Lubartów, February 2018
2018 Election Code and other changes
And it was like that in 2014. Photo of MOL
The last time in a local government election, the decision about the shape of the electoral districts will be made by city councilors. They have 60 days to adopt this resolution, and it will probably be adopted at the next session. In the next term of office, they will be determined by Election Commissioners, whose applications and paper documents must be received by today (February 21) at the address of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration.
The deputies withdrew from some changes to the electoral code, including counting backwards the terms of office of village heads, mayors and presidents. This means that from the 2018 election we have the first term of office, the next one will be from 2023, so the ban on standing will apply to the election year 2028. Will it be effective against the formation of "power groups"? A moot point.
This, of course, does not mean that the former commune head, mayor or president will not be able to run for a neighboring commune, which we know from our own backyard.
Another change is the extension of the term of office to five years, both for the stewards and councilors. This, as we know, matters. We are not convinced by this change, because it is not the fault of the inhabitants that mayors and councils assume the budgets of the fourth year as election budgets. And "Public relations" festivals.
The law "amending certain acts to increase the participation of citizens in the process of selecting, functioning and controlling certain public bodies" reduces this participation by extending the term of office. We should also remember that single-member constituencies no longer apply to us, as do all municipalities with the number over 20 000 inhabitants.
From conversations with them (residents), we know that some believe that decisions made during the term of office should not be discussed, and that councilors or mayors should be assessed only during elections. Well, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. These people will therefore be able to feel relieved of responsibility for a year longer.
What other changes await us?
Change of the city statute, which must take into account some of the decisions.
Instead of a report on the implementation of the budget before obtaining (or not) the discharge, the Mayor will have to submit to the commune council a report on the state of the commune by 31 May. We should learn from it not only what he did last year, but also what the implementation of the so-called strategic documents, i.e. the adopted "Programs ...", "Strategy ..." how the resolutions of the City Council and the implementation of the civic budget were implemented.
Legislators predicted that a debate would be held over the presented report on the state of the commune, in which residents would be able to participate - under certain conditions. The first is their number, limited to 15 people. The second is the required number of signatures, in our case 50 people will have to legitimize a person willing to take part in the debate on the annual report. The latter raises our objection, because such a person will not vote on the discharge, while conditioning the vote by the number of signatures not only contradicts the definition of a self-governing community, but also limits the prerogatives of the City Council, which may (so far) consent to a person not being a councilor.
What, in turn, will the reporting of the employees of the City Hall who perform organizational, legal and other tasks related to the functioning of the commune council, committees and councilors to the Chairman of the City Council look like in practice - hard to say.
It is certain that the story "I do not know, I do not know, I am earned" will end, that is our inquiries: who records the deliberations (under the text), on whose instructions and where it is written, ended with a request for changes to the Statute .
"Last but not least"
You know, you can't hide. It happens to us.
We sometimes make complaints about the mayor's actions.
We also sometimes submit applications and petitions.
Changes in the regulations also apply to this area.
The City Council will appoint a complaints, petitions and petitions committee.
We would like to refer interested parties to the expert opinion of Dr. Dawid Sześciła - an expert of the Batory Foundation: " New tools for citizens and councilors in the local government. Opinion on the act of January 11, 2018 ".
Also follow our website, because together with the Civic Network Watchdog Polska we have planned a debate on this subject in Lubartów, as part of the traveling discussion club "Wspólny Mianownik".
