Tomorrow, 25 November at 6pm, the traditional Christmas market will open at Town Hall Square and the lights will be lit on Tallinn's central Christmas tree. The traditional first Advent candle will be lit on the tree in Town Hall Square by Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart and Tallinn's Provost Jaan Tammsalu this Sunday at 4pm.
Of the total operating expenditure in Tallinn's 2023 budget, social welfare and health will account for 10.9 percent, or €97.7 million. The main objective is to ensure the availability of needs-based social welfare services, the well-being of families with children, the elderly and people with special needs, and to assist citizens in difficulty. More consideration will be brought to mental health care.
Tallinn's 2023 budget, presented to the city council by the city government, proposes a total of €32.3 million for cultural spending, the most important of which is an increase in the salaries of cultural workers. A number of major investments in cultural facilities are also planned.
As of Tuesday, 5,703 residents of Tallinn had participated in the vote on the ideas for Tallinn's 2023 participatory budget, and a sufficient number of residents in Põhja-Tallinn have participated for the results to be considered valid. Residents can view all the ideas and vote for their favorites until 4 December on the website https://www.tallinn.ee/en/participatorybudget.
The City Government has sent a draft decree to the City Council, which aims to change the fees of Tallinn's public transport from 1 May 2023. Public transport will continue to be free of charge for all residents of Tallinn, the change only concerns hourly fares, short-term season tickets for residents of other municipalities and foreigners, and Aegna ferry tickets.
Tallinn is planning to reduce free parking for diplomats in Tallinn. The change will affect the parking arrangements for more than 200 vehicles in Tallinn's public parking areas. Ambassadors' cars will continue to be able to park free of charge on the streets of Tallinn.
According to the draft budget for Tallinn 2023, the priorities in the field of transport are the development and modernization of the public transport network and improving environmental approaches of public transport in the capital. It will also ensure that public transport continues to be free of charge for the residents of Tallinn.