The city budget is an annual plan of income and expenditure and revenues and expenses. It is a document that gives direction to the activities of the local government in a given year. It shows where the city gets the money from and what it plans to spend it on - from day-to-day functioning, through investments, to services important to residents, such as education, transport, security or space maintenance public.

The budget of the City of Ełk for the upcoming year 2026 was based on on the needs of residents, councillors' proposals, provisions of the development strategy as well as long-term plans and long-term programmes.

During today's (17 December) session, in item 7. councillors adopted a resolution on the budget of the City of Ełk for 2026.

"This budget is not only a vote on tables, of which there are many in the document. This is the decisive moment for the direction of development for the next 12 months, i.e. for 2026. This is also the moment when our ambitions collide with economic reality, and our plans or dreams for Ełk must be turned into concrete actions that will be proposed in this budget. This budget plan that we have presented is on the one hand responsible, ambitious, but also down-to-earth." - said the Mayor of the City of Ełk Tomasz Andrukiewicz at today's session of the Council of the city of Ełk.

As a result of the vote, the Ełk City Council adopted the budget for 2026. 22 councillors took part in the vote. 15 voted in favor, 7 were against.

Budget of the City of Ełk for 2026

The budget of the City of Ełk for 2026 provides for revenues in PLN 441.96 million. Where do the city's revenues come from? They consist of m.in:

• Influences PIT and CIT taxes,
• Taxes and local fees,
• Income property (investment),
• subsidies,
• subsidies.

In 2026, the city plans to spend PLN 500.015 million, including PLN 414.70 million is made up of current expenditure alone, m.in:

• education,
• Sport and culture,
• Economy communal,
• Support social,
• Transport and connectivity,
• Economy housing.

Capital expenditures amount to PLN 85.3 million. They consist of not mainly investments and investment purchases - it is an amount of 83.05 million PLN. 

The budget has reserved funds for cooperation with non-governmental organizations and the civic budget.

The budget deficit in the amount of PLN 58.06 million is planned to be covered from free funds from previous years and from the loans taken.

Investments planned for 2026

The budget of the City of Ełk provides for PLN 83.05 million for investments in 2026. This amount consists of own contribution in the amount of PLN 31.32 million and co-financing from the European Union and other sources in the amount of PLN 51.73 million.

Among the most important investments are m.in:

• Reconstruction and expansion of the Water Park
• Thermal modernization residential buildings in Ełk
  Renovation of the collector (2 culverts) dn 1000 Przemysłowa Street
• Reconstruction rainwater sewerage network with the construction of a water retention reservoir in the area of Targowa Street
• Thermal modernization public buildings - Primary School No. 1 and Kindergarten "Bajka" in Ełk
• Activities as part of the project "Water is wealth. Improving the condition of water reservoirs"
• Construction bicycle path on the Ełk River as part of the project "With a stork through EGO – creation of a sub-regional bicycle route"
• Reconstruction municipal road No. 204030N - Jana Pawła II Street - section from the intersection with St. M. M. Kolbego Street in the direction of the lake with the intersection
• "Gym under the open air"
• Creating and development of e-public services in Ełk
• "Innovative MOF Ełk" - zone of the originator of the PNT
• "Innovative MOF Ełk" - DIH – HUB OF DIGITAL INNOVATIONS
• Improvement availability in SP1
• Improvement availability in Ełk public kindergartens - I and II stage of ITI
• Improvement functionality of two squares in the revitalization area in Ełk
• Design and construction of a bicycle track – pumptrack
• Improvement social and environmental functions of the Municipal Square
• "Dogs LAND OF HAPPINESS PARK"
• Construction playground at SP9
• Reconstruction playground in SP2
• Construction Columbarium at Cemetery No. 1

The 2026 budget also envisages expenditure on development of technical documentation/projects, m.in:

• Execution design documentation for the bridge structure – Zamkowa Street
• Elaboration design documentation of Okulickiego Street along with the drainage system
• Documentation Wojska Polskiego Street on the section from Mickiewicza Street to ul. Sikorski, Kajka and 11 November
• Elaboration design documentation for the construction of a bicycle path between the tracks PKP in Kolejowa Street
• Elaboration projects for the construction of bicycle paths connecting existing routes (Kajki/11 November to the promenade of Pomorska Street; Polish Army to Mickiewicz; Zamkowa (across the bridge)
• Reconstruction Parkowa Street - project
• Design reconstruction of Mariampolska Street and green parking lot
• Design sports hall and land development at SP1
• Design reconstruction of the area at SP4
• Execution the design of a rainwater collector in Gdańska Street
• Execution design of new open ditch fortifications with their deepening – draining rainwater from the Grunwaldzkie housing estate to Lake Ełk from the possible construction of culverts
• Elaboration of the Urban Climate Change Adaptation Plan for the City of Ełk until 2032.
• "The program construction of a water playground"
• Design construction of the car park – WATER