EVOLUTION OF THE LOCAL BUDGET REVENUES AND EXPENSES. CASE STUDY: ORĂȘTIE TOWN HALL, HUNEDOARA COUNTY

At present, the elaboration of budgets at any level is a real problem especially due to the need of respecting the budget balance principle, since the need for financial resources is greater than the existing funds necessary for a good development of the economic activites. Consequently, by this work, the authors deal with aspects concerning the general framework and procedures of creation, administration, commission and use of the local public funds, and the responsibilities of the local public authorities and of the public institutions involved in the domain of local public finances. The paper deals, on the level of an administrative-territorial unit with a number of about 20.000 inhabitants, with the aggregate budget revenues and expenses that make up the general budget of the respective unit, after consolidation, by the elimination of the transfers of sums between budgets, reflecting the dimension of the public financial effort, on the level of the year 2016 and its state of balance or imbalance. To analyze the data, the authors realized a case study regarding the evolution of the local budget revenues and expenses, at a public entity of Hunedoara County, the results obtained being analyzed and interpreted under the economic and social aspect. The overall objective of this study refers to the possibility of strengthening the operational and financial autonomy of the administrative-territorial unit and the local budget. Although at the national level, the laws necessary for the budget system operation were elaborated on the principle of local autonomy, however, at the level of administrative units we cannot yet speak of the existence of a real local autonomy, whereas the revenues of the local budgets are not sufficient to cover the expense level. The paper ends with the authors’ conclusions related to the need to increase the financial resources mobilized available to the local public authorities, by means of the local budgets, in order to realize the local autonomy - an essential objective of the reform in local public administration.