Farewell to Bursa, hello to Tekirdağ: Cities change; our approach of planned, fiscally disciplined, and sustainable municipalism remains

As I leave Bursa, what I leave behind is not just completed projects; it is a management approach that puts planning back at the center, transforms fiscal discipline into an institutional principle, and implements investments based on data-driven priorities. The year 2025 has not been an ordinary period for Bursa in terms of service delivery; it has been a critical threshold where the pressure of borrowing was reduced, resources were used rationally, and the principle of “plan first, implement later” was institutionalized. Today, as I begin my role as Secretary General of the Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality, I see it as a fundamental responsibility to carry this approach, which we strengthened in Bursa, into our new field of duty with the principles of participatory governance and measurable public administration.

Cities have memories much longer than the terms of office. The responsibilities undertaken in a city are remembered not only by the number or size of the work done, but by the principles, the reasoning, and the conscience upon which these works were brought to life. Managers change; however, the planning culture, fiscal reflexes, and institutional stance left behind are permanent. For this reason, public administration is not just the sum of the work done; it is the responsibility of being accountable for the principles upon which decisions are based.

During my time as Secretary General at the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, I acted with this awareness; we strove to leave behind permanent foundations instead of temporary solutions, and institutional principles instead of personal preferences. I have left the position I held with this understanding due to my appointment as the Secretary General of the Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality. I thank those who deemed me worthy of this new duty, and I hope not to disappoint the trust placed in us in Tekirdağ, just as in beautiful Adana and green Bursa.

2025: Not an Ordinary Year, But a Structural Threshold

For Bursa, 2025 has been a critical threshold beyond a routine period of activity; it has been a time where planning met implementation and fiscal discipline ceased to be just rhetoric and became an institutional reflex. This year was not just a calendar interval where service production was maintained; it represents a period where decision-making processes were redefined, priorities were determined by data, and public resources were managed within a more rational framework.

Throughout our tenure, while continuing municipal services, investments, and projects without interruption, we focused on strengthening institutional capacity without compromising our strong sense of fiscal discipline. Together with our Mayor, Mr. Mustafa Bozbey, and all our colleagues, we made an intense effort for the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality to achieve a more predictable, balanced, and sustainable financial structure. I sincerely believe that these efforts, carried out with common sense, dedication, and a sense of public responsibility, have created lasting gains for our institution.

During this process, the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality not only continued its service production but also adopted the principle of using existing resources economically, efficiently, and effectively with a transparent and accountable financial management approach that rebalanced the financial structure; the fundamental goal was set as increasing the quality of municipal services and improving the living conditions of the city.

FISCAL DISCIPLINE: A Necessity, Not a Preference

The year 2025 has been a year of transformation for the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, not just a period of service production, but one where the financial structure was rebalanced, the pressure of borrowing was reduced, and fiscal discipline was made an institutional principle. This transformation can be read not through abstract goals or declarations of good intentions, but through traceable, measurable, and comparable financial indicators.

Ensuring efficiency in public spending and the ability of public investments to contribute to urban development depends on holistically measuring the benefits obtained from investments. With this understanding, throughout 2025, projects were ranked based on benefit-cost analysis in line with the city's priorities, and efficiency in resource utilization was adopted as the primary determinant. The goal is not to spend less, but to spend in the right place, at the right time, and at the right scale.

In this framework, it was deemed necessary to simultaneously strengthen three areas in expenditures made from the municipal budget. First, budget discipline and increased efficiency were targeted; expenditure-reducing practices, revenue-increasing and revenue-generating activities, and sustainable debt management were handled together. Second, a strategic prioritization approach was adopted; it was ensured that investments were shaped according to real needs and the social benefit they provide. In the third heading, the goal was to strengthen the institutional structure and establish a good governance approach; transparency, measurability, and accountability were made inseparable elements of financial management.

With the increase in institutional capacity, the sustainability of fiscal discipline and the economic, effective, and efficient use of human, physical, and financial resources were guaranteed in all processes. As a concrete result of this approach, the total debt stock, which was 12.9 billion TL at the time the duty was taken over, was reduced to the 8.5 billion TL level by the end of 2025, achieving a net debt reduction of approximately 4.4 billion TL.

In the same period, thanks to our “We Produce in Bursa, We Benefit Bursa” campaign, which encouraged the payment of taxes within the city, a significant increase in municipal revenues was achieved; both the debt stock was reduced and a budget surplus of approximately 4 billion TL was generated, creating a strong financial and institutional foundation for 2026. Furthermore, in line with our approach based on fiscal discipline, purchasing was preferred over leasing by considering the return periods of investments; in this way, hundreds of vehicles and construction machines that were previously rented were permanently added to our municipality's assets. This picture clearly shows that Bursa is no longer managed by intentions, but by plans, data, and results in the field.

