| The State Duma of the Tomsk oblastJune 24, 2010 XL Session of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma
 As always, the Session was opened by Boris Maltsev, Speaker of the Tomsk Oblast State Duma (brief outline of the opening speech).
Head of Tomsk Oblast Public Property Management Department Aleksey Anikin delivered a report on execution of the Program of Privatization (Sale) of Public Property and Purchase of Real Estate as Public Property of Tomsk Oblast for 2009.
Actual revenue on privatization of public property sold in 2009 totaled 3,330,000 rubles against the plan of 20,020,000 rubles, i.e. 16.6% of the planned amont.
Aleksey Anikin explained that such poor performance was a result of the failure to sell a complex of non-residential buildings and premises, and a land plot.
Also, Mr Anikin reported on the financial and economic performance of regional state unitary enterprises in 2009.
As at January 1, 2010 net sales of those enterprises totaled 1.646bn rubles, i.e. 75% versus 2008. Financial performance included a loss of 67.9m rubles, for the most part caused by public road management enterprises.
The enterprise with the greatest loss went bankrupt. The deputies asked the speaker who stood to gain from that bankruptcy. The question was answered by the Governor of Tomsk Oblast Viktor Kress. He said that case showed that some managers were still unable to learn to manage facilities under a strict cost reduction scenario. And they have to learn, anyway.
The negative financial performance of the other regional public road enterprises in 2009 was mainly due to cuts in financing of public contracts while keeping the physical scope of road works.
Aleksey Anikin said that the number of regional state unitary enterprises in Tomsk Oblast is decreasing and will continue to go down due to the trend towards reduction of direct participation of the State in that business sector. As at January 1, 2010 the public sector of the economy was represented by 8 regional state unitary enterprises. By January 1, 2011 their number is expected to be 6.
In two readings the deputies passed the Law ‘On execution of the Oblast budget in 2009’.
Main execution parameters were as follows.
- Revenues – 31,851.3m rubles. Compared to 2008 the Oblast budget revenues grew by 2,498.5m rubles.
- The 2009 budget was executed with a surplus of 388.8m rubles.
- The national debt of the Oblast was 6,995m rubles, 36% against own revenues.
- Budget expenses in 2009 totaled 31,408.7m rubles. Expenses grew against 2008 100.8%.
- For the most part, expenses were attributed to inter-budgetary transfers to local budgets (38%) and social spending (29%).
- Public sector salary pool grew by 5%.
- Social support spending grew by 13% against 2008.
- Teacher’s salary was increased by 21.5% on average.
Oksana Kozlovskaya, First Deputy
Governor, presented the bill and said that the major regional economy trend last year was a slowdown of the economic recession caused by the global financial crisis.
In general, the economic and social situation in the Oblast was similar to that of the whole country. In a number of aspects such as the industry growth, salary levels, and growth rate Tomsk Oblast was ahead of the average Russian indicators.
Among the positive factors which held back the economic downturn Ms Kozlovskaya named stable operations of regional investment sector companies and the research and educational complex. The latter became a budget-shaping factor for Tomsk in 2009.
The major deterrent of social and economic development of the Oblast was a slowdown of investment activity of companies due to reduced working capital and low availability of credit.
However, according to Oksana Kozlovskaya the region managed to meet the key goals of its 2009 budget policy defined by the State Duma of Tomsk Oblast as shaping a balanced budget and adapting budget expenses to lower revenue levels. Also, due to its crisis management actions the region minimized the decrease in the living standards and preserved social stability.
“A comparative analysis has shown that from the investment standpoint we lag behind Krasnoyarsk, Tyva, and Buryatiya”, Nikolay Kirillov addressed to the speaker. “The growth there resulted from development of new oil fields. Does that mean that if we do not start developing oil fields on the right bank of the River Tom, and do not build a nuclear power station, and do not implement the Bakchar iron ore project; our region will always lag behind other regions losing investments?”
