The article is devoted to urgent issues of reforming local self-government. It has been proved that decentralization of public authority is a mechanism that ensures sustainable development of the regions of the state on the basis of legislatively regulated processes of transfer of functions, authority and budgets of central executive bodies to local self-government bodies. The peculiarities in process of decentralization of power and reform of local self-government in Ukraine have been analyzed. As a result, we have some positive tendencies of the implementation this reform and some problems as well. The main ones are: the inconsistency of local policy about socio-economic development with real interests of territorial communities; lack of joint and several liability for development of the territory; inconsistency of sectoral decentralization with the real interests of territorial communities; regulation in rights of ownership of the territorial community for property, etc. The classical models of organization of local self-government and decentralization of public authority in foreign countries have been reviewed. They were: Anglo-Saxon, Continental and mixed ones. The dynamics of decentralization of public authority in Poland were examined and it was proved that this reform contributed to the formation of private property in state, development of democracy, creation of effective political institutions, increase of resource base of local self-government bodies, the protection of individual rights, development of civil and political freedom. The basic conditions for implementation the reform of decentralization of public authority have been defined, such as: consolidation of political forces in implementation the reform; permanent in creating socio-economic programs of development the administrative and territorial units; public support and control over reform.

decentralization, local self-government bodies, a reform, foreign experience of decentralization of public authority, administrative-territorial division.