World Bank2014-09-092014-09-092014-06-05https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20009Since the global financial crisis, Serbia's public debt has more than doubled. Local Governments (LGs) need to find ways to perform more efficiently, not only to contribute to national fiscal consolidation efforts, but also because they may have fewer resources available in the future. This report represents a continuation of the World Bank effort to explore LGs finances. The first phase of this report focused on options for increases in local revenues; impact of further decentralization; options for reduction of subsidies in selected sectors; and how to control the public debt. The report is organized as follows. Chapter 2 examines LG hiring and pay policies. In addition to offering recommendations on how to achieve efficiency and savings, it sheds light on employment wage policies within LG enterprises. Chapter 3 deepens the analysis of local public utility companies (PUCs), which not only have significant responsibilities for delivering local services, but also often pose a significant pressure on LG budgets. On average, financial support to PUCs accounts for a quarter of local budgets. This chapter looks at the main issues and makes recommendations for efficiency gains. Chapter 4 discusses the most important public financial management issues for LGs, asking where better management and accountability could increase value-for-money and help extract additional benefits from current and capital expenditures. It examines budget preparation, execution, and reporting issues as a basis for recommending policies to increase transparency and accountability as well as more efficient use of resources. Chapter 5 summarizes the main conclusions and policy recommendations of the report.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOACCOUNTABILITYACCOUNTING STANDARDSACCUMULATION OF ARREARSASSETSAUTONOMYBALANCE SHEETSBALANCED BUDGETSBENEFICIARIESBIDSBORROWINGBUDGET ACCOUNTINGBUDGET CONSTRAINTBUDGET EXECUTIONBUDGET PROCESSBUDGETINGBUSINESS PLANBUSINESS PLANSCAPACITY BUILDINGCAPITAL EXPENDITURESCAPITAL MARKETSCAPITAL PROJECTSCENTRAL REGISTRYCITIESCOLLECT PAYMENTSCOMMERCIAL TRANSACTIONSCONCESSIONSCONSUMER PRICE INDEXCONSUMER PROTECTIONCONTINGENT LIABILITIESCORPORATE GOVERNANCECREDITSCURRENCYDEBT PROBLEMDEBT RATIODEBT-EQUITYDECENTRALIZATIONDEFICITSDEPRECIATIONECONOMIC RECOVERYENFORCEMENT MECHANISMENFORCEMENT MECHANISMSENFORCEMENT PROCEDURESEQUITY INVESTMENTSESTATEEXPENDITUREFINANCIAL ACCOUNTSFINANCIAL CRISISFINANCIAL INCENTIVESFINANCIAL INDICATORSFINANCIAL MANAGEMENTFINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SPECIALISTFINANCIAL PERFORMANCEFINANCIAL RESOURCESFINANCIAL RISKFINANCIAL STATEMENTSFINANCIAL SUPPORTFISCAL BURDENFISCAL DEFICITFISCAL POLICYFIXED ASSETSGOVERNMENT DEFICITGOVERNMENT EXPENDITURESGOVERNMENT REGULATIONSGOVERNMENT SPENDINGHARD BUDGETIMMOVABLE ASSETSINCOMEINCOME STATEMENTINFLATIONINFORMATION SYSTEMSINFORMATION TECHNOLOGYINSOLVENCYINSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGSINSOLVENTINSUFFICIENT FUNDSINTERGOVERNMENTAL FISCAL RELATIONSINTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONSINTERGOVERNMENTAL TRANSFERSINTERNAL AUDITINVENTORIESINVENTORYINVESTINGISSUANCEJUDICIARYJURISDICTIONJURISDICTIONSLABOR COSTSLABOR FORCELABOR LAWLARGE CITIESLATE PAYMENTSLAWSLEGAL FRAMEWORKLEGAL IMPEDIMENTSLEGAL REQUIREMENTSLEGISLATIONLEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKLIQUIDITYLIQUIDITY PROBLEMSLIQUIDITY RATIOSLIQUIDITY SUPPORTLIVING STANDARDSLOCAL AUTHORITIESLOCAL BUDGETSLOCAL ENTERPRISESLOCAL FEESLOCAL FINANCESLOCAL GOVERNMENTLOCAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEESLOCAL GOVERNMENT SPENDINGLOCAL GOVERNMENTSLOCAL INFRASTRUCTURELOCAL LEVELLOCAL OFFICIALSLOCAL PUBLIC SECTORLOCAL SPENDINGLOCAL TAXESLOSS-MAKINGMANDATEMARKET SHAREMONETARY FUNDMUNICIPALMUNICIPAL BONDSMUNICIPAL FINANCEMUNICIPALITIESMUNICIPALITYNATIONAL BUDGETNATURAL MONOPOLIESNET PROFITOPEN MARKETSOWNERSHIP RIGHTSPENALTIESPENALTYPENSIONPENSION FUNDPERSONAL INCOMEPERSONAL INCOME TAXPOOR FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTPRIVATE ENFORCEMENTPRIVATE INVESTORSPRIVATE SECTORPROCUREMENT PROCEDURESPRODUCTIVITYPROPERTY RIGHTSPROVISIONSPUBLICPUBLIC AGENCIESPUBLIC COMPANIESPUBLIC DEBTPUBLIC EMPLOYEESPUBLIC EMPLOYMENTPUBLIC ENTERPRISEPUBLIC ENTERPRISESPUBLIC FINANCEPUBLIC FINANCESPUBLIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENTPUBLIC INSTITUTIONSPUBLIC PROCUREMENTPUBLIC PROCUREMENT LAWPUBLIC PROPERTYPUBLIC REVENUESPUBLIC SECTORPUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTINGPUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYEESPUBLIC SECTOR EMPLOYMENTPUBLIC SECTOR WAGEPUBLIC SERVICEPUBLIC SERVICESPUBLIC SPENDINGPUBLIC TRANSPORTPUBLIC TRANSPORT NETWORKSPUBLIC TRANSPORTATIONPUBLIC UTILITIESREAL PROPERTYRECEIVABLESRECORD KEEPINGREGULATORY FRAMEWORKREVENUE MANAGEMENTROADSSALARIESSALARYSAVINGSSECURITIESSETTLEMENTSEWAGESOLID WASTE MANAGEMENTSTREETSTAXTECHNICAL ASSISTANCETRANSFER OF OWNERSHIPTRANSFER OF PROPERTYTRANSITION ECONOMIESTRANSPARENCYURBAN DEVELOPMENTURBAN PLANNINGUSER CHARGESUTILITIESVALUATIONWAGESWATER SUPPLYWRITTEN CONTRACTS10.1596/20009