site.btaNational Audit Office, World Bank Discuss Challenges Facing Bulgarian Municipalities

A meeting on Wednesday between the Bulgarian National Audit Office (BNAO) and the World Bank established that revenue management and public procurement are among the main challenges that municipalities in Bulgaria face, BNAO reported. The topic was "A Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness and Capacity of Municipal Administration" in relation to a sub-national review of public finance in Bulgaria.

The agenda included matters relating to investment management by municipalities, human resource management and local tax collection. Revenue management and public procurement were identified as key challenges.

Public procurement is a problem due to the complex legal framework and frequent changes in it. The audits carried out identified anomalies in the planning and award of public procurement.

It was noted that municipalities face difficulties in applying for projects funded by the European Union. The requirements to be met by municipalities are complex, and there is a lack of experts to prepare applications according to the established rules. Omissions lead to financial corrections in project reporting. To solve these problems, municipalities use the services of external consultants.

While the collection of local municipal taxes is gradually improving, it is still not at a satisfactory level. Companies owe most unpaid local taxes and fees. It was recalled that the methodology for setting tax assessments in municipalities has not been updated for years. A new methodology for the municipal waste tax is to be implemented.

BNAO reported that municipalities follow the recruitment policy procedures. Small municipalities however, struggle to recruit and retain qualified staff, which impacts the quality of their work.