Local Government
1989
Large Cities
1
Capital Cities
1
Regional or State Governments
5
National Government
0
Other Institutions
20
Local Government
1989
Large Cities
1
Capital Cities
1
Regional or State Governments
5
National Government
0
Other Institutions
20
Community
Capital
Warsaw
Population
37 970 870
Language
Polish
Currency
Polish Zloty
Indexes
Democracy
57
Flawed Democracy
Democracy
Democracy
57
Flawed Democracy
Democracy
Corruption Perception
41/180
Medium
Corruption Perception
Corruption Perception
41/180
Medium
Corruption Perception
Human Development
32
Very High
Human Development
Human Development
32
Very High
Human Development
World Happiness
43/153
Very High
World Happiness
World Happiness
43/153
Very High
World Happiness
Global Peace
29
High
Global Peace
Global Peace
29
High
Global Peace
Global Terrorism
106
Very Low
Global Terrorism
Global Terrorism
106
Very Low
Global Terrorism
Legislação sobre Orçamentos Participativos
Comparing the situation with the previous year, one can point out an improvement regarding the transparency of the Participatory Budget procedure after the entry into force of new regulations in 2019 concerning budgets in self-governments. It can be indicated here, first of all, the introduction of the requirement to make a decision on the introduction of the Participatory Budget in the form of a resolution of the gmina, district or voivodeship council and secondly, the legislator’s determination about the required elements of the resolution. In the case of the Solecki Fund, it is important that the national government keeps co-financing the expenses incurred by the municipalities under the fund.
On the other hand, the crisis related to Covid-19 showed very strongly, as pointed out a year earlier, the drawbacks of the obligatory creation of Participatory Budgets by large cities (66) and the lack of flexibility of regulations. The loss of part of the revenues by local governments made it essential to limit expenditures to the necessary minimum. However, in the case of the PB tasks from the previous year that have already been selected, it is not possible to resign from the implementation. Additionally, large cities cannot resign or limit their participation budgets in the current year, as the regulations specify the minimum amount of expenses in PB. In the case of the Solecki Funds, we have a similar situation as the decisions to resign from them in 2020 could be made until March 31st, 2020 and projects from 2019 should be completed.
Impacts of COVID-19 Disease on PB
- PB have been suspended: 30%
- PB continued to function normally: 50%
- PB have undergone changes/adaptations: 20%
Main Trends of PB in the Country During the Pandemic
In the assessment of Covid-19’s impact on PB in Poland, it should be pointed out that legal regulations and the time frame have significantly influenced decisions made by individual self-governments. In the case of rural and urban-rural municipalities, decisions concerning the Solecki Funds were often made too late (after the statutory deadline) or before the crisis, and the central government “anti-covid shield” did not provide for any extension/suspension of the deadline or possibility to change earlier decisions. In the case of other municipalities, poviats and regions PB (except for large cities), there are no time limitations. Decisions on PB in a given year are often taken in June (voting in the autumn, execution in the following year).This often results in a decision to change the voting dates, and less frequently (as for now) to cancel PB this year (voted 2019 or 2020).
Self-governments still estimate the number of lost revenues (mainly due to lower PIT and CIT shares) and therefore have not taken a final decision on the PB in 2020. At the same time, associations of municipalities appeal to the central government to suspend the legal regulations on PB until the financial situation improves, or to allow for changes in the amount and directions of PB spending.
Additional Information
In the case of Poland, the main problems still remain with data collection:
- The lack of a database on all participatory budgets;
- Inconsistency of nomenclature (e.g., “PB_2020” is the year of voting for part of the PBs, and the year of implementation for other part of the PBs);
- No resolution base in the case of Solecki Fund (publication of resolutions usually on municipalities’ websites).
The data was collected using databases of legal acts, local government websites and publications of the Ministry of Finance. Despite our efforts, they are only estimations and may slightly differ from the actual situation as of 10/06/2020.
