In the conditions of administrative and territorial reform, the development of small towns becomes more relevant, because according to the methodology of forming capable territorial communities, it is determined that communities should be formed around the cities-district centers, most of which are the small towns. In such conditions, one of the primary tasks of the local self-government bodies is the development of the strategy for territorial communities and small towns, which primarily involves determining the priority directions of their development and is a systematic process aimed at solving the most urgent local problems, realizing the socio-economic potential, increasing the efficiency of the use of available resources, which will ultimately contribute to the development of small towns and the growth of their role in the development of the regional economy. The purpose of the article is to determine the strategic priorities of the development of small towns in the conditions of administrative and territorial reform and decentralization. The analysis proved that in the conditions of administrative and territorial reform, small cities, acting as the centers of newly formed territorial communities, are in the focus of increased attention of scientists and experts that require the development of an effective strategy for their development and the determination of priority areas of their functioning. Due to the fact that the most of the small towns are characterized by a monofunctional type of development, in the long-term period, the strengthening of the industrial potential of these towns and the restructuring of the economy should be expected; accordingly, the social development of small towns will depend on the levels and directions of their economic growth. In the conditions of the military crisis and post-war recovery in our country, experts consider the improvement of the system of tax administration in communities to be one of the effective tools for the recovery and modernization of the country. Along with this, one of the integral conditions of the development of small towns is the deepening of intersectoral partnership between the government, business and the public sector, and the development of innovative entrepreneurship. In the conditions of decentralization the small cities are an important component of the socio-economic development of communities and regions, which requires increased attention to the development of an effective strategy for their operation, the determination of priorities for their development in the long term period, which involves strengthening of the potential of small cities, deepening partnership relations between various entities management, improvement of the local tax administration system, reorientation of industrial production to an innovative type of development. 

small cities, strategic management, strategic development, innovative entrepreneurship, region, decentralization, local community