Municipal finance fuels local government. And creating a sound enabling environment for local financial management requires work at both national and local levels of government.  

At the national level, appropriate policies and fiscal regulations are required to create an effective municipal finance framework ensuring that local governments are able to obtain the financial resources they need to carry out their mandated responsibilities. The structure of revenue sources, intergovernmental transfer mechanisms, incentives for sound fiscal management, creditworthiness requirements, and access to appropriate debt financing form the enabling environment for effective local governance. 

ICMA has worked with national ministries and local governments in a variety of international contexts. We know how to analyze municipal finance in terms of the national legal and policy framework, institutional arrangements for municipal debt financing, and local revenue enhancement. In addition to analysis, ICMA is experienced in designing and introducing changes—such as legal and regulatory reforms—at the national level. 

Similarly, ICMA has successfully introduced reforms at the local level that have resulted in substantial revenue enhancement. These have included property tax collection improvements and the introduction of e-governance techniques that enable the efficient collection of other municipal fees and charges.

ICMA has helped create independent municipal funds designed to facilitate the development of commercially viable municipal infrastructure projects, structured appropriately for mixed public/private financing, and operating sustainably over their normal life cycle. 

We have also worked with municipal officials and staff to establish or improve systems for accounting, budgeting, asset management, debt management, revenue forecasting, and taxation. And we have worked with jurisdictions to improve their creditworthiness. 

ICMA’s financial management programs are characterized by the following:

• Our approach is practical and pragmatic, in keeping with our emphasis on using finance practitioners as key members of our project teams.
• We encourage the creation of innovative, locally appropriate solutions to challenges in the field of municipal finance and revenue collection.
• We promote transparency and accountability in all aspects of financial management.

Here are examples of successful ICMA programs:

• In Lebanon, ICMA helped lay the groundwork for improved financial systems by preparing studies focusing on three key subject areas: (1) strengthening the municipal finance framework; (2) property tax modernization; and (3) assessing the Independent Municipal Fund.  The project involved development of:

Municipal budgeting and accounting systems (including performance-based budgeting)

Financial management and reporting procedures

Personnel management systems

Property tax assessment methodologies

Property tax billing, collection, and monitoring systems

Improved municipal real property management

IT system development and expertise in hardware/software specification in support of all of the foregoing areas.

• In Mexico, Costa Rica, and Argentina, ICMA Latinoamérica is assisting sub-national authorities in efforts to increase their ability to borrow at reasonable interest rates. Employing ICMA’s CityLinks model, municipal finance practitioners from U.S. jurisdictions have helped these authorities review the factors that affect their creditworthiness and design plans for improvement.
• ICMA has provided training on municipal bond financing to participants who accessed the session remotely from the Philippines (Manila), Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), and Indonesia (Jakarta), utilizing distance learning facilities at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• ICMA supported 13 municipalities in Guatemala as they implemented national-level integrated financial management and procurement systems —both of which improve transparency and accountability and foster citizen trust in government. As a subcontractor, ICMA’s role was to provide critical support at the national and local levels to strengthen local government financial management.  Program accomplishments included:

Implementing the integrated financial management system and established internal audit units in the municipalities, many of which are isolated and have high indigenous populations and high poverty and illiteracy rates

Designing and implementing a national-level certification program for municipal financial managers

Completing studies on the impact of the USAID-funded civil and tax registry systems implemented in previous programs, with recommendations for revisions and future replication

Developing guides to improving municipal financial administration and transparency, establishing municipal internal audit units, and raising own-source revenue generation in municipalities.

• As a result of ICMA’s work in Indonesia, more than 40 local governments began implementing performance-based budgets and holding regular public hearings to engage citizens in participatory budget processes. 
• As part of a comprehensive post-tsunami recovery and disaster mitigation plan to improve public infrastructure and basic services, ICMA worked with selected communities in India to strengthen municipal financial systems and improve the collection of property taxes and water user fees. 
• Through the Transparent Accountable Local Governance program, ICMA provided technical assistance to 35 local governments in Sri Lanka to help them improve and manage their financial systems, including budget development, financial reporting and reconciliation, improvement of internal control, and cash management techniques for greater transparency and effectiveness. 
• ICMA implemented a CityLinks partnership with Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, that included the design of transparent fee-collecting and revenue-tracking systems conforming to international accounting standards.  
• Another partnership with Rayong, Thailand, resulted in the development of a transparent five-year budgeting tool, as well as improved sound financial management practices and increased citizen involvement in the budget process. 
• ICMA worked in Montenegro to design and implement a market-based, locally administered property tax in an inclusive program that included the development of real estate tax software (consisting of land registry database and bill-generating modules), best practice dissemination, and training on mass property assessment. In addition, ICMA delivered a comprehensive financial management training program, including assessments and municipal finance and budgeting skills.