No. 146 Initial Budget for Fiscal Year 2024

The initial budget for this fiscal year was approved at the first Regular Session of the City Council held in March, so I will provide an overview.

In preparing the initial budget for fiscal year 2024, I instructed each department within the office to make requests in accordance with the budget formulation policy established last August.

The Japanese economy is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, with a rebound in social and economic activities, continued recovery in personal consumption and corporate capital investment, and a forecast of gradual growth led by private demand in the future. Against this backdrop, both the fiscal year 2023 revenue forecast and the fiscal year 2024 budget forecast show steady growth in tax revenue at the national, Tokyo, and Inagi City levels.

However, on the other hand, the rise in prices and soaring resource costs triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine continue, and while measures to address rising prices and special benefits for low-income individuals are being maintained, the pressure on expenditures remains high.

In this year's initial requests from each department, the total expenditure exceeded the total revenue by approximately 4.45 billion yen. This revenue shortfall is the largest in history and is a challenging amount to resolve compared to about 3.14 billion yen at the same time last year. Therefore, we implemented the budget formulation based on four key points: (1) maintaining sound fiscal management and sustainable administrative operations, (2) measures against rising prices and post-COVID responses, (3) disaster prevention and mitigation measures prioritizing citizen safety, and (4) reviewing beneficiary burdens and securing new financial resources.

The General Fund Budget for fiscal year 2024 has increased by 7.4% compared to the previous year, amounting to an increase of 2.885 billion yen, with a total of 42.08 billion yen, marking the largest scale ever and exceeding 40 billion yen for the first time.

In terms of revenue, although the Municipal Tax, which accounts for about 40% of the total revenue, decreased by 1.4%, or approximately 230 million yen, due to the fixed reduction of the Municipal Resident Tax, the decrease will be fully compensated by grants from the national government, so there is no impact, and other income has generally increased.

In terms of expenditures, personnel costs increased due to salary revisions and minimum wage hikes. Assistance expenses rose due to educational and childcare benefits for children, operational outsourcing fees for private childcare centers, disability care benefits, medical expense subsidies for compulsory education students, and medical expense subsidies for high school students. Investment expenses increased due to the installation of air conditioning in special classrooms, subsidies for promoting private childcare centers, land purchases for the second phase of the first kitchen, and expenses for the Yomiuri Land Line entrusted project. Property expenses increased due to costs related to system standardization, outsourcing fees for the childbirth and parenting support gift project, and outsourcing fees for waste collection and transportation. Additionally, the transfer payments increased due to the promotion of the Land Readjustment Project, resulting in a 7.4% increase compared to the previous fiscal year, similar to the revenue increase.

The main construction projects for this fiscal year include improvements to the Yomiuri Land Line roads No. 3, 4, and 12, the establishment of new roads No. 7, 5, and 3, the expansion of the After-School Childcare Program at Minamiyama Elementary School, improvements to the square in front of Inagi Station's south exit, and the installation of air conditioning in special classrooms. The total cost related to these construction projects amounts to approximately 4.3 billion yen, which is a significant factor in increasing this year's budget scale.
Next, we will introduce characteristic budgets for each policy issue.

Child Care Support Related
We will abolish income restrictions for Maruko and Maruao, making all children up to 18 years old eligible for the Medical Expenses subsidy program. The distribution amount for the First Birthday Support Program for children turning one will be expanded from 10,000 yen to 60,000 yen, and we will enhance the Family Support Center program by improving the treatment of active members and strengthening the system. We will privatize the Children's Center at Shiroyama Cultural Center and the After-School Childcare Program at Shiroyama Elementary School to improve convenience, and with the completion of the expansion of the After-School Childcare Program at Minamiyama Elementary School, we will increase the capacity for acceptance.

Support for Older Adults
We will start a brain health measurement project to promote early detection and prevention of dementia progression and improvement. We will support the relocation of the Community General Support Center Koyodai to the former Kiraboshi Bank Koyodai branch site and expand the implementation days of the Inagi Home Medical Care and Nursing Consultation Room, which is commissioned to the Medical Association, from 3 days a week to 5 days.

Disability Support Related
The renovation of the former Fourth Nursery School facility has been completed, and we will open a branch of the Development Support Center and a branch of the Educational Consultation Room, as well as start a day service for individuals with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and those requiring medical care. As support for home users of artificial respirators during disasters, we will provide self-generating power equipment or storage batteries to those who have not been eligible under the previous system.

Social Welfare Related
We will establish a layered support system that comprehensively supports various welfare targets to respond to the complex and diverse support needs.

Education Related
We will provide emergency support subsidies for rising school lunch costs to all public elementary and junior high schools to reduce the burden on parents and guardians. We will formulate the next plan for the Inagi City Children's Reading Activity Promotion Plan and hold the "World Children's Future Conference Supporting the United Nations in INAGI" for elementary school students to further promote ESD education. In response to the increase in the number of children, we will improve the regular classrooms at Minamiyama Elementary School and Hirao Elementary School, and carry out basic and detailed design for the expansion of the Minamiyama school building. We will install air conditioning units in special classrooms that currently do not have them in elementary schools, and install a barrier-free toilet in the gymnasium of Shiroyama Elementary School to improve the facility environment.

Environmental Measures
To introduce solar power generation equipment through the PPA project in as many public facilities as possible, we will prioritize the waterproofing work on the rooftops of the Fifth Nursery School, Fourth Junior High School, and Third Cultural Center, which were determined to be unsuitable for installation based on the results of the current situation survey. Additionally, we will replace the ground lighting at Hirao Friend with LED lights.

Crime Prevention, Disaster Prevention, and Mitigation
The city will also provide subsidies for the operational costs of neighborhood association security cameras that were installed with city assistance. We will begin formulating a comprehensive rainwater management plan based on a review of goals considering climate change, as well as the Fourth Basic Firefighting Plan for Inagi City. The Inagi City Regional Disaster Prevention Plan will be revised based on lessons learned from earthquakes and wind and flood disasters occurring in various areas. To ensure the early opening of designated evacuation shelters during an earthquake, we will increase the number of earthquake automatic unlocking boxes near the shelters that store keys. As a disaster response measure for the City Hall building, we will implement designs for renovation work on the power receiving and transforming equipment to expand the area capable of continuing operations during power outages, and we will renovate the aging air conditioning equipment at Inagi Fire Station, updating it to devices that can operate autonomously on gas supply alone and can be powered externally during outages. We will also prepare generators for the Oshitate Drainage Pump Station to guard against flooding.

Digitalization Promotion Related
We will comprehensively renovate the City Hall website to establish a system that can provide citizens with the information they need in a timely and accurate manner. With the update of the Public Facilities reservation system, we will promote cashless payment for usage fees and the lending of keys via smart keys in addition to online reservations for sports facilities, creating a system that does not require citizens to come to City Hall for procedures. We will introduce interactive generative AI at City Hall to improve the work efficiency of city staff.

In the December council meeting last year, the General Account Supplementary Budget for fiscal year 5 (No. 6) was approved, and in the special decision made in January of this year, the General Account Supplementary Budget for fiscal year 5 (No. 7) was implemented. This budget includes "temporary priority support payments for households exempt from resident tax, support payments for rising prices, and premium gift certificates" separate from the initial budget. We will continue to implement measures against rising prices and respond to the post-COVID stage.