Hwaseong City Passes First Supplementary Budget of 146.4 Billion Won

[Suwon Ilbo=Kim Gi-ho] Hwaseong City's 2023 first supplementary budget passed the city council plenary session on the 28th.

The supplementary budget increased by 146.4 billion won compared to the original budget, bringing Hwaseong City's total budget to 3.27 trillion won. Of this, the general account is 2.88 trillion won and the special account is 389.8 billion won.

This supplementary budget focused on revitalizing the local economy and reducing the burden on people's livelihoods.

First, to assist small business owners facing difficulties due to high inflation and high interest rates and to revitalize the sluggish local economy, the budget includes △1 billion won expansion of special guarantee support △200 million won in interest payment subsidies △135 million won increase for public delivery app activation △1.7 billion won for factory-concentrated areas enterprise environment improvement projects △450 million won for startup package support programs.

Additionally, for the full-scale promotion of the Botanic Garden project, a key campaign promise of the 8th civilian government, 700 million won was allocated for designing an indoor exhibition greenhouse within Dongtan Yeoul Park.

In the welfare sector, to address the serious issue of low birth rates, the budget includes △9.6 billion won for birth support funds that provide 1 million won starting from the first child △6.4 billion won for universal support for menstrual products for female students and adolescents △1.5 billion won for athletic wear expenses for new high school students to ease parents' burden.

Notably, 1.4 billion won was allocated for full childcare support and kindergarten education support programs for the children of foreign workers on equal terms with domestic nationals—the first in the nation—expected to create a stable childcare environment for foreign worker families and reduce private education costs.

Additionally, the honor enhancement allowance paid to national veterans and patriots was significantly increased from 80,000 won per month to 130,000 won per month, reflecting respect, gratitude, and honor for those deserving national distinction.

Budgets for citizen safety and SOC-related projects were also included. The city plans to ensure maximum citizen safety by allocating △900 million won for citizen safety insurance △2.7 billion won for soundproofing facility replacement △700 million won for bridge maintenance management.

Mayor Jung Myung-geun of Hwaseong said, "This supplementary budget focused on stabilizing people's livelihoods to improve the difficult economic situation caused by high inflation and high interest rates." He added, "I am grateful to the city council members for their efforts in budget deliberation despite a tight schedule, and we will do our best for people's livelihood stability through swift budget execution."