This period, in which planning was brought back to the center and fiscal discipline ceased to be rhetoric and turned into daily management practice, has been an important gain for Bursa. Today, as I leave my post and look back, I see that the greatest achievement is the strengthening of a sustainable financial and managerial foundation that is not dependent on individuals.

PLAN FIRST, INTERVENE LATER: Rebuilding the Planning Culture

The year 2025 represents a period in Bursa where the long-weakened planning-implementation relationship was re-established. In this process, our main goal was to move planning beyond being technical documents left on shelves and make it a binding framework in decision-making processes. Because planning is not just a technical activity that designs the future; it is a strategic management tool that directs today's investments to the right place.

In line with this understanding, the establishment of the Bursa Planning Agency and the initiation of the 1/100,000 scale Bursa Environmental Plan based on the 2050 vision represent a conscious and holistic approach developed against the city's fragmented and scattered decision-making practice. The planning process was handled not as a closed office activity, but as a participatory governance practice that includes all stakeholders of the city.

In this context, a large-scale study was conducted with the participation of 40 academics from 16 universities, 28 professional chambers, 17 district municipalities, and various actors of the city; 835 map sheets were prepared, 72 technical reports were produced, and approximately 500 meetings and 80 in-depth interviews were conducted. This picture clearly shows that planning is not just a process of producing a technical output; it has the character of a city contract based on common sense.

However, what is truly decisive is not the number of documents produced, but the fact that plans have become a binding framework referenced in decision-making processes. The year 2026 will be an implementation year where these plans are directly decisive in zoning decisions, urban transformation areas, transportation axes, and infrastructure investments; a year where plans descend into the field.

With this process, interventions in Bursa have begun to be handled with a data-based and measurable approach that is compatible with long-term goals, instead of day-saving, piecemeal solutions. Strengthening the link between planning and implementation has also ensured that fiscal discipline becomes permanent, and predictability and consistency in resource allocation have increased.

In summary, the year 2025 represents a period in Bursa where planning was brought back to the center of management; a period where the principle of “plan first, intervene later” ceased to be rhetoric and became an institutional reflex.

TRANSPORTATION: Where, What Was Done?

The 2025 transportation investments show that interventions in Bursa were handled not under general and abstract headings, but with an address-based and data-driven approach based on points where needs were identified. In this period, the main goal was not just to build new roads, but to make the existing transportation infrastructure safer, more comfortable, and more sustainable.

In this context, over 200 thousand tons of hot asphalt were laid across the city, and approximately 300 kilometers of surface coating were applied. The work done not only increased road comfort but also ensured continuity in transportation infrastructure by strengthening the maintenance-repair cycle. Interventions were planned by observing equality across the city, covering districts and rural areas as much as the center.

In rail system investments, strategic thresholds were crossed. The project tender for the Görükle–Çalı–Demirtaş Line was completed; site delivery was made for the integration of the T1–T2 lines with Bursaray. In addition, tender preparations were initiated for the City Hospital–Çalı and Kızılcıklı–Çalı lines, demonstrating a determined orientation towards making the rail system a stronger backbone in urban transportation.

The fact that 286.6 million passengers were carried throughout 2025 in public transportation shows that transportation policies were not limited to technical capacity increases; they were handled together with the dimensions of accessibility, continuity, and social equality. Transportation services were evaluated not as a privilege for different segments of the city, but as a public service accessible to everyone.

The year 2026 will be a period where this framework is deepened even further, especially rail system-oriented; a period where transportation investments are more strongly integrated with planning decisions. The goal is to move transportation in Bursa beyond being a service area that only meets today's needs and make it a strategic policy heading that shapes the city's future.

DISASTER-RESILIENT CITY APPROACH

Disaster preparedness; earthquakes, fires, and other disaster risks are among Bursa's highest priority headings. For this reason, in 2025, disaster management was moved beyond a narrow framework focusing only on the moment of intervention and was handled with a preventive, planned, and holistic approach. The goal is to build a system that reduces risks and makes the city resilient before managing moments of crisis.

In this framework, comprehensive risk analyses covering the entire city were carried out; Disaster Master Plan studies were initiated, and preparedness capacity was strengthened through national-international collaborations. Thus, disaster management was made an institutional reflex; it was handled in an integrated manner with planning, infrastructure, transportation, and social policies.

In order to increase operational capacity in the field, Neighborhood Disaster Stations, Disaster Logistics Center, and Mobile Disaster Command Vehicle were put into service. At the same time, roads, hospitals, schools, industrial zones, and critical infrastructure across the city were evaluated with a holistic approach based on accessibility and durability criteria. The “Bursa Model,” which is a first in Turkey, was brought to life as a concrete result of this understanding.

