The article assesses the data in terms of the efficiency of the execution of local budget expenditures of a constituent entity of the Sverdlovsk Oblast on the example of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda, reports of the financial management of the administration of the city district of Nizhnyaya Slada approved by the decisions of the Duma of the city district of Nizhnyaya Salda. Based on the assessment of the data presented, a conclusion was drawn about the effectiveness of budget expenditures and the identification of problematic points in the process of spending budget funds of the urban district. In the conclusion, possible ways of improving the system of budget expenditures of the city district of Nizhnyaya Salda are formulated.
budget, budget expenditures, local budget, efficiency of execution, budget process, budget system
State management of budgetary funds allocates to the local budget treasury an insignificant share of all revenues collected on the territory of the Russian Federation. The funds received, directed to the implementation of various kinds of measures, are able to only partially meet the needs of the municipality and its population in view of their limitations. This moment forms among the population negative sentiments and dissatisfaction with what is happening, which leads to a negative perception of any activity of local self-government bodies.
As a result, local governments need to take measures to effectively distribute available monetary resources in order to meet current needs and planned projects, as well as measures to find additional sources of funding the budget with monetary funds.
The executive authorities of municipalities, on the basis of the RF BC, are assigned the right and obligation to independently ensure the balance of budgets and the effectiveness of the use of budgetary funds; carry out the budgetary process; establish, in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, taxes that are credited to the local budget; determination of the forms and directions of expenditures of budgetary funds, as well as the authority for the formation and development of local budget revenues.
The presence of budgetary expenditures is primarily associated with public needs and the costs necessary to meet them. A significant part of these expenses is made at the expense of the funds of the budget of the municipality, and only a small part - at the expense of decentralized public finance or private funds.
As a result, the local budget funds are no longer sufficient for the implementation of large-scale projects, therefore, their implementation is largely borne by the funds of higher budgets.
In order to receive cash subsidies from higher budgets, the municipality is assessed in the field of the efficiency of using budget funds at all levels, in other words, whether material investments in large-scale projects are being successfully mastered, whether they are turning into "long-term construction", representing illiquid and unpromising assets in the future.
Referring to the concept of “efficiency of budget expenditures” or “efficiency of budget funds utilization”, it should be said that at present there is no precise formulation of them in the Federal legislation, which leads to terminological confusion and complicates the introduction of mechanisms for assessing efficiency into the budget process.
In foreign theoretical and applied literature, two basic models were initially identified that characterize the efficiency of budget expenditures:
1. "economy — efficiency — effectiveness", or the "3Es" model, since all three terms start with one letter;
2. "input — output — outcome", or the "IOO" model.
Further, these models were combined into one, which is shown in figure 1 [1, p. 62].
|
Economy |
|
Efficiency |
|
Effectiveness |
|
Result per unit cost |
|
External factors |
|
Financing |
|
Resources, personnel, equipment |
|
Efficiency |
|
Final result |
Figure 1. The concept of "efficiency" in foreign literature [2, p. 4]
Evaluating the efficiency of the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, the concept of cost efficiency was used. Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 15.04.2009 № 322 "On measures to implement the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated June 28, 2007 No. 825" On assessing the effectiveness of the activities of executive authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation "(hereinafter - PP № 322, became invalid due to the adoption Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 03.11.2012 № 1142) contained a system of methods for assessing "ineffective costs" in certain areas. The methodology approved by PP № 322 was based on data that reflect infrastructure provision and employment in the public sector. In its formulations, "ineffective expenses" were considered expenses exceeding a certain standard value, thus, in the interpretation of PP № 322 "effective expenses" are expenses that do not exceed a certain level calculated on the basis of specified standards.
As an example, the volume of "ineffective spending" in the field of general education was estimated based on the normative number of pupils per teacher and the class size in urban and rural areas. With this approach, the spending of budgetary funds could be recognized as more effective in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, where the level of development of social infrastructure and low employment in the social sector is low, even if there was a low quality of provision of budgetary services in the region. The decoding of the term "efficiency" in PP № 322 demonstrates the incorrectness of the estimates characterizing the consumption of resources, not taking into account the results achieved.
The formation of the budget of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda consists of: tax and non-tax revenues, budget allocations (grants, subsidies, subventions), and off-budget revenues (profit from the sale and use of municipal property, voluntary donations, etc.).
