9.1 Territorial Division ofPoland,Average Sizes and Ranges

Local Government Organization and Finance: Poland 305

TABLE 9.1 Territorial Division ofPoland, Average Sizes and Ranges

Municipalities (gminy), including cities with county Regions Indicator status Counties (powiaty) (województwa)

Number ofunits About 2,500 315 and 65 cities 16 with county status

Area (square kilometers) Average 125 826 19,540 Minimum 2 13 9,412 Maximum 625 2,987 35,598

Population Average 15,500 104,000 2,420,000 Minimum 1,300 22,000 1,024,000 Maximum 1,628,000 1,628,000 5,070,000

Source: Author’s calculations based on data from Bank Danych Regionalnych, Glówny Urz˛ad Statystyczny (Bank ofRegional Data, Main Statistical Office).

forthe three levels ofsubnational self-government.Municipal,county, andregional levels cooperate—for example,in economic development policies—but in terms ofspecific service delivery,the separation is close to perfect.The situation is much more complicated in the relationship between the central and local government levels.In some cases (such as education or some social welfare benefits),nationwide regulations are so strict that local government’s role is to a huge extent reduced to being an agent ofcentral government and implementing central policies.

Municipal governments are protected by the Polish constitution,which offers them a general competence clause and specifies that a procedure to change municipal boundaries or liquidate a municipality must include public consultations (although the results ofsuch consultations are not binding for the central government).Other tiers ofterritorial self-government are not named in the constitution,and their existence depends on laws adopted by the Polish parliament.

The constitution also defines basic rules oflocal government autonomy. It specifies that state supervision oftheir activity is limited to checkingthe legality ofdecisions made by local councils and local administration.It also specifies that local governments must have revenues adequate to their functional responsibilities and that new responsibilities must be accompanied by new sources ofrevenues.It also says that local governments have a right to set the rates oflocal fees and taxes,within limits established by the laws.

306 Pawel Swianiewicz

Local Elections: Council and Executive Bodies

Local government councils ofall three tiers are elected the same day for a period offour years.However,election rules differ slightly for different tiers.

On the municipal level,there are the following two systems:

1.In municipalities with no more than 20,000 inhabitants,there is a majority system,in which one to five councilors are elected in each ward.In practice,in most small local governments,there is one councilor per ward. 2.In municipalities with more than 20,000 citizens,there is a proportional representation system.Between 8 and 10 councilors are elected in each ward (until the April 2001 amendment 5 to 10 seats were allocated in a single ward),and seats are distributed among political organizations (usually parties) proportionally to the number ofvotes gained in a ward.

At the county and regional levels,a proportional representation system is also in place,but there is an additional threshold of5 percent ofvotes (that is,parties that get fewer votes in the scale ofthe whole local government unit are not taken into account when seats in the council are allocated).The number ofcouncilors is defined by law and depends on the population of the local government unit.

At all three levels,a council may be dissolved before the end ofits term as a result ofa local referendum.The referendum can be initiated by at least 10 percent ofeligible voters in a municipality or county or at least 5 percent ofeligible voters in a region.The turnout in the referendum must be at least 30 percent to be valid.It should be mentioned that other types ofdecisions might be made by the local community through a referendum.

Since 2001,local councilors must not be members ofparliament, councilors in another tier oflocal government,or high-level executive directors ofstate or local government administration.There are also limitations on working in the local administration ofa councilor’s own local government unit.

All meetings ofthe council and ofcouncil committees are open to the public.Also,every citizen may have access to minutes and other written documents produced by the council and its committees.

Every council has a chairperson,whose role is to call meetings and chair them.Everyday council work is organized through commissions (such as those for education,economic development,and the like).The number, names,and sizes ofcommissions depend entirely on decisions made by each