Reporteritund. Kõlvart ja Ossinovski Tallinna 2026. aasta eelarvest

·55 min·5 clips

Mihail Kõlvart explains why Tallinn's 2026 budget dedicates 190 million euros to investments despite opposition criticism.

The episode of Reporteritund is a political interview/debate format focusing on Tallinn's 2026 city budget. Host Arp Müller leads the discussion with two guests: Mihail Kõlvart, chairman of the Tallinn City Council representing the current coalition, and Evgeni Ossinovski, an opposition member of the council. The conversation begins with Kõlvart outlining the budget's priorities: social welfare, health, children, and pensioners, with specific measures like increased student support and pensioner benefits. He states the investment volume is 190 million euros. Ossinovski immediately challenges the budget's fiscal sustainability, arguing that fixed costs are growing faster than revenues, which will reduce the city's ability to invest in future years. He cites that only one new kindergarten will be built this year compared to five previously. A major point of contention is the cancellation or pausing of several large infrastructure projects initiated under the previous city government. These include tram line projects on Liivala and Pelguranna, the reconstruction of Narvamaantee, and the Tallinn Hospital project. Ossinovski criticizes these decisions, noting they involve abandoning about 40 million euros in EU funds and lack a strategic alternative vision. Kõlvart defends the pauses, stating the need to reassess the rationality and the city's real capacity to realize such projects. The Tallinn Hospital project becomes a central topic. Kõlvart explains the project is paused due to uncertainty over funding, needing approximately 800 million euros, with only 200 million potentially available from EU sources. He suggests the project might need to be stopped entirely. Ossinovski argues for continuing the planning, as the alternative—renovating existing hospitals—would cost a similar amount from the city's budget alone. The debate extends to public transport strategy. Ossinovski defends the cancelled tram projects as necessary for developing public transport corridors to alleviate growing traffic congestion. Kõlvart counters that the specific tram lines were not the right solution, advocating instead for trolleybus infrastructure, which he claims is cheaper and more flexible. They also briefly discuss a planned 10% raise for city system employees and the creation of new political positions, which the opposition criticizes. The episode concludes with a discussion on how to plan long-term projects that span election cycles, referencing a quote from Barack Obama about elections having consequences.

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