Č. Budějovice will increase the price of heat, other prices will remain the same

České Budějovice will increase the price of heat next year, with people paying 6.5 percent more. The city will keep other prices for services at the same level. This was reported today by representatives of the town hall management. Prices for public transport, water, waste collection and admission to sports grounds will remain the same as this year.

This year, the residents of České Budějovice are paying CZK 788.59 without tax for a gigajoule of heat from the municipal heating plant. From January it will be CZK 839.90. "Part of the reason for the increase is that VAT has been raised from 10 to 12 percent. But in reality it means that for an average flat a family will pay CZK 1,026 more per year for heat. This is CZK 85 per month, which we believe is not such a dramatic change," said Petr Maroš (ODS), deputy mayor of České Budějovice.

People in České Budějovice pay CZK 20 for an hourly ticket for public transport. According to Maroš, it is the cheapest public transport in the country. A cubic metre of water will cost CZK 84.52 in total for water and sewerage next year. The price for waste collection will remain the same, with the city's residents paying CZK 680. "Waste will be a theme for us next year. We want to negotiate with FCC, the company that provides these services, because we believe that the services are not of the highest standard," said Martin Kuba, a councillor in České Budějovice. Maroš added that the city pays approximately CZK 70 million annually for waste collection. "And if we were to increase the fee by CZK 100, it would bring CZK 7 million into our coffers, which is not an amount that would significantly reduce the loss," the deputy said.

Kuba added that by not making services more expensive, the city will not limit its planned investments. "I'm allergic to the constant scaremongering from the media and politicians about how expensive everything is going to be, how we're going to be in bad shape. People have experienced covid, war, increased energy and food prices. And while we are arguing about inflation, it is fair to say that more money has come into the budgets of municipalities and regions as a result. That's why we decided to take a different path than most cities and we don't want to burden the citizens more," Kuba said.

Source: CTK