The fire department was strengthened with new personnel, vehicles, and stations; a structure was created that can intervene in fires more quickly and effectively, especially in rural areas. Through training programs and drills, hundreds of thousands of citizens were made aware of disaster and fire safety; social awareness became an inseparable part of the preparation process.

With this approach based on life safety, the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality aims to build a city that is more resilient not only against today's risks but also against tomorrow's possible disasters. Disaster preparedness has been handled not as a temporary agenda in Bursa, but as a permanent city policy with this understanding.

HOLISTIC APPROACH TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

The year 2025 has been a period in Bursa where local development was handled not only through economic indicators but also with the headings of environmental sustainability, social justice, and cultural vitality. At the foundation of this approach lies a management understanding that does not squeeze the city into a center-periphery division; it evaluates Bursa as a holistic geography and a common living space.

Green Spaces and Environment: Bursa Square by Square

In 2025, maintenance and repair of 9.7 million square meters of parks and green spaces were carried out across Bursa, and 244 thousand square meters of new green space were brought to the city. Thus, the amount of green space per capita increased to 12.26 square meters. These data clearly reveal that environmental policies were handled not just for protection, but for increasing them in a planned manner.

The completion and opening of the Yıldırım 75th Year City Forest to the public, the Mudanya coastal arrangement, and park projects carried out in different districts have been the field counterparts of this approach, which aims to make green spaces accessible and permanent at every point of the city.

Social Policies: Institutionalizing Solidarity

In 2025, social policies were moved beyond temporary support mechanisms and transformed into a regular, accessible, and institutional solidarity network. In this context, Halk Kart was provided to 7,688 people, stationery support to 26,071 students, holiday and New Year aid to over 20 thousand retirees; thousands of meals were provided through the 3 City Restaurants via the suspended meal practice. These efforts show that social supports are handled within a social policy framework that has continuity, not just for moments of crisis.

Rural Development: Strengthening Production and Living in Place

In rural areas, supports based on production and local development came to the fore. 14.6 million meters of drip irrigation pipes were distributed to 5,807 producers with 100% grants, 23.4 million TL of fuel support was provided; over 5.3 million liters of milk procurement was carried out in the mountain region. These supports reveal that the rural area is handled not just as an area to be protected, but as one of the fundamental components of Bursa's production power.

Youth and Sports: The Strongest Investment in the Future

In the field of youth and sports, efforts were carried out that spread across all of Bursa and touched every segment of the city. The process of bringing the Atatürk Sports Hall back to Bursa at international standards was pursued with determination; infrastructure was strengthened with new sports halls, football fields, and sports complexes. Hundreds of thousands of young people were reached through workshops, events, and talks organized via youth centers; millions of Bursa residents benefited from sports centers. This approach is based on the understanding that every investment made in youth is the strongest investment made in the city's future.

Culture, Art, and City Identity

The year 2025 has been a period in which significant gains were achieved in the fields of culture, art, city history, and tourism for Bursa. In this process, where the protection of ancient heritage and contemporary cultural production were handled together, tens of thousands of Bursa residents were brought together with culture and art through festivals, concerts, theaters, exhibitions, and libraries. These efforts have strengthened Bursa's claim to be a city that lives and produces culture, not just one that boasts of its past.

EXPECTATIONS FROM 2026: THE YEAR PLANS DESCEND INTO THE FIELD

This holistic picture clearly shows that the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, in 2025, went beyond being just an institution that produces services; it institutionalized a management approach that plans, measures, prioritizes, and is based on fiscal discipline. In this respect, 2025 was not a year of results, but a period of creating a solid foundation.

We planned for 2026 to be an implementation year where this foundation is deepened in the field and plans are transformed into concrete and permanent results. Especially with rail system investments, urban transformation areas, water and infrastructure projects, we are entering a period where planning decisions are directly reflected in the city's daily life. In this process, the main goal will not be just the numerical size of investments, but the long-term benefit they provide to the city.

At the same time, it is foreseen that we are entering a period where social policies move beyond temporary support mechanisms and become more strongly institutionalized. The continuity of social supports, the permanence of rural development, and the inclusiveness of youth policies will remain among the main priorities in 2026.

The decisive factor at this stage is to consistently maintain the established planning and fiscal discipline foundation and to deepen implementation in line with the principles of continuity, measurability, and transparency. With the steps it took in 2025, Bursa has planned its future; it has entered 2026 with a strong institutional and financial structure that will bring these plans to life.

