The rights are free to use
A guide for everyone who wants to have an influence on what is happening in the commune.
The local authorities we elect in the elections make decisions regarding investments in the commune, the functioning of schools, kindergartens, health care and social assistance. In elections, residents decide who will rule, but they do not give up all power. They can still test the authority, present their expectations to it and influence its decisions.
However, you need to know how to do it. That is why we have prepared a guide to the tools provided for in the acts, which give residents the opportunity to co-decide about what is happening in their town.
Team of the Watchdog Polska Civic Network
Part I.
Application
If we want to suggest that the commune authorities adopt a solution, we can submit an application. This is stated in the Code of Administrative Procedure in Article 241. It allows for proposing any solution, the implementation of which lies within the competence of the office. For example, you can submit an application for running a sidewalk in a place where residents tread the path, and in bad weather they wade in the mud - says Katarzyna Batko-Tołoć from the Watchdog Polska Civic Network.
Template of the application - Annex 1
The Office must reply without undue delay (i.e. as soon as possible) and no later than 30 days from the date of submission of the application. Although the answer does not have to be positive, in practice, the signal from the inhabitants can often be used or taken into account in the commune's plans. Even if it is rejected, the case is documented, because the administration is obliged to inform about the method of handling the application (including justifying why the recommendation was not taken into account). Once the office decides to reject your application, we cannot challenge it.
The application may be sent by e-mail, fax, orally for the record, via the ePUAP platform or traditionally, in writing.
Petitions
The most formalized form of communication with the municipality is a petition. The subject of the petition may be a request for a change in the law or for the office to take a decision concerning residents. In the petition, we can, for example, request the office to publish a register of contracts in the Public Information Bulletin or to introduce the obligation to give the floor to residents the floor during a session of the commune council in the commune statute.
Whether a letter is considered an application or a petition depends on its content - says Szymon Osowski, lawyer of the Watchdog Polska Civic Network. Any suggestion to change the law will certainly be considered a petition. A petition, like a petition, may be submitted by individual persons. Its big advantage is the fact that it must appear in the Public Information Bulletin of the office, and the commune council must collectively inform about how it considered petitions in a given year. In turn, the disadvantage of the petition is the time it is considered - up to 3 months (and in the case of extension of the deadline by the office - up to 6 months). The answer must be in writing and contain a justification. Even if we have concerns about the way our petition has been dealt with, we cannot file a complaint.
Specimen of the petition - Annex 2
Complaint
When residents notice irregularities in the functioning of the commune office or some communal unit, they can file a complaint. If it concerns the commune head, it should be submitted to the commune council, and if the works of the council raise objections, the complaint should be submitted to the voivode or the regional audit chamber (in financial matters).
Committee for complaints, applications and petitions
Our motions, complaints and petitions are first of all dealt with by the Complaints, Motions and Petitions Committee, in which we can participate. The rules and mode of its operation are specified in the commune's statute. However, the final decision is made by the entire council in a compulsory roll-call vote.
Part II
In the previous section, we wrote about how the residents can propose solutions that seem useful to the commune, e.g. when they want to extend the bicycle path, build a larger parking lot at the clinic or install monitoring around the school. In this case, you can send an application to the office or submit a petition. However, when we have objections to the work of the head of the commune or the commune council, we can file a complaint against them. In this part, we will try to answer the question whether the commune can co-finance some cool project initiated by the residents, when the residents can submit resolution proposals and what are the public consultations like.
Local initiative
A local initiative is a form of submitting ideas for activities in a commune. It allows individual residents, informal groups of residents and organizations to apply for municipal authorities to support their project. The important thing is that the residents are involved in it anyway, putting their work into it. For example, they cultivate a city square and want the commune to buy seedlings; they clean the park, dreaming of putting benches in it, but they do not have the appropriate materials that they expect from the municipality.
IMPORTANT: the local initiative must be carried out on the territory belonging to the commune. It is not possible to finance community or private property activities.
The application under the local initiative looks the same as the application presented in the previous section by the residents or the resident, but it must present the contribution of the people involved in the project and what specific help is needed from the commune. It is also worth showing the benefits for the commune community.
Public consultation
During public consultations, representatives of local authorities present to residents their plans concerning, for example, legal acts (their amendment or passing new ones), investments and all undertakings that may affect their everyday life. The next stages of consultations are: listening to the residents' opinions to find out what modifications to the plans are expected and presenting their final shape.
Although consultations largely depend on the initiative of the commune authorities, it is worth remembering that residents can also apply for them or submit a petition on this matter (we wrote about applications and petitions in the first part of the guide).
When postulating public consultations in the commune - reminds Bartosz Wilk, a lawyer from the Watchdog Polska Civic Network - one can refer to Article 5a of the Act on commune self-government, which says that they should be conducted in matters important for the commune.