The assessment of financial regulation of local budgets consists of a statistical comparison of the numerical indicators of the estimated period with the indicators of previous periods, referring to table 1, which shows the official data provided by the Federal State Statistics Service, you can see the dynamics of budget revenues of the city district of Nizhnyaya Salda. (tab. 1)
Table 1 - Dynamics of revenues and expenditures of the budget of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda for 2018-2020, in thousand rubles [3]
|
Indicator/year |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Growth (decline) rates,% |
|
|
2019/2018 |
2020/2019 |
||||
|
Tax income |
178 468.023 |
205 696.620 |
172 117.123 |
115.3 |
83.7 |
|
Non-tax income |
21 721.445 |
14 525.977 |
14 696.445 |
66.9 |
101.2 |
|
Grants |
1 606.000 |
15 087.000 |
237 031.000 |
939.4 |
157.1 |
|
Subsidies |
211 924.343 |
319 131.548 |
336 402.699 |
150.6 |
105.4 |
|
Subventions |
176 309.743 |
190 732.822 |
376 957.380 |
108.2 |
197.6 |
|
Other gratuitous receipts |
5 715.500 |
67 313.200 |
8 096.650 |
1 177.7 |
12.03 |
|
Return of the remaining subsidies (in both directions) |
- 1 359.753 |
- 5 710.075 |
- 4 044.381 |
419.9 |
70.8 |
|
Total income |
594 385.301 |
806 777.092 |
925 078.079 |
135.7 |
114.7 |
|
Total expenses |
556 223.905 |
735 815.822 |
931 793.519 |
132.3 |
126.6 |
|
Budget surplus/deficit |
38 161.401 |
70 961.272 |
- 6 715.440 |
186.0 |
9.5 |
After examining the table, you can see a downward trend in tax revenues in 2020 compared to 2019. This moment is associated with the lockdown period and the introduction of strict restrictions and prohibitions regarding the reduction of the spread of the new coronavirus infection in the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda.
Non-tax revenues have tended to be stable over the past two years, but at the same time they have decreased compared to 2018.
The sharp increase in funds in the form of grants and subventions in 2020 is regarded as a measure to support the balance of the budget due to the shortfall in tax revenues due to the pandemic of the new coronavirus infection. Also to support the financial cushion for financing large-scale projects that won the selection. Thus, as of 2020, the implementation of the following projects continues: overhaul of the hydraulic structure on the Salda River, overhaul of the area named after A.K. Bykov, overhaul of the Paris Commune street, and the construction of capital construction facilities continues: a biological wastewater treatment facility, three gasification facilities (gas boiler houses), a ski base.
As and when these projects are implemented, new projects are developed, the standard of living of the population, based on the results of the socio-economic state of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda, a conclusion can be drawn about the effectiveness of the use and expenditure of budgetary funds, both of the local budget and higher budgets.
Assessing the effectiveness of budget expenditures, it is necessary to study the dynamics of budget execution in the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda in the context of 2018, 2019, 2020. Let us refer to table 2, which provides information on the direction of budget expenditures for three reporting years (see tab. 2).
Analyzing the data presented, it should be said that for the period under review, the value of the budget execution of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda never reached 100%, at the same time this value is at a level above the average. Since the achievement of a result of 100% is extremely unlikely due to objective reasons and other circumstances arising in each of the periods presented and independent of the actions of the administration of the city district of Nizhnyaya Salda, whether it be: natural disasters, a pandemic of a new coronavirus infection, unscrupulous contractors, etc., we can talk about satisfactory dynamics of spending budget funds. The largest leaps in deviation from planned values were recorded in the following areas: health care, housing and communal services, national economy and environmental protection. Their values range from 45 - 100 percent, therefore, it is impossible to assess unambiguously the effectiveness of their implementation based on the data presented in the table.
Identifying different approaches to assessing the effectiveness of budget expenditures, it is necessary to refer to the research works of colleagues touching upon this topic in the conditions of other territorial entities.
Table 2 - Dynamics of execution of the budget of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda by expenditures in 2018-2020, in thousand rubles [4]
|
Expenditures |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
||||||
|
Plan |
Fact |
% exec. |
Plan |
Fact |
% exec. |
Plan |
Fact |
% exec. |
|
|
Health care |
861.803 |
690.918 |
80.17 |
4 511.250 |
2 313.334 |
51.28 |
1 337.399 |
811.261 |
60.66 |
|
National issues |
46 741.587 |
45 386.477 |
97.1 |
97 791. 562 |
74 589. 756 |
81.26 |
54 660.816 |
52 938.351 |
96.85 |
|
National security and law enforcement |
7 482. 908 |
7 451.021 |
99.57 |
8 608. 499 |
8 558. 842 |
99.42 |
8 631.000 |
8 604.471 |
99.69 |
|
National economy |
50 799.419 |
46 386.706 |
91.31 |
192 206.577 |
107 327.556 |
55.84 |
194 234.101 |
157 706.379 |
81.19 |
|
Housing and communal services |
93 081.044 |
42 800.961 |
45.98 |
232 887.491 |
124 995.421 |
53.67 |
364 193.449 |
246 888.439 |
67.79 |
|
Environmental protection |
128. 372 |
128.370 |
100.0 |
1 066. 000 |
933.580 |
87.58 |
1 134.511 |
973.772 |
85.83 |
|
Education |
355 815.656 |
337 400.213 |
94.82 |
359 356.590 |
329 368.817 |
91.66 |
380 498.066 |
370 255.322 |
97.31 |
|
Culture, cinematography |
31 901.960 |
31 895.293 |
99.98 |
44 355. 093 |
44 352. 532 |
99.99 |
46 544.600 |
46 540.630 |
99.99 |
|
Social politics |
33 418.600 |
30 516.123 |
91.31 |
31 937. 084 |
29 782. 209 |
98.16 |
34 196.259 |
33 402.175 |
97.68 |
|
Physical Culture and sport |
11 433.366 |
11 333.823 |
99.13 |
11 397. 762 |
11 393. 775 |
99.96 |
11 479.500 |
11 472.719 |
99.94 |
|
Mass media |
2 244.000 |
2 244.000 |
100.0 |
2 200. 000 |
2 200. 000 |
100.0 |
2 200.000 |
2 200.000 |
100.00 |
|
Total expenses: |
633 908.715 |
556 233.905 |
87.75 |
977 295.408 |
735 815.822 |
75.29 |
1 099 109.701 |
931 793.519 |
84.78 |
For example, Astapov K.L., Musaev R.A., Malakhov A.A., representatives of M.V. Lomonosov MSU, in his scientific work, the final integral index is distinguished, as a reflection of the assessment of the effectiveness of the budget spending policy, which is calculated by weighing all measurements, taking into account the established specific weights, according to formula 1:
, (1)
where xi – indicator value over time i, xmin – the worst value of the indicator within the period under consideration, xmax – benchmark, reference point for the indicator.
