The accounts for 2020 have been severely impacted by the current circumstances

The accounts of the City of Geneva for 2020 were closed with a deficit of 47.1 million francs instead of the 29.8 million initially forecast for a total budget of almost 1.2 billion. Costs were higher than expected whereas most non-fiscal revenues were below the budgeted amounts. This situation was linked to the combined effects of reduced revenue resulting from the fiscal and OASI funding reform (RFFA) which took effect in 2020 and the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, with a gross impact estimated at CHF 56 million. After drawing, as planned, CHF 30 million from the cyclical reserve, the deficit was reduced to 17.1 million. “This crisis has shown that the cities are on the front line. We have played our role by providing the population with subsidies and services and by supporting our economic fabric,” states Alfonso Gomez, Administrative Councillor responsible for the Department of Finance, Housing and the Environment. “The financial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic were by no means trivial, but the administration successfully took up the challenge by adapting its actions to this extraordinary situation.”

Stable revenues

Against this backdrop, the City of Geneva was able to count on stable revenues (+9.2 million) totalling CHF 1.19 billion. Revenue from tax paid by natural persons was noticeably higher than forecast (+40.9 million), essentially due to corrections concerning previous years. In contrast, revenue linked to tax paid by legal entities was below the forecast amount (-11.9 million). The health situation impacted the accounts through a considerable decline in revenue and a large amount of lost income (-9 million linked to tax and fees in the public domain, -3.8 million in exoneration of rents for commercial premises, -5.9 million in tax on the use and provision of services).

Exceptional costs

Net costs totalled CHF 1.23 billion, some 36.5 million more than budgeted. Accounting for 40.6% of the total amount, staff payments remained in line with the budget. Transfer charges (consisting primarily of subsidies), accounting for 29.4% of the City of Geneva’s spending, were 14.6 million higher than expected. This difference includes 6.6 million for the early childcare sector and 2 million for the cultural sector, resulting from the closures caused by the first wave of COVID-19. The increase in costs was in large part due to the fall in BCGe share price totalling 21.4 million.

Investments in line with expectations

Net investments totalled 139.4 million francs, slightly above the provision in the budget (130 million They related to several large-scale projects including la Comédie de Genève (14.9 million), les Minoteries complex (13.1 million), the Pâquis-Centre school (11 million) and the Pavillon de la danse (4.8 million). 2020 was marked by a downturn in investments due jointly to the commissioning of major equipment in 2019 and a fall in the rate of work due to COVID-19.

Use of the cyclical reserve

In accordance with the regulation approved by the Municipal Council in 2017, the Administrative Council proposed using, as initially planned, 30 million francs from the cyclical reserve constituted with a view to pre-empting the budget deficits forecast for the period 2020 to 2024. After drawing this amount, the reserve now totals 110 million francs.

Media contact

Mr Alfonso Gomez, Administrative Councillor, Department of Finance, Housing and the Environment, by contacting Ms Anna Vaucher, Personal Assistant,
tel. + 41 22 418 22 40 or + 41 78 760 97 97 – @email