Budget Transparency in Czech Local Government

The paper evaluates budget transparency in Czech local government. The Disclosure requirements specified in the legislation are fragmented: not all existing budget documents must be published and noncompliance only leads to sanctions in some cases. Analysis and comparison of disclosure practice in the 22 Prague districts revealed that districts comply with the disclosure requirements stipulated in the Budgetary rules but often fail to comply with the requirements stipulated by the freedom of information legislation. The commitment to transparency in form of a policy statement has no impact on the overall evaluation of the districts but it is positively associated with compilation of narratives accompanying both the draft budget and draft year-end report. The size of the district plays only a limited role.