During the first six months of 2016, revenues of the general fund of local budgets of 159 amalgamated communities (inclusive of transfers from the state budget) totalled UAH 3.1 billion. It is almost seven times more than the amount received in the respective period of 2015 by the budgets of local councils which merged in the amalgamated communities.

It was informed so by Vice-Prime Minister - Minister of Regional Development, Construction and Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine Hennadii Zubko who commented on the results of the analytical survey of the implementation of budgets by 159 amalgamated communities which were established in the previous year.

According to him, the amount of inter-budgetary transfers from the state budget to the budgets of amalgamated communities totalled UAH 1.77 billion, in particular, the educational government grant totalled UAH 916 million, health care, UAH 410 million, the government grant for the formation of infrastructure, UAH 333 million. UAH 110 million were channelled from the state budget to the budgets of the amalgamated territorial communities for levelling off their taxpaying capacity.

"Due to financial decentralisation, the earned revenues of local budgets of the amalgamated communities increased by more than three times in 2016 - from UAH 418 million to UAH 1.3 billion. Revenues per person in the respective territory increased on the average by UAH 667 (from UAH 288 to UAH 955). The amalgamated communities allocated funds for spending on development in the amount of UAH 149 million, in particular, for the repair of roads, landscaping, and housing and communal services, UAH 93 million, renovation and modernisation of social and cultural establishments, UAH 31 million", emphasised Hennadii Zubko.

According to him, in comparison with the beginning of 2016, the balance of the general fund of local budgets of the amalgamated communities increased by twice and totalled UAH 748 million as of 1 July.

For reference purposes:

The survey of the implementation of budgets by 159 amalgamated territorial communities which were established in the previous year was carried out at the initiative of the Ministry of Regional Development, with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance, the State Statistics Service, Oblast State Administrations, and the DESPRO Swiss-Ukrainian Decentralisation Support Project in Ukraine.

The materials demonstrate the dynamics of achievement of budget targets by the communities in the first six months of 2015 prior to becoming a part of the voluntarily amalgamated territorial communities and in the first six months of 2016 after the voluntary amalgamation of those territorial communities and the acquisition thereby of the right to direct inter-budgetary relations with the state budget.

Please find the whole monitoring survey HERE