Vantaa faces painful choices as costly tramway moves ahead

Vantaa’s leaders are weighing service cuts, higher borrowing and tax increases as the city pursues its most expensive investment ever, according to an analysis published by Yle. The city is running a sharply loss-making result while streets are being dug up for the tramway from the outskirts of Hakunila to the area near the airport.

The tramway is planned to connect Mellunmäki with Aviapolis. City leaders are trying to convince residents and decision-makers that the rail link will bring economic growth, jobs and new residents.

Opponents see the construction as a disruption for businesses and residents that will only add to the city’s debt. They argue that the current bus routes work well and point out that the tramway will not reach the airport.

Few easy choices

The city council held a lengthy discussion on Monday about the municipality’s financial situation. The options on the table were described as difficult: closing services, taking on more debt or raising taxes.

According to the city manager, Vantaa needs to do all of these things and more. Many councillors, however, hope the city can improve its finances by increasing employment. Almost all appeared to agree that Vantaa needs more jobs, although they differed on how to achieve that.

Juha Järä of the Finns Party blamed the city’s leading parties, the Social Democratic Party and the National Coalition Party. Jussi Saramo of the Left Alliance blamed the government led by Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition Party and Riikka Purra of the Finns Party.

Representatives of the Left Alliance and the Greens suggested tax increases. Victor Snellman of the National Coalition Party responded that taxes had already been raised through new stormwater and parking charges.

Green councillor Sirpa Kauppinen highlighted weak reading skills among seventh-grade pupils. Jorma Hentilä of the Centre Party returned the discussion to the tramway, noting that interest payments on the investments alone will amount to tens of millions of euros in coming years.

Nearly all councillors considered the financial programme too vague. The council’s discussion also produced few concrete measures, the analysis says.

Learning to tolerate unfinished work

Vantaa’s financial problems are linked to factors that cannot be changed quickly. Unemployment is high, construction has stalled and tax revenue is expected to fall 26 million euros below budget. Corporate tax revenue is also developing weakly, partly because of difficulties in residential construction and in the airport area.

The financial programme approved by the council on Monday states that Vantaa’s investment programme is exceptionally large compared with the city’s current ability to finance it through income.

Several councillors noted that the situation is not new. The city previously pushed through a substantial savings programme during the tenure of city manager Kari Nenonen and eventually got through it.

The tramway’s construction is expected to be completed and services to begin at the end of 2029. In central Tikkurila, workers are currently excavating a large tunnel under the railway for the tramway.

Yle’s city reporter Vesa Marttinen writes that the tramway’s slogan, “Unfinished today, smooth tomorrow,” may contain a broader lesson: tolerating unfinished situations is necessary, whether in working life, raising a child or municipal politics. That tolerance is easier if there is a genuine belief that the situation will eventually become smoother.