A execução orçamentária nos munícipios da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre - RMPA sob a lei de responsabilidade fiscal (2000-2004-2005).

Abstract

The Fiscal Responsibility Act (LRF) - Complementary Act No 101/2000 is a code of conduct for public administration officers that established rules and limits for public spending in the national, state and municipal levels in Brazil. According to its provisions, public administration officers are bound to explain why and how they spend money. The basic principles of the LRF are planning, control, transparency and responsibility; also, management reports are used as an instrument which provide information on public finances; results of revenues and expenditures; limits for personnel costs, indebtedness, grant and increase of tax benefits, designated funds, remainder payable and sanctions for noncompliance with the provisions of the law. Although the Fiscal Responsibility Act has been introduced six years ago, conceptual and operational controversies indicate that its foundations, objectives and norms have not yet been correctly apprehended by the citizens and by a significant number of governmental officers. As a result of the proposed fiscal adjustment, major public investments are sacrificed in the name of the development of municipalities and the country. The view that metropolitan regions concentrate the best opportunities for growth as well as the most serious social problems led us to choose the Metropolitan Region of Porto Alegre as the object of the present study. The region is here presented as a dynamic phenomenon of urban-regional integration and the diversity, specialization and integration of its municipalities are truly representative of the reality of Brazilian municipalities.