The city in Russia asks to fill the budget “hole” with voluntary contributions
The authorities of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the Russian Federation have announced the start of collecting so-called “voluntary contributions” from residents and local businesses for the city budget.
In fact, this is a public appeal for people to finance the “hole” in the treasury themselves, which has arisen amid the general deepening of financial problems in Russian regions.
The initiative is already raising questions, as it is presented as voluntary assistance, even though it is directly aimed at covering the budget deficit.
According to the announced rules, citizens and companies can transfer any amounts, but only cashless — the funds are immediately credited to the city budget.
Donors must specify separately which city needs their money should be allocated to, and using these funds for other purposes is allowed only with their consent.
If the specified projects are not implemented or disappear from the plans, the authorities promise to return the money to the accounts from which it was received.
The administration of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky plans to monitor the spending of these “voluntary contributions” independently, without involving a separate oversight body.
This creates additional transparency risks, given that this is about directly filling the budget, not classical charity for specific social projects.
Citizens are being asked to trust the very officials who already allowed the formation of the financial deficit.
