Lubartów, July 2020
30 years of self-government. And what is it - local government?
I am looking for a citizen.
The local government is primarily people. And this is probably why the problems arose that some time ago, the emphasis was put on local government - local government, not local government - the influence of people on the place where they live.
If it has not been emphasized or cared for, it is not done on a daily basis.
Certainly I will not write about something, not only because people are not able to remember everything. Maybe because there was quite a lot of it. Perhaps also because it did not seem so memorable to us. Simply, instead of: "oh, it's missing ... X", we went to writing the application - correct something here and here. Done, better and ok, what to drill down. But I think we should all remember that it is not a problem to delete a few words to our representatives, if we do not like something, or we can improve something, instead of discussing it only among neighbors and friends. And that, or even more so, is the local government. Hence, a subjective choice.
2006, 2007
Passageway to Szaniawskiego
I am looking at photos and I can see a fragment of the District Community of 32/2006. Elżbieta Wąs's letter concerns the transfer to Szaniawski, which is used by many children attending a nearby school. Nothing happened after that, so Grzegorz Gregorowicz, Chairman of the District Council, received a letter on this matter. Because it's a district street.
The chairman of the Poviat Council reacted as necessary, handed the letter to the Poviat Roads Authority and it turned out that the pedestrian crossing could be moved.
So, if you walk by there, man, remember, it's the result of being active citizens . Yes, the one within the self- governing community of which we are all members.
2008
Marking Różana, Szaniawski's mirror - Różana
Moving the crossing was insufficient to ensure safety, therefore a petition was sent to the Mayor of Zwoliński. For marking Różana, installing a Szaniawski-Różana mirror, increasing road patrols. Why there? Because the main street - Lubelska Street was closed to traffic at that time. And so there the lorries raced on an incline, the fear was that one of them would eventually fall over. And if there was a speed camera, it would probably be enough to buy a new police car in a few months. Anyway, the Mayor promised to mark Różana Street and he kept it. He ordered the rest to be claimed in the Starosty and it was so.
It did not go so smoothly with the mirror, because the Road Administration did not agree to it at first. It was necessary to write to the chairman of the district council again. Which - again - started the discussion on this matter.
So, if you pass by there, man, remember, it's the result of being civic . Yes, the one within the self- governing community of which we are all members.
Hospital in Lubartów
The oldest residents probably remember the hospital's ophthalmic ward. We may not be the oldest, but we have lived here since we were born, so we thought it was worth asking. By the way, there were also some neighbors who were interested in it. It is a manifestation of civic activity which is care for this self-governing community . And also exercising social control. And what you will find out is firsthand. Questions? Why was the branch closed? Can it be restarted? Does not matter? Until you are not looking for similar services. As Grzegorz Gregorowicz, Chairman of the Poviat Council, noted: the condition of the health service in our poviat is so important and essential that knowledge on this subject cannot be derived mainly from the media debate. Local media, by nature, do not have detailed and authoritative knowledge on the subject .
This is also the answer why we submit requests for disclosure of public information. Knowledge is best obtained at the source. The one that concerns our affairs.
Self-government community .
Square J. Piłsudski, occasionally called a square after a snowman
Yes, the referendum was held in 2010. But that doesn't mean the whole thing in 2010 has started. It started in 2008, because self-government is not about spectacular actions, photos, autographs, but about trying to solve local problems - locally and on the spot. Therefore, in October 2008 both the Mayor and the City Council were asked about their position on the emerging information about the planned sale of the square. And again - a few neighbors also got interested. By the way, it could be stipulated that the inhabitants were not treated instrumentally and that they functioned in the minds of the rulers only during the campaign. Propose to fund a plaque commemorating Marshal Piłsudski. Remind that 1pm deprives some of the possibility to participate in the session. Ask for a position also in the pages of the local press. Every.
After about a month, in November 2008, Deputy Mayor Krzysztof Świętoński replied to the residents. More or less, it results from the conservation guidelines to develop this square. We have already learned the difference in official language, between must, should, and can. In the sense that if it does not have to, it does not exist, and if it should, but does not have to, it does not exist either . We are now working on it on the municipal website of the Public Information Bulletin. Contrary to election promises, but more on that later. In any case, it is better to ask at the source, i.e. the Lublin Provincial Conservator of Monuments, what these guidelines are about. And before that, we decided that it was worth expressing our opinion and this is how the gathering took place, and how - in the square! And the collection of signatures of residents opposing the sale in December 2008.