The manner and scope of consultation of decisions is the best indicator of the openness of the commune authorities to the voice of the inhabitants. There are many ways to consult - by conducting opinion polls, creating opportunities for submitting comments, meeting with residents, putting out a consultation book, discussions on internet forums, an opinion box, workshops.
It is worth checking if the commune has a mandatory resolution about consultations, which defines the rules and procedure for conducting consultations with residents. If it is not there, one should strive to adopt it.
Resolution initiative
The act on commune self-government provides for the possibility of submitting a draft resolution by residents. It has to cover issues that can be dealt with by the municipal council, e.g. street name.
The submission of a draft resolution requires the support of the residents. Up to 5,000 inhabitants in a commune - at least 100 people; in a commune with a population of up to 20,000 - at least 200, and in a commune with more than 20,000 inhabitants - at least 300.
After submitting the draft resolution, the commune council should deal with it at the next session, but not later than after 3 months from the date of submission of the draft. Each commune must have a resolution regulating the detailed rules for submitting draft resolutions, rules for establishing resolution initiative committees, rules for promoting civic resolution initiatives, and formal requirements to be met by submitted bills.
Part III
In the previous part of the guide, we wrote about how to get help from the commune in a joint venture of residents and what to do when we want the office to consult important decisions with us. We also answered the question whether the residents may propose that the commune council adopts a resolution. Now is the time to present a tool that will make the authorities have to implement our demands.
Local referendum
One of the stronger instruments of influencing decisions made by the commune authorities is a local referendum. If it is important, the municipal authorities are obliged to implement the decisions made by the residents. The downside of the referendum procedure is its high cost and time-consuming nature.
In a referendum, residents can decide, for example, to purchase by a commune land property located within its borders, to allow car traffic on the town square or to liquidate the town guard. In the referendum, you can also vote on the dismissal of the commune head.
However, this form of expression is limited by the need to formulate a simple question with a yes or no answer. It is also possible to choose between several answer options, e.g. residents can decide which school location is the best in their opinion.
Preparation of the referendum
The right to participate in the referendum is available to persons who have active voting rights to the commune council and reside in the commune in which the referendum is held.
How to start working to put a specific proposal to the vote of residents? The first step is to find the "initiator", ie people who will notify the municipal authorities about the plans to hold a referendum. It can be up to five residents who have the right to elect municipal authorities. It can also be a political party or a social organization operating in the commune (area of activity supported by the provisions of the statute).
These five people give their name and surname, PESEL number, address of residence and indicate who their representative is. In the case of organizations and parties, their name is given, the statute and the registration document are attached and, similarly to the previous case, the representative is informed.
The notification containing information on the subject of the referendum is sent to the head of the commune head, mayor or president. He must acknowledge receipt immediately.
Then, the commune head or mayor should be asked to provide information on the number of inhabitants, which will allow for the validity of the referendum and the required number of signatures on the motion for a referendum. The office must reply within 14 days.
After submitting the application, the initiator of the referendum has 60 days to collect signatures on the motion for a referendum, which must constitute 10% of the number of people who have active voting rights to the municipal council.
In addition, the initiator is obliged to inform the residents about the subject of the consultation at his own expense.
The form for collecting signatures, apart from the information on which they are collected, must also contain a note that the support cannot be withdrawn. Moreover, the tables should contain the name and surname of the signatory, their exact address, PESEL number, signature and date of signature.
It is worth collecting more signatures than the required 10% of people who have the right to vote and reside in the commune, because if, for example, someone makes a mistake in the PESEL number or fails to fill in all the boxes, their signature will be invalid.
After collecting the signatures, we submit them to the head of the commune head together with a written request for a referendum. We receive a written confirmation and the application is sent to the chairman of the commune council. Councilors evaluate it in terms of compliance with the act and must pass a resolution on the conduct of a referendum within 30 days. Also in the event of rejection of the application, a resolution adopted within the same period is necessary. The initiator of the referendum may appeal against it to the administrative court within 14 days from the date of delivery of the resolution. In turn, the administrative court examines the complaint within 14 days from the date of its lodging. The judgment of the administrative court, allowing the complaint, replaces the resolution of the commune council.
The referendum is held on a non-working day, no later than on the fiftieth day from the date of publication of the resolution of the commune council in the provincial official journal (www.dziennikiurzedowe.gov.pl/dzienniki-wojewodztw.html).
A referendum is valid if at least 30% of the people entitled to vote took part in it. The result of the referendum is decisive if more than half of the valid votes were cast for one of the solutions to the matter submitted to the referendum.
