The article is devoted to the city budget of Moscow for 2016 and the planning period of 2017–2018. On the basis of the analysis of effective management of the city budget of Moscow, it is shown that, despite the discrepancy of strategic objectives (the budget of development and social orientation) and negative tendencies in the economy of the region and the country in general, principles, whose consecutive realization will allow to provide steady functioning of the regional budgetary mechanism, have been put into the basis of 2016–2018 budget formation. It is noted that one of the strengths of the city budget of Moscow is preservation of the medium-term horizon of budget planning within whose development the preparation of a long-term budgetary forecast is supposed in the perspective. A package of measures, aimed at the development of the region’s profit potential and the increase of effective management of the budgetary income, as well as the directions of tax and investment policy development in Moscow have been considered. At the same time it is noted that a rather low level of the volume of receipts from regional taxes, it especially relates to the share of property taxes that possess the greatest stability and independence from the change of global and local financial and economic conditions, causes concerns. The consecutive use of program and target budgeting instruments when forming the account part of the budget of Moscow is assessed positively, at the same time it is noted that the purposes and indicators of the realized state programs have a number of essential shortcomings. The article presents positive experience of the region regarding the replacement of budgetary resources with private investments on the basis of expanded use of participation financing instruments in the budgetary practice such as life cycle contracts and concession agreements. The mechanism of debt obligations management and the main directions of the subject’s debt policy are analyzed. The conclusion is drawn that as current trends of the development of public finances cause the need to increase effective management of budgetary resources, the growth of public finances efficiency is impossible until program and target budgeting technology is consecutively applied on the basis of strategic management of the budget income and expenditures.