The financing of municipal investments with debt instruments – prospects and risks

Abstract

The subject of the article is the analysis of the size of the debt of communes and cities with poviat cities rights in relation to the size of their investment expenditures. The results of the research are presented for the whole country, divided into individual types of communes and cities with poviat rights, taking into account regional differences (in the voivodship system). The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the importance of indebted market instruments in financing investments of communes and cities with poviat rights, as well as their impact on the current and the future financial situation of local government units. While preparing the article, there were used methods of statistical and economic analysis, the corelation analysis was carried out and research results were described. The statistics of the Central Statistical Office and the Ministry of Finance were analyzed and the results of the original surveys were used. In many communes lack of sufficient budgetary resources for the implementation of investment tasks constitutes a significant development barrier. For many local governments, the opportunity to accelerate development processes and implement infrastructure investments is the use of debt market instruments. Based on the carried out analyzes, the relationship between the size of the debt and the size of the investment and the financial result can be confirmed. The period of high investment means the demand for external sources of financing, and thus also debt funds, including co-financing EU projects. An important condition for incurring and issuing bonds is a skillfully conducted credit policy and rational debt management. It has a significant impact on the current and the future financial situation of municipalities.