The representative of the initiator of the referendum must prepare a financial statement of the income and expenditure related to the referendum. It shall submit them to the commune head, mayor or president within three months from the date of the referendum.
Part IV
In the previous part of the guide, we wrote about the local referendum - one of the stronger instruments to influence decisions made by the commune authorities. If the referendum is valid, the municipal authorities must implement the solutions supported by the inhabitants. If it was a referendum on the dismissal of the commune head, he must resign. The inhabitants can not only influence the decisions taken by the authorities, but they can also decide what to spend the common money on - this is what happens in the case of the village council fund and the civic budget.
Solecki fund
It may seem that residents do not have much influence on how municipal money is planned and spent. Fortunately, this is not the case. Although the municipal budget is decided by councilors - i.e. our representatives elected in democratic elections, residents can submit their proposals to it. For example, by sending an application to the budget, in which they will propose what, in their opinion, should be included in the budget (the application was mentioned in the first part of the guide). In the case of budget applications, it is worth remembering that it is most sensible to submit them in September and at the beginning of October, because the head of the commune, mayor or president must present the budget draft to the commune council by 15 November each year.
Since 2009, rural residents can make binding decisions on a part of the commune's budget. Such a possibility is provided by the act on the village council fund. The inhabitants of the village councils directly decide about the allocation of the village council fund. Of course, the commune head is responsible for the implementation of the village council fund, as well as for the entire budget of the commune.
Important dates regarding the village council fund
It is up to the commune council to decide whether a local council fund, which is the civic budget, will be established in a commune. He has to do it by March 31 of each year - the positive resolution adopted by this date concerns the following years. If the commune council does not intend to separate the village council fund from the budget for the next year, it must adopt, also by March 31, a resolution not to separate it. Adopting a negative resolution obliges the council to deal with the issue of the village council fund in the following year. If in the previous year the council was against the fact that the village council fund could be spent in the commune in 2020, the commune council must adopt a resolution on its separation by March 31, 2019.
Another important date is July 31st. Until that day, the commune head must inform the village leaders about the amount of the village fund for their village council.
The most important date is September 30, because the village meeting must be held by that day and an application for a village fund must be submitted along with the resolution of the village meeting, protocol and attendance list from the meeting.
Amounts from the village council fund
The amount of the village council fund usually ranges from PLN 5,000 to PLN 25,000 per village council and depends mainly on the wealth of the commune and the number of inhabitants of a given village.
It is not an arbitrary amount. The commune head must calculate it, taking into account specific indicators, and the act on the village council fund specifies the formula according to which it must be done.
IMPORTANT:
The commune council may adopt a resolution to increase this amount above the statutory minimum.
What can you decide?
The money from the fund can be spent on tasks that meet three formal conditions: they improve the living conditions of the inhabitants, are the commune's own tasks and are in line with the commune's development strategy.
In practice, this means that they can be spent on whatever the commune spends money on. Projects from the fund must be carried out in the area of the village council, where the residents decide on its spending.
Application for financing from the village council fund
There is no statutory model application for a village administrator. To be valid, the application must contain:
an indication of projects to be implemented in the area of the village council under the fund;
calculation of the costs of project implementation (these costs must be within the limit for the village council);
justification in which it is indicated how the implementation of projects financed from the fund will contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of the residents of the village.
If the application does not meet the formal requirements, the head of the commune informs the village administrator about it within 7 days. The village administrator has another 7 days to maintain the application unchanged. The information about the maintenance of the application is sent to the commune council through the commune head. The commune council has 30 days to consider the application and the decision of the council is binding on the commune head.
The village fund is a great decision-making instrument. Its biggest advantage is that the inhabitants of the commune decide on their own about the fulfillment of their needs. Contrary to a regular budget application, undertakings planned in the village council fund must be implemented.
Civic budget
More and more cities decide to introduce a civic budget, and from 2019 it must be introduced by cities with poviat rights.
The amount of the civic budget is at least 0.5% of the commune's expenditure included in the last submitted report on the implementation of the budget.
As part of the civic budget, the ideas of the inhabitants selected every year in a vote, the commune council includes in the draft budget and they must be implemented. A civic budget may be city-wide or may apply to smaller areas, e.g. housing estates.
In order for the inhabitants to be able to decide every year how to spend the money, the commune council must adopt a resolution specifying the details of the civic budget implementation - what the project should look like, how many signatures should be collected under it, what are the rules of evaluation.
The guide was prepared by the Watchdog Polska Civic Network, an organization that makes sure that people know what the authorities are doing. It teaches residents that they can ask offices about things that are important to them and shows what to do when officials avoid answering. The organization provides free legal advice on access to public information. You can support her, among others by donating 1% of tax. Details on the website siecobywatelska.pl.