Civic City of Lubartów

Usually more is going on in the committees than in the session. Well, unless not.

At least on the website of the Public Information Bulletin. This time we invite you to the molubartow.com website, where residents can see the audio recording of the City Council Committee meetings. The city of Lubartów no longer publishes them.

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In 2015, a document came into force, the content of which we (MOL) had little influence. This is the City Statute, i.e. the framework according to which the local government functions.

This document guaranteed us, the residents, that the following will be published in the Public Information Bulletin:

• Session minutes and their audio or audiovisual recording,

• Minutes of the meetings of the Council committees, including the Audit Committee and their audio or audiovisual recording, Mayor's Ordinance,

• Conclusions and opinions of the Council's committees,

• Register of interpellations and councilors' conclusions,

• Resolutions, declarations, positions on a specific matter, appeals, opinions and conclusions of the Council.

The statute also stated how the minutes of the session should look like. So, for example, that it should reflect the course of the session.

When introducing the new Statute, we learned from an office employee that “in light of the decisions of supervisory authorities, it turned out that some of the provisions of the current statute had become obsolete or redundant. In the context of the necessity to introduce numerous modifications to the existing constitutional act, which would violate its structure, consistency and, above all, legibility, it was decided to draft a new statute .... " And stuff like that in official language. Sure no?

Anyway, it turned out that the draft of the Statute was prepared in the City Hall, the appointment of the Statute Committee, as before, is an extravagance. Audio from City Committees will not be published, and the change to write in the Protocol of the City Council Session only, which councilor says from what minute was made at the request of the Club of Councilors "Lubartowska Community".   

Yes, some provisions of the Articles of Association have become significantly redundant during this term of office. First of all, publishing an audio record of meetings of City Committees.

We are actually betting that this is one of the main reasons for the change, recalling the meeting of the ad hoc Committee on Citizens' Budget. It is a pity, because the committees mainly discuss the shape of the adopted resolutions.

In any case, various documents were not mentioned among the catalog of public information that is obligatorily made available in the Public Information Bulletin. The legislator left a free hand to local government officials. Councilors who pass the Statute. He (the legislator) probably assumed that the councilors would follow the provisions that apply to the legislator.

When it comes to our Lubartów Statute, it was something to be proud of until 2019. You know, Super Self-Government for action - AVAILABLE COUNCILS .

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Councilor Marek Polichańczuk, during this "shift" session, said: that the protocol drawn up in writing, referred to in para. 2 contained and was written: a list of councilors' statements with an indicated start time. I'm already saying why? This will make it easier for us that we will no longer have to listen to the entire session to find what is said by someone, one or two .., person. We will be able to enter the protocol, the medium, the record at a specific minute and we will be able to listen to it .

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As for us, we are more interested in the problem than the speaker. Well, maybe equivalently. In the sense that in previous protocols, the residents could search for, for example, subsidies, sewage, Piaskowa, etc. Today they only have the name and the starting time of the speech. Better? Doubtful, even using the arguments of the councilors themselves.

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Because one of them said that anyone can pay back  for transcription . What's the point of waiting for everyone? We assume that someone will hit and that one of the councilors will speak from the first session. And then what? Do we throw everything, all hands on deck and search the video? And another councilor suggested that the transcription can be done at your own expense . It would be ok, but the councilor could have better ideas at our expense .

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Another councilor said: Ladies and Gentlemen, it is not like we can do what is not forbidden. No, we can only do what is required.

Then one of the councilors decided that enough of this discussion meant closing the point, and another councilor supported it.

This December protocol is still searchable.

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It is better to include more information in the BIP,  avoiding the obligation to make them available upon request. Less work. But maybe it's counting on the fatigue of the material, that if there is something missing in BIP, no one will want to remind you.

And when it comes to the decisions of supervisory authorities and administrative courts, they all speak with one voice -

access to public information cannot be narrowed down and equated with access to official documents .

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As for the draft resolutions, the matter is trivial. Suppose there is a budget change on the agenda of the session. But you will not find out before the session that this change will concern taking the money for the pavement on Opozycjonowców Street and allocating it for the surface of the more important street.  Who do you blame for not being able to intervene? Well, the councilor will speak on your behalf. And that he did not consult? You will judge him at the urn. Protest? Power has been elected and is to run for five years, and voters have nothing to do with it. Yes, that is sarcasm.