One of the largest towns in Northeast Estonia, Kohtla-Järve, is facing a steep budget crisis, writes Eesti Päevaleht. The town’s municipal leaders say that the budget hole is caused by the fact that residents are leaving the town, moving elsewhere, and individual income tax revenues have dried up.
The financial problems of Kohtla-Järve, Estonia’s fifth largest town, are so big that the town could become bankrupt as a worst-case scenario. One likely option is to lay off municipal staff or ask them to work four-day working weeks.
The town’s council has already asked the city government to draw up a crisis plan. According to the council, the town’s woes were caused by high loan burden and overoptimistic budget and income tax expectations.
According to Deputy Mayor Ljudmila Janchenko who is responsible for financing, the budget deficit could amount to EUR 1.2m by the year-end.
Toomas Hõbemägi
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