The Executive Budget has the functions shown in the chart located on the right-hand side of this page:

The link between strategy and budget in the Executive Budget are the budgetary programs, which are defined as the series of goods, services and initiatives intended to achieve specific results in terms of public benefits. The programs are broken down into sub-programs, which represent the lowest budgetary level and involve lines of action or the provision of differentiated goods and services.

As budgetary endowments for providing and implementing a series of goods, services and initiatives aimed at achieving certain aims or results, the programs enable budgetary resources to be organized strategically. This strategic arrangement enables the budget to be structured strategically and allows strategic budgetary decisions to be taken, both in the allocation of resources and in budgetary monitoring and performance. Because they are defined at relatively similar strategic levels, the goals established under the Municipal Action Program (PAM) and the budgetary programs can be linked and associated.

The Executive Budget involves gearing the various stages to the budgetary cycle towards an efficient allocation of public resources (resource allocation according to priorities and results) and an efficient and effective use of these resources, meaning obtaining the desired results in the most economic and effective possible way. This corresponds to the three main stages of the budgetary cycle as follows:

• Budget preparation and approval: the established priorities and main results to be obtained involve the main criteria for taking resource-allocation decisions concerning programs, goods and services and initiatives.
• Budget execution: programs are executed in terms expenditures and results, where possible deviations can be detected and resolved through monitoring and control processes.
• Budget outturn: once the fiscal year has ended, programs performance/results information is collected
  and the corresponding degree of fulfillment is examined, to improve their results.