Financial Evolution

For each fiscal year, the City Council of Lugano submits to the vote of the City Parliament two reference dispatches for the management of public finances: the budget and the financial statements. Both are examined and can be amended by the Control Committee or by the City Parliament itself.

To ensure strategic management of public finances in the long term, the City Council also prepares a financial plan.

In recent years, the City Council of Lugano, faced with a significant decline in tax revenue from the banking sector, has been engaged in an important effort to consolidate public finances, thanks to which the accounts returned to substantial balance in 2017.

The 2025 financial statements closed with a significant improvement in the operating result compared to the budget (+47.7 million), attributable to the cost-saving measures implemented by the City Council and to the substantial contribution of extraordinary items, partly non-recurring, within revenues. In conjunction with the presentation of the 2025 financial statements, which took place in April 2026, it was announced that the rating agency Moody’s has confirmed the creditworthiness assessment assigned to the City of Lugano, corresponding to a rating of Aa3, a level that is situated within a high-quality category.

The 2026 budget shows an operating deficit of 4.2 million Swiss francs. Net investments for 2026 amount to 263.5 million Swiss francs, largely earmarked for the purchase of the Sports Arena and the Sports Hall. In addition to the budget, the City Council has also presented a financial plan for the years 2026–2033, with the aim of restoring the operating accounts and reducing indebtedness, without compromising the ability to provide services to citizens.

Budget Accounts

With the budget (in Italian Preventivo), the City Council plans current expenses and investments in anticipation of the fiscal year of reference. It is therefore the dispatch with which the City Council defines the guidelines and the main choices for each function of the municipal administration. With the budget, the municipal tax multiplier (moltiplicatore d'imposta comunale) is also proposed to the City Parliament.

Financial Statements

With the financial statements (in Italian Consuntivo), after the end of the fiscal year of reference, the City Council reports on the actual evolution of current expenses and investments made by the municipal administration and the variations compared to the budget.

Financial Plan

To ensure strategic management of public finances in the long term, the City Council prepares a financial plan (in Italian Piano Finanziario) with forecasts on the evolution of the main economic indicators in future years. The financial plan is submitted for information to the City Parliament. However, unlike the budget and the financial statements, the financial plan does not require approval by the Legislative body.