Evaluation of municipal budgets in terms of effectiveness and service satisfaction: The example of Siirt Municipality

Due to the increase in the population of cities and changes in individual needs, the responsibilities of local public institutions have also increased. In this regard, the importance of the services provided by municipalities has increased. The increase in the types and numbers of services has brought about certain costs. In the current economic system, where revenues cannot be increased to the desired extent, it is extremely important to plan expenses more accurately. In the study, the changes in the income items and expense items in the budget of Siirt Municipality were examined on a yearly basis. It has been seen in which years the municipal budget had a deficit. It was tried to measure whether the municipal budgets were used effectively in the face of increasing municipal expenses and to what extent the individuals who benefited from the services were satisfied with the services. In this context, interviews were conducted with thirty Siirt participants residing in Siirt through a semi-structured interview form, using the phenomenology pattern, one of the qualitative research methods. Based on the interviews and the municipality's budget data, it was concluded that the municipal budget could not be used effectively. However, it has been concluded that service satisfaction is very low, especially regarding the municipality's daily cleaning works, zoning, green areas, urban transformation and transportation services. In addition, it has been concluded that there is dissatisfaction with the property tax, announcement and advertising tax, and environmental and cleaning taxes, which generate tax revenue for the municipality, especially with regard to the tax collection method and sanctions.