The 2027 draft budget foresees an increase in funding for local government, but along with the figures comes uncertainty that directly affects how public money will be administered. The transfer tables also include 15 municipalities expected to lose their status as separate units, while the mechanism for dividing funds, projects and financial liabilities remains unclear in the official version.
114.6 billion lek for local government
According to the draft budget, the fund for local government in 2027 is planned at 114.6 billion lek, an increase of 2.4% compared with 2026.
Part of this money will go to municipalities through transfers from the State Budget. The document provides 49.4 billion lek for local self-government units, or 4% more than a year earlier.
How the transfers are divided
The largest part of the fund consists of the general unconditional transfer, which according to the draft budget reaches 29.3 billion lek. This figure is 5.2% higher than in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the sectoral unconditional transfer is projected at 19.9 billion lek, with an increase of 2.4%. In practice, these are the funds that keep a considerable part of local operations running, so the way they are distributed carries direct political and financial weight.
Tirana, Durrës and Elbasan receive the largest share
On the list of the main beneficiaries for 2027, Tirana ranks first with about 7.07 billion lek. It is followed by Durrës with 2.69 billion lek and Elbasan with 2.09 billion lek.
In the same table come Fier with 1.88 billion lek and Vlora with 1.69 billion lek. These five municipalities receive the largest share of the transfers identified in the document.
Nearly 6 billion lek also for municipalities expected to be merged
One of the points raising the most questions is that funds have also been calculated for 15 municipalities expected to be merged as separate local units. In total, 5.95 billion lek has been earmarked for them.
Among these units, the largest beneficiary is Maliq with nearly 797 million lek. It is followed by Divjakë with 575 million lek, Prrenjas with 486 million lek and Cërrik with 452 million lek.
According to the forecast in the draft budget, after the consolidation of the new units, unused funds will be transferred to the receiving municipalities.
Uncertainty over projects and financial liabilities
However, the change in the territorial map raises issues that are not explained in detail in the official presentations of the draft budget. It remains unclear exactly how funds, ongoing projects and financial liabilities will be redistributed between the municipalities being merged and those that will absorb them.
This uncertainty becomes even more acute because the reform is expected to be implemented within the same financial year. While the draft budget continues to be discussed in committees, the documents so far do not provide operational details for a process that directly affects the local administration of public money.
On paper, funding for local government is increasing again in 2027. But the way municipalities expected to disappear as separate units have also been included in the scheme shifts the debate from the propaganda of figures to the most important question: how will this money actually be managed, and who will be responsible for transferring it from one structure to another?