Alexey Buz
Government Secretary-General Alexei Buza announced this during a press conference today while presenting the results of the first phase of the voluntary consolidation of municipal administrations.
He once again outlined the reasons for this large-scale reform: it is driven by the complex demographic and economic realities in rural areas. Today, in settlements with fewer than 3,000 residents, eight out of ten families lack access to water supply and sewer systems, and the population has declined by one-third over the past ten years.
At the same time, these municipalities’ own revenues account for an average of just 11% of their budgets, which is roughly one-third of the administrative expenses required simply to keep the municipality running.
The deadline has been extended until the end of August
As Logos Press previously reported , for approximately 200 municipalities that are completing the consultation and decision-making phase, the deadline has been extended until the end of August, and they will continue to receive technical and logistical support from the State Chancellery.
In August, the government will work with the merged local administrations to develop development projects funded by allocations from the state budget.
In the fall, the authorities will submit a draft law to parliament that will establish the country’s new administrative-territorial structure. This will be followed by a one-year transition period leading up to the general local elections in 2027, after which municipalities that have not opted for voluntary consolidation will be included in the process of statutory consolidation.
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