This picture is the product of a planned management approach shaped under the leadership of Bursa Metropolitan Mayor Mr. Mustafa Bozbey; one that defines its goals with concrete data and knows where, what, and at what scale things will be done. The contribution of all employees, academics, professional chambers, and city stakeholders working within the Bursa Metropolitan Municipality in this process constitutes an inseparable part of this success.

CITY MANAGEMENT AS A RELAY RACE

Today, as I leave my post, I believe that we have left behind not just a completed story, but a management foundation that is not dependent on individuals, is sustainable, and has strengthened institutional foundations. City management is a relay race; what matters is being able to move the institution to a more solid, more predictable, and more resilient point while handing over the responsibility.

Our main priority in this process was to make the principle of “plan first, implement later” an institutional reflex. We aimed for plans to be not documents left on shelves, but binding and guiding frameworks that have a counterpart in the field. In financial management, we focused on moving away from the understanding that normalizes borrowing and establishing a discipline that uses its resources rationally and determines its priorities based on data. At the point reached today, the language of the figures clearly reveals that this effort has not gone unrewarded.

While carrying this baton, we thought of Bursa at every step; with its streets, squares, and most of all, its people. The goal of a Bursa that is resilient to disasters, has strong infrastructure, is financially balanced, observes social justice, and grows in a planned manner was not a personal preference, but an institutional responsibility. I have full faith that this responsibility will be carried with the same seriousness from now on.

THANK YOU: Acknowledging Collective Effort

Of course, this picture is the product of a collective effort, not an individual one. The vision and determined leadership put forward by our Metropolitan Mayor have been the most decisive elements of this process. Likewise, this transformation would not have been possible without the contributions of our colleagues, bureaucrats, and field workers serving in all units of our municipality; and the managers and employees of BUSKİ and our affiliate companies.

I offer my most sincere thanks to our governors, deputy governors, and district governors with whom I am honored to have worked; the valuable representatives of our public institutions; our district mayors, metropolitan council and committee members; the academy and business world; the city council, non-governmental organizations, and professional chambers; our political party managers, neighborhood heads (muhtars); our sports clubs, and all stakeholders of our sports.

I wish success to our city's common pride, Bursaspor, its managers, and fans on the path to the championship; I also thank them for their contributions to the sense of unity and excitement that strengthens the city's identity. I also express my gratitude to our valuable members of the press who work with a sense of responsibility for the correct informing of the public.

And of course, I sincerely thank the precious Bursa residents, who are the true addressees of all these efforts and who determine the meaning of public service with their patience, interest, and support. During my tenure, I have strived to serve our city and our citizens with an understanding that puts the public interest at the center.

CONCLUSION: From Adana and Bursa Towards Tekirdağ - Sincere Municipalism

Today, as I leave Bursa, I carry with me the experiences this ancient city has gained for me and the strong institutional accumulation we have produced together. Having had the opportunity to serve Bursa after Adana has been not just a duty for my professional life, but also a great honor and a deep responsibility. Every experience lived in this process, every difficulty encountered, and every shared success has left indelible marks on me.

Throughout my academic and bureaucratic career; I have strived to sincerely use the local, national, and international experiences I gained in various ministries, primarily the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, in the Adana Metropolitan Municipality, in different public institutions, and in domestic and international universities, together with our colleagues for the development and progress of Green Bursa. The fundamental principle we took as a guide in this process has been to adopt the understanding that “Honesty is the best policy” and Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's saying, “The one who loves their country the most is the one who does their duty the best,” not as mere sentences, but as the moral compass of daily management practice.

Today, as I begin my new duty at the Tekirdağ Metropolitan Municipality; I see carrying the “plan first, implement later” understanding, the management reflex based on fiscal discipline, and the participatory governance approach that we strengthened together in Adana and Bursa into my new field of duty as an institutional responsibility rather than a personal goal. Every city has its own unique dynamics, needs, and priorities; however, the unchanging principle in public administration is an understanding that uses resources rationally, makes data-driven decisions, and puts the public interest at the center.

With this understanding, in Tekirdağ, under the leadership of our Metropolitan Mayor, Dr. Candan Yüceer; we aim to strengthen a local government practice that is planned, measurable, financially balanced, and prioritizes social benefit with the same determination. Increasing the quality of municipal services through the economic, efficient, and effective use of existing resources; and creating a more livable Tekirdağ within the framework of our Mayor's Sincere Municipalism (Candan Belediyecilik) vision will be our primary priority.

I believe that every effort made and every experience accumulated in beautiful Adana and green Bursa will inspire a new institutional journey in Tekirdağ. Carrying the honor of serving in these cities, the pride of producing together with their people, and the traces of the common effort left behind in my heart, I carry every value these ancient cities have added to me with the same sense of loyalty and responsibility to my new duty in the “Blue-Eyed City.”