Hiring more than 1,300 people has been planned by 22 Montenegrin municipalities, despite large debts for unpaid taxes and salary contributions. As many as 16 municipalities plan to hire more than one-third of their current number of employees.
Twenty-two Montenegrin local governments, through their staffing plans for 2025, have expressed the need to hire as many as 1355 new employees, of whom almost a quarter, 338, are intended to be hired on fixed-term contracts. In response to a request for free access to information, despite appeals to the Agency for the Protection of Personal Data and Free Access to Information, the municipalities of Petnjica and Plav, as well as one of the larger municipalities – Budva – have not replied to date, which means the total figure could increase further.
The greatest demand for new hiring was expressed in the staffing plan of the Capital City Podgorica, which plans to hire 141 people in 2025. Next are Herceg Novi with 115, and Ulcinj, which plans to hire 123 new employees. The smallest numbers were expressed by some of the smallest Montenegrin municipalities – Šavnik with 27, Plužine with 19, and Žabljak with 18 new jobs. However, if we compare these figures with the current number of employees, we see that Gusinje plans to almost double its workforce – requesting 63 new employees compared to the 67 already employed. Zeta seeks 57 compared to its 76 employees (75% of the current number), while Šavnik seeks 27 new employees compared to 39 already employed (69%). Ulcinj, Rožaje, and Herceg Novi are seeking 54%, 45%, and 36% respectively of their current workforce.
Only six municipalities (Nikšić, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Tivat, Berane, and Tuzi) plan in 2025 to hire fewer than one-third of their current employees, which is still a significant increase in administration, while nowhere is there evidence of rationalization, i.e. a reduction in the number of employees. According to staffing plans:
- Nikšić plans 20 hires compared to 439 employees (4.55%),
- Berane 23 compared to 262 (8.77%),
- Pljevlja 36 compared to 261 (13.79%),
- Podgorica 141 compared to 841 (16.76%),
- Tivat 32 compared to 172 (18.6%),
- Tuzi 28 compared to 113 employees (24.77%).
Thus, as many as 16 municipalities plan to hire more than 30% of their current workforce.
It is important to note that staffing plans of local governments do not include details on employment in local public institutions and companies, which means they provide only a limited view compared to overall local employment. Moreover, most municipalities planning new hires already owe significant amounts in unpaid salary taxes. According to the Information on the State of Local Public Finances as of December 31, 2024, prepared by the Ministry of Finance, of the 22 municipalities whose staffing plans we reviewed, only six have no significant debts: Gusinje, Kotor, Plužine, Tivat, Tuzi, and Zeta. Among the municipalities with the largest debts are Cetinje, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Rožaje, and Ulcinj. It should be noted that the total tax debt also includes debts of public institutions and companies established and owned by local self-governments.
| Municipality | Number of Employees | Planned to be Employed in 2025 | Share Compared to Current Employees | Tax and Contribution Debt (in million €) |
| Gusinje | 67 | 63 | 94% | 0.01 |
| Zeta | 76 | 57 | 75% | No debt |
| Šavnik | 39 | 27 | 69% | 0.45 |
| Ulcinj | 227 | 123 | 54% | 12.7 |
| Kolašin | 105 | 55 | 52% | 1.95 |
| Andrijevica | 60 | 31 | 52% | 0.32 |
| Cetinje | 186 | 87 | 47% | 21.23 |
| Rožaje | 243 | 111 | 46% | 11.06 |
| Herceg Novi | 313 | 115 | 37% | 0.37 |
| Kotor | 288 | 97 | 34% | 0.07 |
| Plužine | 57 | 19 | 33% | No debt |
| Bijelo Polje | 334 | 110 | 33% | 11.24 |
| Mojkovac | 86 | 28 | 33% | 1.58 |
| Danilovgrad | 146 | 47 | 32% | 4.46 |
| Žabljak | 57 | 18 | 32% | 0.82 |
| Bar | 278 | 87 | 31% | 1.17 |
| Tuzi | 113 | 28 | 25% | 0.01 |
| Tivat | 172 | 32 | 19% | No debt |
| Podgorica | 841 | 141 | 17% | 4.80 |
| Pljevlja | 261 | 36 | 14% | 12.10 |
| Berane | 262 | 23 | 9% | 18.8 |
| Nikšić | 439 | 20 | 5% | 14.71 |
The total number of systematized positions in the 22 analysed municipalities is 6,406, of which 4,650 (72%) are currently filled. Seventeen Montenegrin municipalities complied with the obligation prescribed by the Law on Local Self-Government to adopt staffing plans within 30 days of adopting the budget for the current year. Podgorica, Kotor, Ulcinj, and Berane adopted their staffing plans after the legal deadline, i.e. after March 7, 2025. However, some municipalities quickly moved to amend and supplement their newly adopted staffing plans; for example, Berane, from the first version adopted in mid-March, made as many as five amendments, the last one on July 11 this year.
In terms of data availability, only six municipalities have publicly posted their staffing plan for 2025 on their official websites: Herceg Novi, Nikšić, Pljevlja, Podgorica, Tuzi, and Zeta.
Staffing plans still lack sufficient justification. Even when justification is provided, it only details the positions to be filled, without clear explanations as to why there is a need for hiring (e.g. whether due to changes in jurisdiction, increased workload, etc.). Therefore:
- we appeal to local governments to rationalize hiring;
- we call on the Ministry of Finance and the Government to improve oversight in this area, in line with the legal framework and tax debt rescheduling agreements with most municipalities;
- we further highlight the importance of improving oversight of local institutions and companies, which remain outside the scope of already inadequate staffing plans.
Jelena Radulović
Institute Alternative
This analysis was prepared within the framework of the project “Civic Engagement for Better Local Governance”,funded by the European Union, with co-financing from the Ministry of Regional Development and Cooperation with NGOs. The content and views of the analysis are the sole responsibility of its author and they do not necessarily reflect the views of the donors.