Impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the use of local government funds

¹ University of Zilina, Faculty of Security Engineering, Univerzitna 1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia
² University of Zilina, Faculty of Operation and Economics of Transport and Communications, Univerzitna 1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovakia

^* Corresponding author: viktor.soltes@uniza.sk

Abstract

Research background: Municipalities, as entities of local government, finance the performed activities on the basis of the budget, which has a program structure. However, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, municipal incomes have declined. Municipalities therefore had to adjust their budgets and reduce expenditures, which could disrupt several processes in municipalities.

Purpose of the article: The main aim of the paper is to analyse the budgets of selected local government entities and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of funds by municipalities with an emphasis on the security area.

Methods: In order to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of funds by municipalities, a detailed analysis of the budgets and final accounts of selected municipalities will be carried out. The amount of income and expenditure in these municipalities before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic will be examined. For this purpose, basic scientific methods and methods of mathematical statistics will be used.

Findings & Value added: Based on the assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the budgets of municipalities, it will be possible to determine the activities that experienced the largest revenue shortfalls due to the fact that the municipalities could not finance them from their revenues. The contribution of the paper will be recommendations that should prevent such situations in the future and thus prevent the amount of damage that has been recorded as a result of the loss of income of municipalities.