Bitola residents on the 2027 budget: an overpass by a school, water for Nižepole and a day centre for children with autism

An overpass by the Kole Kaninski primary school, paved streets, a water supply and wastewater treatment plant for Nižepole, sports grounds for students and premises for a day centre for children on the autism spectrum. These are some of the proposals Bitola residents put forward at the first session of the Budget Forum for the municipality's 2027 budget.

This is the fifth year in a row that Bitola has held a forum where residents point directly to their priorities. "The forum is not an ordinary public hearing, it is a place where citizens actively take part in proposing solutions and setting priorities," said Mayor Toni Konjanovski, adding that the budget is not just a financial document but a reflection of what citizens need.

The list also shows what the city is missing. Residents are asking for a building for the state music school, a secondary art school, a professional folk ensemble and a Bitola city house. There was also talk of the sports hall in Dolno Orizari, the swimming pool at the Dame Gruev primary school and the renovation of the school in Bukovski Livadi.

The forum is good practice - a budget shaped by residents saying what they need beats one written behind closed doors. But five years of experience also earn the right to ask: how many proposals from past forums have actually been built? If the municipality wants the forum to be more than a ritual, the next session could start with exactly that list.