“Not really so”, Oksana Kozlovskaya answered. “Of course, the share of the oil and gas complex in the structure of fixed investments is big but it is not at all overwhelming. It continuously decreases. And development of the right bank is just round the corner! Late in the year we will hold a tender for development of oil fields in Verkhneketsky District. Obviously, we are not going to enjoy as much investment growth as Krasnoyarsk Territory. Yet, we have different priorities such as the research and educational complex and innovative development.”
Chairman of the Budgetary and Financial Committee Vladimir Ponomarenko said that the 2009 budget complied with all requirements outlined in the Russian Budget Code including budget deficit and upper limit of the national debt.
“At the same time the most urgent is still the issue of effective budget spending.”
Oksana Kozlovskaya answered that the comments by the Audit Chamber and State Duma of Tomsk Oblast will be considered while executing the budget for 2010.
The deputies backed the Governor’s proposal to create a reserve fund in Tomsk Oblast. The Law ‘On reserve fund of Tomsk Oblast’ was presented to the deputies by Aleksander Fedenyov, Head of the Department of Finance of Tomsk Oblast.
The reserve fund will be part of the Oblast budget and will be used to secure performance of expenditure commitments of Tomsk Oblast in case of low budget revenues.
The reserve fund will protect expenditure commitments of Tomsk Oblast from any fluctuations of revenues regardless of the cause thus allowing to perform expenditure commitments in full, improving liquidity of the Oblast budget and financial flexibility of the region, and increasing the level of creditworthiness of the region.
“And who will have the authority of allocation of money from the reserve fund?” Duma Speaker Boris Maltsev asked.
Aleksander Fedenyov answered that the money is part of the Oblast budget and will be spent accordingly.
Total revenues and expenses of the Oblast budget in 2010 were increased by 627m rubles. Thus, amendments were made to the Tomsk Oblast Law ‘On 2010 Oblast budget and planning period of 2011 and 2012’.
Those changes can be explained by a number of reasons.
1) Revenues: unforeseen revenues from corporate income tax; return of unused subsidies and subventions to the federal budget; increase in the amount of subventions allocated from the Federal Compensation Fund to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for executing transferred powers in employment support.
2) Expenses: increase in spending which cannot be postponed (such as continuation of construction of the Oblast Perinatal Center and a sports center with a skating rink in Tomsk); spring flood control measures; subsidies to municipal budgets for implementation of the Oblast Target Program on government support for young families in acquisition of housing; subsidies to the municipal entity Tomsk City for motor road maintenance works, creation of urban amenities, and greenery planting.
The amended Oblast budget revenues in 2010 will be 27,386m rubles, including tax and non-tax revenues 20,058m rubles, non-repayable receipts 7,328m rubles, expenses 28,726m rubles, and deficit 1,340m rubles (6.68% of the total budget revenues excluding non-repayable receipts from the federal budget).
A new Article was added to the Administrative Code of Tomsk Oblast – ‘Failure to Meet Contaminated Land Reclamation Deadlines’. The amendment was initiated by the Environmental Department. Its head Aleksander Adam reminded that current legislation stipulates a deadline for reclamation of contaminated lands, including contamination with oil and oil products. In fact, however, this deadline is not kept, so vast taiga areas remain contaminated for years. Environmental monitoring showed that concentrations of oil products in water bodies used for discharge of oil production wastewater exceed allowable limits 11-13 times.
In the first reading the deputies approved amendments about burning of land vegetation to the Administrative Code of Tomsk Oblast. The urgency of such changes is demonstrated by the statistics of forest fires caused by agricultural burnings in Tomsk Oblast in 2009. In 40 fires over 3,500 hectares of forest were burnt down. The damage was over 6m rubles. The deputies suggested introducing a fine for breach of that Law.
They also drew attention of the originators to a number of loopholes in the bill such as the uncertainty about who will control enforcement of the Law, and what are possibilities to carry out controlled agricultural burnings. In order to eliminate the deficiencies the deputies adopted the bill in the first reading and decided to create a working group to refine the wording and deliver a final version of the bill.
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