Reluctance to sell and build up Piłsudski Square was not the only issue we raised during the demonstration. What has this come to the hands of the councilors?
Opposition to the plans to sell the Square.
No bus stop in the city center.
The need for an effective intervention in the matter of the nursery building.
Modernization of Lipowa Street.
Location of the Waste Management Plant.
So, if later a candidate for a councilor came to your house, who presented himself as a fighter for and a savior, then hmmm ... this is not the first time a politician enters an office on someone else's back. Therefore, we are reluctant to treat peddlers. Because we don't always have how and when to verify what they say.
And it was already a hit when one of the candidates visited me at home and boasted about my actions. In the sense that "they" got it. And if it weren't for "them", that would be the end. Well, he was, because I got such a hiccup from laughing that I couldn't say a word.
And so we move smoothly to
2009
In which a response came from the Lublin Conservator of Monuments. And it turned out that the square has a double purpose. True, but not entirely. Yes, it can be an area of commercial services, i.e. it can be developed. The second destination is a public green area. And this is how this interpretation can, should and must, we got confused. By the way, the statue called "the snowman" was to be moved. Where they moved it, anyone who watched the destruction saw. For a pile of rubble. Well, the citizen was surprised. Where has this monument moved. And the name of the square is not "snowman square", even if you don't like it. And since the square has a dual purpose, do they finally want to sell or not?
The first answer about the Waste Management Plant also appears here.
Are you reading ?: "Thank you for your interest in public affairs."
And we don't live in the desert. Theoretically, we have representatives who should theoretically stay in touch with us, the voters. By the way, we came to the conclusion that maybe after establishing the Association it will be easier for us administratively. I don't quite see the difference, maybe only in the obvious that the more, the easier it is in terms of support. On the other hand, I do not remember the support from the vicinity of those communities or organizations which today propose to build a monument in the square. And they were invited to the demonstration. Written. The state, or at least their leadership, seems to believe that they are offended by manifesting their views outside their offices. The whole action, contrary to the propaganda, was not political, because at the demonstration, anyone willing from left to right could (and did) speak. Today, as I understand it, the management does not even seek the support of the inhabitants and believes that it does not have to ask or listen to whether this monument is in this form and in this place the inhabitants want. For example, those who wanted to manifest and who wanted to go to the referendum.
Coming back to contact with representatives. Recently, one of the councilors brought a letter to the session from one of the residents. As he said himself, the letter was also sent to the council members by e-mail. Some, because not all of them were "reached". You probably "managed to get there" through the website www.lubartow.mamprawowiedziec.pl where we publish the e-mail addresses of the councilors who shared them with us. But we won't find out about it from the councilor (s). And we wrote to the "Councilors of the City Council of Lubartów".
So…
As you can see, we asked the residents for information via the media. At that time, we probably still thought that the city's newspaper of the authorities could also publish other content than that of the authorities. We were young "in the industry", inexperienced.
Because what was the conclusion of the city newspaper in relation to the study carried out on a group of (representative?) 500 inhabitants? Such:
When analyzing the research results, we must remember that the survey was a form of public consultation. If these results, which is very likely to be confirmed in a referendum, the "judgment" resulting from the functioning of democracy would be very severe for the opponents of these investments. The results of the poll conducted in Lubartów indicate that despite the huge activity of opposition activists spreading their opposition to these two investments on the radio, press and television, as well as through collecting signatures, the preferences of the majority of Lubartów residents regarding the construction of a waste segregation plant at Gazowa Street and the relocation of the market to Kościuszko Street, are consistent with the intentions of those in power. The disclosed preliminary, very general result of the poll caused very nervous reactions from the opposition. Various kinds of "conspiracy theories" are now being disseminated, designed to diminish the value of the poll. The authors of these actions even make innuendo about TNS OBOP and the mayor .
There are also different percentages in a letter from the office and in a newspaper article, but that's a complete trifle.
