Naju-si Initiates Expenditure Restructuring Amid Prolonged COVID-19 Pandemic

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yukbong] Naju City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Kang In-gyu) announced on the 16th that it has embarked on a rigorous expenditure restructuring due to a sharp decline in available resources amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The city implemented the 4th supplementary budget with a strong restructuring approach that involved reviewing the priority of investment projects, inspecting projects that are at risk or impossible to proceed due to COVID-19, and re-examining all projects from scratch, including sluggish projects and reductions in current expenses.

This measure was taken because the local allocation tax decreased by 40.6 billion KRW (settlement and calculation) this year due to the economic downturn, and financial conditions worsened significantly due to various tax reductions for COVID-19 response.

According to the city, the estimated revenue loss from temporary tax reductions such as property tax (building portion) relief for exporters affected by COVID-19, and temporary reductions in water and sewage fees and agricultural machinery rental fees is about 2.4 billion KRW, which is expected to increase depending on the course of the infectious disease.

In addition, more than 12 billion KRW of local resources have been invested for COVID-19 response, including 3 billion KRW for government disaster relief funds, 5 billion KRW for Jeonnam-type emergency living expenses, 800 million KRW for public utility fees for small business owners, and 2.5 billion KRW for supporting the issuance of Naju Love Gift Certificates, while the net surplus also decreased by 26.5 billion KRW compared to the previous year.

Through this restructuring, the city saved a total budget of 22.8 billion KRW, including 2.3 billion KRW in current expenses such as domestic and overseas travel expenses, 3.6 billion KRW from canceling events like the Mahan Cultural Festival to prevent COVID-19 spread, 13 billion KRW from adjusting project volumes such as unspent balances, and 2.5 billion KRW in personnel expenses such as annual leave compensation.

The saved resources were reinvested in the second half of the year according to the review results of essential expenses and investment project priorities.

The finalized 4th supplementary budget, including national and provincial subsidies and the financial stabilization fund, was submitted to the Naju City Council on the 9th, totaling 934.5 billion KRW, an increase of 18.1 billion KRW compared to the 3rd supplementary budget.

Meanwhile, Mayor Kang In-gyu reviewed the status of central government economic policies and tight fiscal management due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and discussed countermeasures at the 10th team leader meeting of the local economic countermeasure headquarters on the 15th.

In particular, due to the domestic demand slump, the 3rd supplementary budget submitted by the government to the National Assembly included a reduction of 1.8642 trillion KRW in the calculation of the ordinary local allocation tax, with an estimated decrease in ordinary local allocation tax of about 11.1 billion KRW.

The city plans to prepare extraordinary measures for stable fiscal management, including budget execution through selection and concentration of limited resources, preparation for the post-COVID-19 era, and active consideration of issuing local bonds to ensure smooth progress of key future regional development projects such as supporting the establishment of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) University and creating an Energy Valley.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.