“Our determination to create a prosperous city with a beautiful life will never be abandoned” – Colombo Mayor

The second reading of the Colombo Municipal Council Budget 2025 will be held on December 31, 2025 and the budget was prepared through a transparent and inclusive process involving councillors, municipal institutions, staff members, and public review, Mayor of Colombo Vraie Cally Balthazaar said today (December 28).

In a Facebook post, the Mayor said she considered it her responsibility to explain the budget process to the public ahead of the second reading, as a council budget is not merely a collection of figures but a document that reflects performance, progress, and plans for the coming year.

She noted that there was no functioning elected council during 2023 and 2024, and that preparing a budget under a Commissioner administered system is very different from preparing one through an elected council, making the process more complex. Despite these challenges, the expectation of all councillors was to present a people centric budget.

According to the Mayor, budget preparation began just weeks after the new council was appointed. In July 2025, she instructed all 16 municipal institutions to submit their proposals, with submissions accepted until August 2025. All councillors from both the government and the opposition were also invited to submit proposals. She said every proposal was reviewed from the perspective of the citizens, without distinguishing between government and opposition members.

As an additional step, municipal staff members were invited to submit written proposals. The Mayor described this as a significant achievement that reflects the new political culture being built within the council.

She said the most difficult stage was assessing the financial feasibility of the proposals and reaching agreement. This process continued until November 2025, after which further reviews were conducted to identify shortcomings and ensure accuracy.

Once these stages were completed, the draft budget was printed and discussed again through 23 standing committees. All councillors from both the government and the opposition participated in these discussions in a democratic manner.

The public was then given seven days to review the draft budget. As required by law, notices were published in three leading newspapers in all three languages, and copies were made available at the public library and through the Municipal Treasurer.

Following public review, the proposals were presented to two finance related committees consisting of all councillors. At this stage, proposal values were adjusted and errors corrected. After these amendments, the revised Budget 2025 was presented by the Mayor to the General Council on December 22, 2025, allowing the Council to consider its approval.

Mayor Vraie Cally Balthazaar reaffirmed that the council remains committed to its vision of creating a prosperous city with a beautiful life for the people of Colombo.