This article describes a sociological analysis of the staffing issues in municipal territories. The sustainability and stability that have been ensured in recent years in almost all spheres of life are critical for Russia, which is a multinational country with a complex federative structure and diversity of cultures. The sustainability of the national economy has substantially increased, although many unsolved problems remain. The issues of an ineffective system of state and municipal governance due to employees' low professional level and corruptness are among these. This research examines the effective staffing in the municipal territories between June and August 2017. The territories are those of the Russian Federation republics of Karachay-Cherkess, Karelia, and North Ossetia-Alania; the oblasts of Volgograd, Rostov, Moscow, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Kurgan, and Chelyabinsk; and krais of Krasnodar and Stavropol. Methods involve a sociological survey to assess the effectiveness of local economic policies and the proficiency of local governing bodies in securing qualified managers who are capable of innovative development. The research focuses on the effectiveness of manager rotation in the local governing bodies in the municipalities. The purpose of the research is to reveal the main obstacles to forming a staffing reserve for solving new tasks relevant to the high competitiveness of the municipal territories. It also assesses the personal qualities required of the officials in these local governing bodies and the measures needed to effectively implement investment potential and increase municipal territory competitiveness. The paper concludes with a summary of trends needed to increase the effectiveness of the municipal staff in the surveyed regions of the Russian Federation. Among the main trends are increasing the qualifications of management staff, introducing an effective staff policy, procuring a reserve of staff with the necessary qualifications, implementing effective information coverage of staff policy in the region and the municipal territories to reduce the risk of corruption, and identifying ways to motivate staff using economic incentives.
