Budget and financial plan  

Each county must draw up a budget for each calendar year. The county council will approve the budget by the end of the previous year. In connection with the budget approval, the county council must also approve a financial plan for three or more years. The budget year is the first year of the financial plan. 
 
The budget includes the appropriations and revenue estimates required to fulfil the duties and meet the operating targets of the county, and it indicates how the funding requirement will be covered. Counties can take out long-term loans for investments if the Government has granted budget authority for borrowing. The county cannot otherwise use long-term to debt cover its financing needs. 
 
A county’s financial plan must be drawn up so that it is in balance or surplus no later than at the end of the second year of the financial plan. In practice, a single year of the financial plan can be in deficit, as long as the other years in the plan accumulate an equal amount of surplus. 

Counties report their budgets, financial plans and financial statements to the State Treasury annually.