The 17th City Council session, although held on December 28—that is, between Christmas and New Year's Eve—was by no means conducted in a festive atmosphere. Animosities between Piotr Roman and some councillors resurfaced.
The proceedings were chaotic. During the session, the mayor of Bolesławiec was outraged that Bogusław Nowak, a councillor from Platforma Obywatelska, had taken his photograph. Piotr Roman stressed that he did not want to be photographed while wiping his nose. He added that he realized such a photograph could prove useful in a future election campaign. Councillor Bogusław Nowak replied that the mayor was obsessed with himself.
What about the loan to the SP ZOZ?
The issue of remitting the loan to the district hospital caused enormous controversy. Eugeniusz Kowalski of PiS noted that he had been one of the first councillors to vote in favor of granting it. However, when he asked the district authorities what the money—PLN 1.5 million—had been spent on, he never received a specific answer.
Cezariusz Rudyk, a PO councillor, said that at the turn of 2006 and 2007, the mayor of Bolesławiec had received detailed information about how the funds were used, as well as a request to remit the loan. According to Rudyk, Powiat Bolesławiecki had still not received a response. Piotr Roman accused the councillor of telling lies. “I don't know why, but this seems to be becoming a habit with you,” the mayor told the councillor. Piotr Roman claimed that he had replied to the District Governor's Office several weeks earlier, although not in writing.
“I am opposed to remitting this loan,” Piotr Roman added. He justified his position by saying that the district authorities had created an additional position for a board member responsible for obtaining European Union funds, at a salary of PLN 7,500 per month. According to the mayor, the same work was done at the City Hall by someone earning only PLN 2,500.
Cezariusz Rudyk replied that he did not want the mayor to insult him again. He recalled that in 2006 it was Piotr Roman himself who had been the main advocate of creating the position in the district, which he was now criticizing so strongly. “You have no moral right to say that things are different now!” Councillor Rudyk reprimanded the mayor.
Councillor Józef Burniak asked the mayor how he could involve a member of the District Governor's Office in the matter of the hospital loan. “I want to remind you that it is only the City Council [..], and not the mayor, that can decide whether or not to remit this loan,” noted the LiD councillor. Burniak also said that he had not expected to take part in a session in which the mayor of Bolesławiec would assess the district government. He added that lecturing others was an “inherent characteristic” of Piotr Roman. In Burniak's view, during the discussion about the loan, Mayor Roman had used defamatory statements and impermissible assessments.
The matter of Kubika Street returns
The councillors decided that in 2008 the city would take out a long-term loan, for 10 years, in the amount of PLN 2,200,000. The lender is to be the Wrocław Voivodeship Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management. The money will be used to build a sewer system from Kubika Street to Zgorzelecka Street. The own contribution of the Bolesławiec Municipal Commune toward carrying out this investment will amount to PLN 50,000.
The budget is adopted
The 2008 budget was adopted with the votes of councillors from Prawo i Sprawiedliwość and Ziemia Bolesławiecka. Its deficit amounts to exactly PLN 13,216,568. Councillors from Platforma Obywatelska and LiD opposed the resolution.
At the end of the session, the councillors exchanged New Year's greetings over glasses of champagne.
(GA/KG report)