Slovak municipalities condemn compressed timetable for national budget talks

Slovakia’s association of cities and municipalities, ZMOS, said on October 4, 2026, that the state’s handling of consultations on the proposed 2027–2029 public administration budget was unacceptable, after extensive documents were delivered shortly before a Monday meeting of the Slovak Economic and Social Council.¹²

Hours to assess the proposal

According to ZMOS, the Economic and Social Council was convened late on Friday, while social and territorial partners received a large package of budget materials on Sunday morning. They were then expected to provide a qualified position on Monday morning, when the Finance Ministry’s proposal was due to undergo mandatory discussion with territorial partners.¹²

ZMOS said the consultation was announced only two days in advance. It argued that several hours were not enough to evaluate the proposal’s consequences for cities and municipalities or for the services they provide to residents. The proposal was scheduled to proceed to a government meeting two days after the Monday consultation.¹²

The association said it would nevertheless participate in the Monday meeting to represent cities and municipalities and identify the proposal’s effects on local government. ZMOS maintained that a mandatory consultation with self-governments should not become merely a procedural step before the government considers the budget.¹²

Municipal budgets remain under pressure

In a separate announcement on September 29, ZMOS said local governments were preparing their 2027 budgets without a published public administration budget proposal. The association also said municipalities needed clarity on the debt-brake issue and on the outcome of continuing collective bargaining for 2027. These statements came from ZMOS’s own notice and were not independently confirmed by the other dossier sources.³

The debt-brake law has constitutional status and cannot be altered by a simple parliamentary majority. ZMOS chairman Jozef Božik said local governments were waiting for a Constitutional Court ruling concerning the constitutional law and might seek a meeting with court representatives to establish when a decision would be issued.¹

ZMOS also highlighted a separate financial obligation facing municipalities. Mechanical-biological treatment of mixed municipal waste is due to become compulsory in 2027, raising waste-management costs that local governments are legally required to reflect in local fees.¹

Božik said similar changes had previously been postponed, but, according to TASR, he did not expect another delay because of the current domestic political situation. He said waste management could not be subsidised from shared taxes, property-tax revenue or dog-registration fees.¹

The waste-treatment requirement will fall to the municipal councils, mayors and heads of municipalities taking office after this year’s local elections. ZMOS said the new representatives would need to submit budget proposals that allow municipalities to operate from the start of the new year, irrespective of the election results.¹

Planned briefing in Zvolen

ZMOS said it planned a press briefing during a meeting of its council at Hotel Tenis in Zvolen. According to the association’s announcement, the event would focus on preparations for 2027 municipal budgets, readiness for mechanical-biological waste treatment and the costs of implementing the requirement.³