The article deals with the negative problems of financial policies of municipalities caused by external, rather than financial reasons. It analyses field researches held in 2009-2012 in the Republic of Dagestan, Altai  Krai, Tverskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kirovskaya, Kostramskaya, Smolenskaya oblast. They all   belong to the group of endowments. There were 21 municipalities that participated in the research:  5 city circuits, 7 municipal districts, 8 rural settlements and 1 urban settlement.

The research singled out the main non-financial reasons for ineffective management of finances at the municipal level such as: (1) peculiarities of the developed system of real relationships between the state and municipal authorities; (2) negative impact of personal features of the head of the municipality on the quality of management; (3) municipal bureaucrats lack any stimulus to increase the revenue base.

Recommendations: state bodies of power should heed the opinion and support initiatives of local authorities to increase financial security. To stimulate municipalities for increasing their own revenues, it is necessary that state programs for the promotion of more successful municipalities into regions that have no such programs should be adopted. Such programs must stimulate developing of the depressive municipalities without decreasing stimuli to develop in the successful municipalities. Besides, it necessary regions should develop cooperation and exchange positive experience in this field.