Based on the calculations in the period from 2009-2019, using the example of budget expenditures of the Russian Federation for education and health care, colleagues concluded that the indicative indicators of budgetary policy increased, but did not reach the higher indicators that existed several years ago [5, p. 17].
As a second point of view, let us consider the methods identified by D.V. Tsydenova, a representative of the D. Banzarov BSU, for assessing the budgetary expenditures of the Zakamensk district of the Republic of Buryatia. These include:
1. Evaluation of the effectiveness of budget expenditures based on their structure.
2. Evaluation of the effectiveness of budgetary expenditures based on the ratio of budgetary provision. The budgetary security ratio is the sum of budget expenditures for a certain period per capita. Calculated by formula 2:
, (2)
where Cbs – budgetary security coefficient, E – budget expenditures for the period, S – population size in the region at a given period.
Thus, after analyzing the education sector of the Zakamensk region, D.V. Tsydenova. came to the conclusion that the main direction of cost optimization under the item "Education" is to reduce the cost of utilities and channel the released funds to increase staff salaries, purchase materials, food, etc. [6, p. 2].
Based on the considered methods for assessing the spending of budgetary funds of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Buriatia, one can make our own assessment of the efficiency of spending the budget of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda, using the formula for the budgetary provision coefficient applied by D.V. Tsydenova. when considering the effectiveness of spending budget funds on the education sector in the Zakamensk region of the Republic of Buryatia, and suitable for assessing in this scientific work (tab. 3).
Table 3 - an assessment of the efficiency of spending the budget of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda [3;4]
|
Indicator |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
|
Budget expenditures, million rubles |
556.234 |
735.816 |
931.794 |
|
Population, people |
17 627 |
17 605 |
17 508 |
|
Fiscal security ratio |
0.03 |
0.04 |
0.05 |
Summarizing Table 3, we come to the conclusion that an average of 0.04 million rubles is spent for each resident of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda in all the presented areas of spending budgetary funds of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda. There is also a noticeable trend towards an increase in the ratio of budgetary provision, which in turn indicates an annual increase in the funds spent.
Summing up the scientific work, we can agree with the fact that the assessment of the efficiency of spending budget funds is of a conditional nature, which straightforwardly evaluates digital values, overshadowing the realities and existing deviations, which in turn distorts the idea of the budgetary policy of a particular territorial entity.
Each author under consideration singles out for himself the most priority and easy-to-use method for assessing the effectiveness of budget expenditures. Often, using several methods at once to form a more complete picture. Based on the assessment made, one can talk about the effective or ineffective spending of the budget, looking for additional directions and opportunities for adjusting the budgetary policy in order to improve efficiency.
1. Afanasyev R.S. "The concept of the effectiveness of budget expenditures: theory and legislation" // Financial journal. - 2016. № 1. URL: https://nifi.ru/images/FILES/Journal/Archive/2016/1/stftii_1/fm_2016_1__06.pdf (appeal date 07.07.2021).
2. Noman Z. Performance Budgeting in the United Kingdom / OECD Journal on Budgeting. 2008. V. 8. № 1 URL: http://www.oecd.org/unitedkingdom/43411005.pdf (appeal date 07.07.2021).
3. Official website of the Duma of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda URL: http://duma-nsalda.ru/solutions (appeal date 14.07.2021).
4. Official website of the administration of the urban district of Nizhnyaya Salda URL: https://nsaldago.ru/economy/budget (appeal date 16.07.2021).
5. Astapov K.L., Musaev R.A., Malakhov A.A. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the policy of budgetary expenditures // Financial Journal. - 2020. N 6. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/otsenka-effektivnosti-politiki-byudzhetnyh-rashodov/viewer (appeal date 20.07.2021).
6. Tsydenova D.V. Evaluation of the efficiency of budget expenditures in the field of education (on the example of the Republic of Buryatia) // Ogarev online. - 2019. N 2 (128). URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/otsenka-effektivnosti-rashodov-byudzheta-v-sfere-obrazovaniya-na-primere-respubliki-buryatiya/viewer (appeal date 25.03.2021).
