these resources are used and to adhere to high ethical standards in their activities. This transparency is vital for maintaining public trust in political institutions and elected officials.