Budget of the capital city of Bratislava

From the items discussed at the final meeting of the capital city’s municipal council this year, the most closely watched was the draft of next year’s budget for Bratislava, which the city council members approved today. Despite the ongoing complicated situation and the impact of the government’s so-called “consolidation package”, the capital city’s budget was successfully set for a gradual reduction of debt, without affecting the standard of existing maintenance and services that have the greatest impact on the quality of life of the city’s residents. The submitted budget contains no increases in fees, and property taxes will also not increase. The city at the same time will continue to implement several projects that will contribute to improving the quality of life and competitiveness of Bratislava as a modern European capital.

Preparation of the budget was notably affected by the adopted legislative measures, especially the consolidation package that the government approved in 2024, whose impact will have an effect on future expenditures and revenues starting in 2025. Above all, the increased VAT and financial transaction tax will also have a direct impact on the prices of procured goods and services.

Aside from the mentioned consolidation package, municipalities will also be directly affected by a change in the redistribution of shared taxes. As part of the “participation of municipalities in consolidation”, the share of personal income tax revenue going to municipalities will be reduced; i.e., the state will pay municipalities a lower percentage of collected taxes than was previously paid out.

Dealing with the negative impacts of the government consolidation package is causing problems for local governments across the whole of Slovakia in the compiling of next year’s budget. The capital’s priority, however, was to minimise the effects on residents. Therefore, the submitted budget contains no increase in fees, and property taxes will also not increase. However, in the case of the operation of public transport, which is the largest expenditure in the city budget, the incorporation of the impacts of the government consolidation package into fare prices can no longer be avoided. The need for a fare increase was announced by the Bratislava Self-Governing Region (BSK) and the Slovak Railways (ŽSSK); therefore, as part of the integrated transport system of the Bratislava Region, an agreement was reached to increase fare prices from 1 March 2025. Prices will be increased by the amount of the increased VAT, as well as the transaction tax and inflation. Therefore, this is a fare increase forced by the government’s consolidation package.

In practice, this means that the price of the most commonly used ticket – the 30-minute ticket – will increase by 10 cents, which means from 1.10 to 1.20 euros in the case of a paper ticket, an increase of approximately 10 percent. The annual tram ticket will also increase by 10 percent, to 263 euros, which means it will still cost less than it did in 2018. The remaining tickets will increase by an average of 12.6%. The only exception to this rate increase is student tram tickets, which will remain at the same price as they are today; i.e., they will not increase in price at all.

The consolidation is having an impact not only on the Transport Company and local governments, but, of course, on families, too, particularly families with children. The city is therefore taking on part of their increased costs and will not increase their costs for travelling on public transport.

In view of the stagnant revenues and anticipated rise in inflation, current expenditures in the city budget are set to austerity mode and, with few exceptions, a reduction in expenditures is planned for almost all budgeted items.

Capital expenditures mainly account for and prioritise prepared projects and projects of city-wide importance in the area of public and transport infrastructure.

The budget of the city of Bratislava for 2025 – 2027 is focused on several main goals and priorities. Its primary goal is improving the quality of life of the city’s residents, with the provision of quality public services, improvements in infrastructure and public spaces and support for social and cultural activities taking priority.

In the area of transport, the budget includes resources for the completion of what is today the city’s largest transport project, which is the building of the second stage of the tram line in Petržalka. The project “Modernisation of maintenance bases in Krasňany”, which will improve the operation and maintenance of vehicles of the Bratislava Transport Company, is also continuing. Preparations are also starting for the construction of new or the reconstruction of other tram lines. As in previous years, a relatively large share of the budget is allocated to the reconstruction and modernisation of several roads. The parking policy will continue with the launch of new regulated parking zones and work on several parking lot and car park building projects.

More funds are being directed to the activities of the City Police, and investments are directed mainly to the training of officers (including new city police officers), ensuring crime prevention and increasing the safety of citizens through the development of a camera system.

In the area of the environment, the city wants to continue ensuring a high standard of green maintenance through the preparation of green areas for replacement planting. The city has added new areas to its portfolio that require care, such as the Dunajská park, the greenery on Kazanská or the Mičurin area.

In the scope of the social area and affordable housing, the city will continue with the already initiated projects of construction of buildings for rental flats. Completion and approval of the residential building on Muchovo námestie is expected. The aim is also to continue in the active work of assistance for homeless people and excluded communities.

The budget for the support of tourism in Bratislava is also being increased in the interest of creating conditions for the development of tourism and infrastructure for both visitors and residents of Bratislava.

One of the city’s long-term goals is to reduce the debt burden, which is planned at 47.41% for 2025. The city plans to continue reducing this percentage in the coming years (specifically, to 45.08% in 2026 and to 44.05% in 2027).

The city’s total revenues and expenditure for 2025 are balanced at 626.8 million euros, of which current income is 535 million euros. With expenses of 532 million euros, a surplus of 2.8 million euros will be created on the current budget balance. This surplus, together with loans and capital income from the sale of assets, grants and funds, will serve to cover the city’s investment needs.