The government has included in the draft local government budget for 2027 a distribution of funds that continues to treat all 61 municipalities as separate units, even though Parliament has already approved a territorial reform reducing them to 46. This mismatch raises questions about how funds, powers and local structures will be administered once implementation of the new map begins.
The budget follows the old map
According to the draft budget, a total of 48.2 billion lek is planned to be distributed from the unconditional transfer for municipalities in 2027 to the 61 existing municipalities, through the general transfer and sectoral transfers.
Of this amount, 26.83 billion lek is the general unconditional transfer. The rest is allocated to specific functions, including preschool and pre-university education, fire protection, rural roads, irrigation and drainage, forest administration, salary increases, and urban waste management.
However, the funding table still does not reflect how redistribution will be carried out after the territorial reorganization. In practice, 15 municipalities that the new law merges with other units continue to appear as separate beneficiaries.
The reform was approved, but funding was not adjusted
Parliament approved the new territorial division on October 9, 2026, with 85 votes in favor. According to the official version, the reform aims to concentrate financial and administrative resources, reduce operating costs, and improve local services.
But the draft budget for the following year still does not reflect this change. This leaves open a practical gap: how funds, staff, obligations and responsibilities will pass from the municipalities being dissolved to the units that will absorb them.
Specific cases where funds remain separate
One of the clearest cases is Fushë-Arrëz, which under the reform will be merged with Pukë. In the 2027 draft budget, Fushë-Arrëz appears with 299.2 million lek, while Pukë has 377.5 million lek, meaning both are still treated as separate funding units.
The same pattern appears with Klos and Mat. The draft budget provides 362.2 million lek for Klos and 618.2 million lek for Mat, even though the reform places them within the same future administrative structure.
In Tirana County, Rrogozhinë, which is expected to merge with Kavajë, has separate funding of 396.2 million lek, while Kavajë has 738.1 million lek. In Fier, Patos and Divjakë continue to receive separate transfers of 416.6 million and 575 million lek respectively, even though the new map provides for their merger with Fier and Lushnjë.
In Elbasan as well, Cërrik and Belsh appear with separate funding, although under the reform they will be included in the Municipality of Elbasan. The same logic is followed for other municipalities such as Maliq, Prrenjas, Këlcyrë, Memaliaj and Libohovë.
What remains unanswered
The merger of municipalities changes the administrative structure that will manage the funds, even when the territory, population and service needs remain the same. This directly affects the financing of local administration, education, fire protection, road maintenance and forest administration.
In this situation, the issue is not only how much money is allocated, but to whom it will actually go, with what powers and under what system of responsibility. So far, the draft budget does not provide that clarity, while implementation of the reform is tied to the 2027 local elections.
Until the institutional reorganization, the existing municipalities continue to perform their functions and, consequently, continue to need funding. But the mismatch between the approved map and the funding table turns the 2027 local budget into a document that leaves more questions than answers.
The practical debate is now no longer only about reform on paper, but about how public money will be managed when administrative boundaries change and the budget continues to behave as if nothing has moved.
In the absence of a clear transition scheme, the burden of uncertainty remains on local government and on taxpayers waiting to understand where the funds end up and who is responsible for them.