As for the Square, we happily exchanged correspondence with both the LWKZ and the City Hall. But it was not about developing skills, but about settling a specific matter - preventing the sale of the square for development.
By the way - later the "commune news" carried that there was no such plan. The communal news that reached us and there is even a trace of it somewhere is the fact that before the session this plot was “taken out” from the sales plans. So pressure makes sense. It's good to make sure that it is not incidental.
We took care.
Who signed the application?
Elżbieta Wąs
Teresa Sokołowska
Zbigniew Maciejewicz
Jan Ściseł
Anna Gryta
We proposed that the authorities ask residents:
Are you against the sale of Piłsudski Square in Lubartów?
or
Are you in favor of selling Piłsudski Square for commercial purposes?
On the so-called occasion, MOL asked the City Hall to ensure that the square was properly marked , as in the case of Różana Street. That there was a sign there. To improve safety by improving lighting and repairing uneven surfaces.
Yes, it was 2009.
By the way, Action "Miś" took place next to it. With the help of many people, companies, including the reliable President of PSS Społem, we managed to make really nice packages.
In addition, correspondence was exchanged between MOL, PSS Społem, the Poviat Starosty and the City Hall regarding the stop in the center. We were less interested in who was to blame for the liquidation of a stop in the city center than that the stop should return there. At their own request, but also at the request of PSS employees.
Meanwhile, the year is over and so we entered ...
2010
In which we found out that at the end of the quarter preceding the motion to hold a referendum, the number of inhabitants of the city entitled to vote was 18,670 .
And so began collecting signatures of residents who wanted to support the application.
And what were the conditions - everyone can see 😊
A lot of people joined the collection of signatures, including councilors - Jan Ściseł, Bogumiła Lisek - Jublewska, Jerzy Tracz. Letters could be brought to a few points, where entrepreneurs from Lubartów provided space. We collected about 3,000 signatures on 199 lists.
The referendum committee started to work. During the session, the then councilors said that when collecting signatures our actions were unethical, or even immoral. What is going on? For adding a code or locality on the lists of support, where this information was missing. Śmieszkowanie, that we do not know that signatures should be made only by residents of Lubartów. Yes, we know. But just like then, today we would allow a person who does not live in Lubartów, but works, spends most of his time and feels connected with it, to sign the list.
And here began our first battle for a legal opinion , ended in the Administrative Court. Even then, he was making a career as an "internal document". If anyone asked, Jerzy Zwoliński was the Mayor of Lubartów at that time. Which to Dziennik Wschodni said: I have doubts whether the initiative of the referendum is sincere, but if the signatures were collected, it should be held . The decision-making power was exercised by the City Council with the WiR and PO coalition. The resolution to hold a referendum was adopted unanimously.
But with the deadline in the middle of a long weekend. Opposition councilors pointed out that this would affect the turnout, but - long live democracy!
How was it? 2,140 inhabitants of Lubartów went to the polls, of whom over 2,000 were against the sale of the square. Pretty good, considering it wasn't acting against someone, or for someone else. The turnout did not exceed the required threshold, but the square, as it stood undeveloped, stands like that. And the square was properly marked.
Coming back to the topic of Zakład Zagospodarowania Odpadów (Zakład Zagospodarowania Odpadów) - we wrote to the heads of communes - union members, asking them to reconsider the location of ZZO in their less urbanized area. And there was a need to send reminders. We also wrote to the Lubartów Electoral Committees. I will not say, some declared that they always, that it was necessary and that it was necessary. At least until the elections.
Meanwhile, the protest grew stronger and continued in ...
2011
New authorities. We met twice at the City Hall. We prepared our speeches thanks to the available documents, eg the Voivodeship Waste Management Plan, and where they were missing, there were regulations on access to public information.
On July 18, 2011, we turned to the Mayor of the City of Lubartów - Mr. Janusz Bodziacki from
a suggestion to hold a referendum as a democratic solution to the existing problem.
Then we asked the party leaders to support our appeal as well:
President of PiS - Mr. Jarosław Kaczyński, Mr. Grzegorz Napieralski - Chairman of SLD
and Mr. Donald Tusk - Chairman of the PO, represented in the City Council
Lubartów.
