Features of the implementation of the financial and legal status of municipalities, included in urban agglomerations

The subject of research is financial legal issues of the development of urban agglomerations.

The purpose of the article is to confirm or refute hypothesis that the primary financial support for urban agglomerations is carried out at the federal level, based on federal programs for the development of the road network. Hence, municipalities that are part of urban agglomerations receive federal inter-budget transfers aimed at the development of roads and road infrastructure as the most critical link for the development of agglomerations.

The methodology The methodological basis of the research is formal-logical analysis of federal, regional, and municipal legal acts, methods of statistical analysis, generalization and synthesis are also used.

The main results and scope of their application. Urbanization of territories, urban population growth leads to the development of urban agglomerations. This phenomenon has been known for a long time, in foreign countries urban agglomerations are successfully developing. The formation of urban agglomerations is called one of the possible forms of regulation of intergovernmental relations.  The Russian model for the development of agglomerations so far follows the path of allocating inter-budget transfers from the federal budget.

Agglomeration development is possible only with the interaction of all municipalities included in its composition, and the coordination of their actions, coordination of the regulatory framework of municipalities, including those aimed at optimizing budget expenditures. In this regard, the regulatory legal acts of the municipalities included in the agglomeration must reflect requirements for inter-municipal cooperation, including the financing of agglomeration development projects.

Because the primary financing of the road sector is carried out through road funds, it is concluded that there is a need for effective financial control over the spending of road funds, including using new information technologies. Shortcomings of introducing a publicly accessible information-analytical system for monitoring the formation and use of road funds are noted, and suggestions are made for improving the information system to implement the principle of openness (accessibility) of data on budget spending.

Conclusions. The tendency of the territorial association of municipalities in the agglomeration, on the one hand, is due to the requirements of the time and follows the experience of many foreign countries. On the other hand, in the absence of sufficient regulatory regulation of agglomeration processes, most of the financial support for the development of agglomerations is carried out from the federal center. Road funds act are the source of financing the development of urban agglomerations, since the development of the transport system of urban agglomerations should be called one of the priority projects at the federal level, which is carried out at the expense of the federal budget. The conclusion is drawn on the need for effective financial control over the expenditure of funds of road funds, including the use of new information technologies.

Urban agglomeration, inter-municipal co-operation, financial support, budget, budget transfers, road funds, financial control, information technologies

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