ОБ’ЄДНАНІ ТЕРИТОРІАЛЬНІ ГРОМАДИ: ОЦІНКА ФІНАНСОВОЇ СПРОМОЖНОСТІ ТА МЕХАНІЗМІВ РОЗПОДІЛУ КОШТІВ

Abstract

Decentralization of authority in Ukraine takes place against the background of the general difficult economic situation caused by both internal unrest and the global crisis provoked by the Coronavirus Epidemic. Under such conditions, the issue of creating local communities capable of financing their own expenditures, and especially development expenditures, becomes acute and relevant. The purpose of the article is to develop proposals for improving the mechanisms of distribution of funds in the community in the context of their direction to improve the living conditions of the population in accordance with the identified priorities. To achieve this goal, it is proposed to use a matrix of priority needs of the community, which is a novelty of the study. The following methods were used in the article: analysis and synthesis (to collect and systematize the results of existing research); statistical (for statistical data processing); comparison (to compare indicators for different groups of communities); matrix (to determine the priority of community needs). The paper evaluates the financial capacity of local communities formed during 2015–2019. It is determined that large communities, with a population of more than 5,000 people, with an area of 400 km2 and more, have the highest level of socio-economic capacity. According to two other criteria, the solvency index and the share of local taxes and fees, the leaders are small communities that have production on their territory, recreational areas, and so on. It is proved that the important point is the organization of management of available resources. Because in the end, the living conditions in the territory are determined not only and not so much by the availability of resources, but by the efficiency and directions of their use. It was found that the current mechanism of distribution of “free” funds is based on a purely subjective approach and is based on “existing needs”. Strategic documents are often only formally used in the budget process. To minimize the miscalculations in the current and strategic planning of the integrated development of the united local communities, it is proposed to use the matrix method of determining the priority of needs. The number of blocks of the matrix and the levels of needs for each block are variables and depend on the specific situation in the community. The presence in the matrix of information about the cost of meeting each need will allow make decisions with a certain amount.