Chief Executive’s budget proposal shows €8.2 million deficit and includes significant investments
Hämeenlinna’s Chief Executive Olli-Poika Parviainen has submitted his budget proposal to the City Board. The budget proposal for 2027 shows a deficit of €8.2 million. The proposal does not include increases to municipal income tax or property taxes.
According to Parviainen, the city’s financial operating environment remains challenging. Hämeenlinna’s earning capacity has weakened rapidly, while investment needs remain high. The budget puts the city’s Attractive and Successful Growth City 2030 strategy into practice, but ensuring financial sustainability requires stricter prioritization than before.
Net investments for 2027 amount to approximately €44.5 million. The budget and the 2027–2029 financial plan include investments that develop the city’s services, vitality, and urban environment. Key projects include:
- Progress of the Lyseo block renewal into the demolition and construction phase
- Street and infrastructure construction in the new areas of Poltinaho and Miemala
- Development of sports facilities and planning of the ice hall project
- Advancing HAMK’s city centre campus as well as city centre development projects.
In operating finances, investments focus on improving the effectiveness of employment services, supporting children’s and young people’s learning and wellbeing, reforming public transport, and strengthening safety. In 2027, the Catalyst Fund will also be launched, and growth conditions for the defence and security sector as well as the bioeconomy will be strengthened.
The city’s loan portfolio is expected to grow by approximately €29.9 million in 2027, rising to around €309 million by the end of the year. Balancing the economy requires curbing the growth of operating expenses, implementing structural reforms, and carefully prioritizing investments. The declining number of children and young people reduces the city’s funding base and increases the need for a long-term assessment of the service network.
– Hämeenlinna is investing in growth, services, and a good urban environment, but at the same time we must safeguard the city’s financial resilience. Not everything important can be implemented at once, so our choices must support the city’s vitality and sustainable future, emphasizes Olli-Poika Parviainen.
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