Each party organization aims to implement a political program by gaining and exercising power or exerting influence over it, therefore, based on the statutes of these organizations ( public information ) - we also turned to the party leaders of our local government representatives, who are either party members or started from party committee lists.
And to the deputies, because they are similar here - they are our representatives. What's more:
A deputy or senator has the right to undertake - in the performance of his deputy or senatorial duties - an intervention in a body of government administration and local self-government, a state enterprise or enterprise and a social organization, as well as in non-state economy units to settle the matter, which he / she brings on his own behalf or on behalf of voters or voters, and familiarize yourself with how it is examined .
So even if a member of parliament does not have a Deputies' Office in Lubartów, each of us has the right to write and ask for support. And inform us about what he did in our case ( public information ).
We also acted within the Protest Committee, but we do not describe here what someone did, but what we did. And this is how we come to the questionnaire that was born in pain.
Here we give the floor to the Expertise:
The decision to appoint a team of experts by the mayor, Mr. Janusz Bodziacki and his deputy, Mr. Radosław Szumec, resulted in a meeting with the above-mentioned team of experts, Mrs. Elżbieta Wąs representing the "Civic City of Lubartów" Association and Mrs. Bogumiła Jublewska representing the Protest Committee. Its purpose was to define the rules, strategy and schedule for the survey process. The main assumption of the talks was to emphasize the equal participation of all interested parties in the survey process. The scale of the process that was to be carried out (surveying 18,000 inhabitants) required not only logistical preparation, but also an atmosphere of positive involvement of all those interested in building the Waste Management Plant, who had different views on this subject. Building a civil society, pluralism and democracy mean that, within the limits of freedom of speech and the right to have their own views, everyone should have the right to express themselves and take a position on issues that concern or may concern them. The essence of a democratic society is that everyone who wants to participate in them can talk about problems and how to solve them. Given the assumption that problems should be solved and not pretended that they do not exist, the preparation of the survey process was associated with the wide participation of all interested in this - causing social controversy - issue. The consent of all those interested in the preparation of the survey process would undoubtedly have a positive impact on the approval of the process, a smooth manner of its conduct and would exclude any speculation as to its correct conduct.
Unfortunately, it turned out that the Protest Committee had given up on joint work. It would be an over-interpretation to speculate broadly about the reasons for this decision. However, in the opinion of experts, such action showed deep prejudices and a conviction that people living far from the planned location were not interested in the survey. It also seems that the refusal to participate in joint work and remaining outside of it allowed for the subsequent negation of the survey process itself and the torpedoing of all related initiatives .
The information that reached the residents was the result of negotiating positions between the city represented by the mayor and his deputy, and a representative of the "Civic City of Lubartów" association. So is the content of the survey questions.
You can see how it was done in detail on our website, where we publish this survey expertise (public information).
Experts wrote in the Report: The pressure exerted on the mayor of Lubartów by the press and local television, demanding the exercise of the right to information, resulted in the convening of a press conference on October 19, 2011 (...). Thus, the community could learn about the survey results (public information).
The questionnaires were completed by 10,614 people, ie 57% of the population. 1318 people, i.e. 7.1% of the population, refused to fill in the questionnaire - in various ways - justifying it.
Why?
The key answer from the point of view of building this civil society - if, of course, someone would.
According to the statements of the pollsters with statements such as: "it does not concern us", "I am not interested in this", "let the authorities decide", "they are different from doing what needs to be done", "I do not have time to deal with it". They are a verbalization of three variants of attitudes:
1) indifference to matters important for the functioning of the city and its inhabitants;
2) withdrawal as a result of a subjective belief that an individual's opinion is of low or even no importance for shaping the sphere of formal social activities;
3) conformism towards the community and the will of its members, or towards the actions of local self-government.
We will not dwell on this. As an aside and as a chronicler, we can mention that the local government opposition most often willingly opts for various types of dialogue with citizens, at least until they change places with the latter. Then - the other way around. As for us, after the survey, we asked for information from the Swiss-Polish Cooperation Program Office, what decisions the Swiss side will take in the light of the results obtained.
We wrote: Since we care about maintaining financial resources, we want to have a complete picture and, if necessary, continue to actively seek a compromise .
COMPROMISE
This is not a chronicle of our activities, we select only small fragments. And so after 2010 and 2011 we are in ...
