Municipalities' operating costs rise by 5% in Q1

Operating expenses of municipalities in Mainland Finland grew by 4.8 per cent in January to March 2019 than in the first quarter of one year earlier, according to Statistics Finland.

External operating revenue declined by 2.1 per cent. Municipalities received a total of EUR 6.2 billion in tax revenue and EUR 2.2 billion in central government transfers to local government.

The external operating expenses of joint municipal authorities grew by 8.5 per cent and operating revenue by 9.5 per cent. These collected from 80 municipalities and 69 joint municipal authorities in Mainland Finland.

The external operating expenses of municipalities in Mainland Finland amounted to EUR 9.3 billion in January to March 2019. External operating revenue amounted to EUR 1.6 billion and decreased by 2.1 per cent.

Municipalities’ tax revenue was EUR 6.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Municipalities received EUR 2.2 billion in central government transfers to local government. Tax revenue increased by 2.1 per cent and central government transfers by 0.7 per cent compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Tax funding formed of these two items was EUR 1,528 per capita. 1) The combined annual contribution margin of municipalities decreased by 28.8 per cent year-on-year and was EUR 0.7 billion in January to March.

At the end of March, municipalities' combined loan stock was EUR 17.6 billion. The growth from the year before amounted to 6.0 per cent. The loan stock per capita of municipalities in Mainland Finland was EUR 3,213. 2) Investment expenses stood at EUR 0.5 billion in January to March. Investment expenses grew by 21.2 per cent from the corresponding period in 2018.

The external operating expenses of joint municipal authorities in Mainland Finland totalled EUR 3.8 billion in January to March 2019 and they were 8.5 per cent higher than in the first quarter of one year earlier. External operating revenue grew by 9.5 per cent to EUR 4.1 billion. The combined annual contribution margin of joint municipal authorities was EUR 0.4 billion.

The investment expenses of joint municipal authorities totalled EUR 0.2 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Investment expenditure increased by 13.7 per cent from the respective period in 2018. At the end of March, joint municipal authorities' loan stock totalled EUR 3.9 billion. The loan stock grew by 2.0 per cent from the beginning of the year.