The Chisinau city budget for 2018 has been approved in final lecture at the meeting of the Municipal Council on December 22, with votes from 44 councilors. The municipality expects an income of 3.75 billion lei and expenditures of over 4billion, 7.3% higher than this year, IPN reports.

The 290 million deficit will be covered by borrowing money from abroad, selling apartments and the repayment of loans.

At the request of councilors from several groups, more money has been allotted for kindergartens, heating subsidies to needy families and for the suburbs. Another change is the renaming of the Buciumul Municipal Enterprise into the Municipal Agency for Transportation and Tourism.

Ion Ceban, PSRM councilor, said the Socialists had no objections to the budget project, but want to see how it will be coordinated with the state budget. He stressed the need to start implementing the budget in January.

Meanwhile, Liberal councilor Ion Ciobanu remarked that the Socialists’ eagerness to approve the budget is suspicious.

The social expenditures account for 2.56 billion of the planned spending – education, culture, health care and social protection.