2012
Chestnut - here in a winter version.
Activities aimed at establishing a natural monument are carried out by the Civic City Association of Lubartów starting from the application of July 29, 2010. Yes, in 2010, our application for the designation of this tree as a natural monument was submitted to the City Hall. Another one in 2011.
What's up with that? In 2012, we also asked about what is public information .
If anyone is interested in what the City Hall will do in this matter - submitting an application for disclosure of public information is the best course of action.
2014
The year of local elections. As the Civic Network Watchdog Polska says: Knowledge is power .
On the other hand, as Association 61 described the citizens' activity: Voters are no longer satisfied with laconic information about the completed field of study or profession. They want to know what this means, what specific experience and skills the candidate or candidate has, and what they plan to do if they get a mandate. Active citizens do not vote - they choose consciously .
We, as citizens, also decided to choose (more) consciously. But before we asked the candidates we were to choose from among 144 people, we first asked 473 residents of Lubartów what, according to them, the most important problems in the city. What do they expect from councilors? Should they report to residents? What skills will they use in their work for the city?
We asked about all of these not as an association, but as an informal group.
What is an informal group? You know, you've talked in two, three, three, five - you've figured out that there are some interesting things that you can bring up together. And you start to act. Congratulations! You just became an informal group. And to work.
If you need any support during this activity, there will probably be an organization, program or area where you will find it. This was our case. We directed our questions to the residents and candidates for councilors and mayors as part of the Masz Głos, Masz Choice campaign organized by the Batory Foundation , an action coordinated by Stowarzyszenie 61 under the name - Vote consciously!
And we asked everyone who wanted to share a reflection.
You ask us if there are results available somewhere. Yes. 473 people took part in the survey. We believe that it should be emphasized that on the fingers of one hand it is possible to count people who refused to complete the survey.
Our summary shows that 89%, i.e. 421 people, declared that they would participate in local elections, while 46 people, i.e. 10%, said they would not vote, while 1% among the respondents was not sure.
We also asked where the residents get their knowledge about candidates for councilors / mayors. The question was multiple choice and most people were not limited to choosing one option.
Slightly more than half of the respondents indicated election leaflets: respectively 254 people (54%), slightly fewer people use the opinions of friends - 225 people (48%), over 30% of the respondents indicated: local television (171 people, 36%); the press (160 people, 34%) and the Internet (154 people, 33%). In turn, 136 people, or 29% of the respondents, declare that these are also meetings with voters.
Among the interviewed people, 283, i.e. 60%, answered that they did not change their voting preferences depending on the candidate's presentation, but almost 38% (179 people) answered in the affirmative, with only 12 people undecided. We obtained the same results when asked to vote for the candidates currently in power.
To the question: Will you vote for the candidates currently in power? 283 people answered no, 179 people said yes and 12 undecided. We obtained different results when asked if, in the opinion of the residents, the councilors of the ending term of office should publish a report on their work in the City Council. In this case, over 90% of the residents answered yes (438 people, i.e. 93%), while only 6% (29 people) were against, and 6 people (1%) were undecided.
Also, definitely in the affirmative, although in a slightly smaller number, the inhabitants were in favor of disclosing information on the voting of councilors under the resolutions. 381 people were in favor of the availability of this type of information, i.e. 80%, against 75 people, i.e. 16%, and 17 undecided people, i.e. 4%.
In the survey, the inhabitants also indicated the most important matters to be dealt with in the city.
We have ranked the answers according to the number of people pointing to the same problem: - roads (quality improvement) 103 - bicycle paths 96 - workplaces 82 - attracting investors, developing the economic zone 55 - order in the city - appearance, cleanliness, greenery, sidewalks 55 - culture - more expenditure, events, offers for young people and the elderly 48 - order with the old kindergarten 41 - free and paid parking lots 41 - social matters, social housing 34 - improvement of safety in the city 34 - eastern road 27 - Ogródek Jordanowski 27 - education - larger expenditures 27 - city marketplace in the old location 21 - footpath Lipowa 21 - S-19 14 - swimming pool and sports complex 14 - sewage system ul. Lipowa 14 - Municipal chalet 7 - City hospital 7 - Parking lot next to the Cemetery 7 - Real skatepark 7 - better lighting 7 - spatial development of the city 7 - sorting area 7 - development of infrastructure for small industry 7 - fight against nepotism 7 - lack of consistency of the authorities 7 - cooperation with residents in making decisions 7 - construction of MOSiR 7 - Order for Careers - maybe a rope park 7 - local taxes 7.
