Assessment of local budget deficit in the context of global challenges: Content, causes and ways of optimization

Introduction. The impact of global challenges in the modern world establishes its own technologies for achieving balance in planning and using budget finances in Russia. These problems acquire a special spectrum within the framework of a large number, diversity of legal types, natural and geographical features of the territory and financial independence of local budgets. Local budgets are the most significant source of financing for public utility infrastructure facilities that residents of municipalities use every day, which ultimately determines the comfort and quality of living in the local area. This article aims to consider the theoretical and methodological approaches to the content and causes of the local budget deficit and to substantiate the criteria for the effectiveness of its financing with an uncertain revenue base and increasing costs for organizing the provision of municipal services in all areas of expenditure obligations of local governments. To substantiate the working hypothesis of the study, we point out that local budgets of all legal types of municipalities have gratuitous transfers from higher-level budgets as the main source of revenue base, a small amount of tax initiative and budgetary powers to assess their expenditure obligations. As a rule, all these powers are regulated at the federal and regional levels. The methodological basis of the study was the provisions of the Keynesian and neo-Keynesian schools of budget regulation, taking into account the new model of municipal governance. The empirical basis of the study was the control indicators of draft budgets of a number of municipalities of the Sverdlovsk region, obtained by the author from official sources and the results of the webinar with representatives of financial departments as part of local governments of the Sverdlovsk region. Results and conclusions. The results of the study identified the criteria for the formation and implementation of an effective budget deficit policy, formulated practical recommendations for local governments to optimize the financing of the local budget deficit and servicing the debt obligations of the municipality in the context of prevention and adaptation to global challenges. As further directions of scientific research, it is necessary to indicate an assessment of the possibilities of applying these criteria by local governments to the reformed provisions of the budget legislation of Russia, expected for 2030-2036.