One can reflect on what was dealt with and what problems the inhabitants indicate today as the priority to be solved. The more so because the inhabitants were actually the creators of this survey.
As you can see, anyone can do it, so those interested can ask.
We asked these questions from the residents to candidates for councilors. Who was the first to answer us? Zbigniew Gdula, Jakub Wróblewski, City Councilor of Lubartów, Patryk Kuś, Grzegorz Gregorowicz, Marcin Kurowski, Bogumiła Jublewska, Bogdan Mileszczyk, Wojciech Szyszko, Kamil Zydlewski, Piotr Kusyk, Artur Kuśmierzak, Jarosław Małyska, Eugeniusz Nieścioruk.
It was for this action that we were nominated for the Super Samorząd 2014 award.
Pleasure, although it's not a cause, but somewhere someone has found what you are doing is important.
Do you know what's going on? For maintaining a constant relationship with voters. Seriously. Before the elections. During the elections. After the election. And after the elections, a website about the work of councilors was created, www.lubartow.mamprawowiedziec.pl , so if you live in a neighboring city, you want something like this to be created in your home too - a little effort and it is possible. Everything we publish on this website is public information.
By the way - these problems with determining which councilor votes how (and then tells the voters) forced us to look for a solution. Hence our application for changes to the City Statute . Not an organization, not a group - people. Because everyone can submit their own suggestions as to what and how can or should be improved. Today you have the law on petitions, access to public information and local initiative at your disposal.
This City Statute was changed by the councilors of the next term of office.
Lest it was sweet or quite serious, one of the candidates asked if there was any special reason why he should complete the survey, for what purpose, whether we are eligible voters from Lubartów, whether we do it privately or on commission and so on ... at the end he allowed himself to conclude that democracy could do well (without it). In our opinion, the aforementioned democracy managed to cope because the candidate did not become a councilor. Does the candidate have to answer our - your questions? There is no way to force him, but there is no way to force us to vote for someone who declares something else and does something else.
Civil dialogue. Again - this is done, not talked about. The Self-Government Portal wondered if the candidates cared about voters at all. We know from our statistics that voters were interested in the candidates. Civil society in practice .
In the so-called meantime, the act on access to public information came into effect again. In such a way that the City Hall began to keep a register of contracts on the website of the Public Information Bulletin. From 2011, because that was our request and the beginning of the government of Mayor Janusz Bodziacki. Thanks to this, everyone could check with whom, for how much and for what period the city concluded the contract. The same application was sent to the Communal Association of the Municipalities of the Lubartów Region and Zakład Zagospodarowania Odpadów.
For what? Well, so that everyone can look at it. For what purpose? As we know, not all reports and speeches are accurate or factual - to say the least. Hence, it is better to get knowledge at the source and avoid manipulation. Anyway, the media also started to use these registers, and you could hear questions about individual items during the sessions of the City Council. Who brought it about?
Me, a citizen .
Meanwhile, another year began ...
2015
Works of the Statute Committee. We wanted every resident (like today) to be able to check how his representative votes. For what? As I mentioned, it is different in the campaign, different people say different things and it would be good to be able to check what decisions were made on our behalf by the councilor.
Lubartów is not a lonely island. That is why we thought about other inhabitants of the Lubartów Poviat. On February 16, 2015, applications were sent for access to contract registers and a list of legal and natural persons and organizational units, who were granted tax and fee reductions, deferrals, redemptions or paid in installments in 2011-2014 and for their updating on an ongoing basis.
It's not just that you have to write the application, it has to have some specific content, otherwise you will reject it. You can ask in various forms .
And we did not only ask municipalities about contract registers. Because anyone can ask . Along with the presidential campaign, our city was visited by Mr. Andrzej Duda, Law and Justice candidate for the President of Poland. We asked about his position on the publication of the register of contracts concluded by the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland. He declared that he is in favor of the transparency of public life and in the event of a win, such a register will be available on the Law Firm's website.
Our requests for public information also concerned the amount of remuneration for social workers. Yes, it is also public information . And then, after we published the answers we received, the councilors discussed the amount of funds transferred to MOPS.
We also asked for the first time about the amount of awards granted to our officials for 2013, 2014 and 2015 and their justification. Because we have the right to know - firstly, secondly - the residents are the payers of these awards, thirdly - there is nothing to be ashamed of for outstanding achievements.
With various more and less familiar residents of the city, we have submitted a petition for the unemployed to distribute tax decisions.
We found out from the contract register that these are additional duties and salaries of officials.
We found out how it can work well from the application for disclosure of public information to the local government of Wągrowiec.
There should also be information about the introduction of the civic budget, in which we had our part, but we do not like and we will not write about it. And so let's smoothly move on to
2016
Website about the work of councilors www.lubartow.mamprawowiedziec.pl register of contracts kept by the City Hall, supplementing the information in the Public Information Bulletin with the minutes of the City Council Commission and everything that the residents could learn about the functioning of the local government can be included in the title of the task: Available councilors. For which we received the title of Super Self-Government, edition 2015/2016
In 2015, as a non-governmental organization, we supported the candidacy of Adam Bodnar for the Ombudsman. Our Ombudsman campaign is an idea of supporting a candidate for the Ombudsman from outside party candidacies, a truly civic candidate. And so the award of the TOK FM radio for them. Anna Laszuk for 2015 went into the hands of Adam Bodnar and our joint. The jury decided that he and the Coalition of NGOs had the greatest impact on reality by organizing the campaign "Our Spokesman".
As Elżbieta Wąs stated: At that time, I did not think that the will expressed together would lead us to the stage to enjoy the prize together. There is a reflection that the effects of the actions are surprising and that it is worth making your contribution to something really good. Thank you Civic Network - Watchdog Polska. Congratulations to all the nominees once again! Do you know what it feels like when you're standing on stage and receiving applause from Jerzy Owsiak, Dorota Gudaniec and Marek Bachański? Embarrassment .
End of the chronicle. The point is not to write down our history, but to encourage and make people aware that everyone can, and sometimes even should. At www.molubartow.com and www.lubartow.mamprawowiedziec.pl you can find out what we do.
Then there were more elections, we were blowing soap bubbles on Piłsudski Square to remind you of how it is with election promises. Again, we asked the candidates to fill in the questionnaires. So that you can ask your councilors what they did to get it done. You could meet with the President of the Watchdog Civic Network and ask what to do in a specific case.
Read about planned consultations before there is (?) An objection. Surprise, like an island in a pond? None, all in the Public Information Bulletin .
Here it is worth mentioning the self- government crossword we publish. Who knows how to navigate the BIP, he could practice, who doesn't know - he could learn. Including children and adolescents, because they learn best from practical examples. It is living knowledge.
And why not dwell on these nominations, awards, articles in the national and local press?
Yes, it is nice and the city has a free promotion. For example, in The Guardian. But what does it show locally? Locally there were video and audio sessions from committees, contract registers etc.
Many people can only know us of the topics that the press took up after our action, without mentioning where the case came from. And why do I not want to dwell on what is about us in the country and beyond?
Okay, gestures are important, demonstrations, these things. But then I always wonder - okay, man, you manifested your views in this Warsaw, you came back and what next?
You are only attached to democracy when you are away or would you like to be a civic society at home? Will you ask the councilor what is the matter? Will you protest if you don't like something? Are you a citizen with a capital O! then you are away, and at home do not ask, because you would be a bully and a rowdy? In the macro scale, we usually respond with a comment full of indignation. On a micro scale - different. We secretly hope that "someone will settle accounts with them" or that "we will lose something next". Maybe the press will take care of it, maybe someone else.
We all move, whether we like it or not, in the area of public information, although we can ignore it. What we are doing is often perceived by government officials as an attack. Nothing could be more wrong. Our goal is to ensure that the resident will not have to explain himself about the use of his rights .
Do you speak Poland? - think Lubartów and stop counting that someone will do something for you.
Do you do a press release every day? Make yourself #BIPdokawy too
Anna Gryta