In December last year, we reported that councillors from Nowogrodziec had reduced the salary of incumbent mayor Robert Relich by nearly PLN 700 gross. It was meant to be a kind of yellow card for the municipality’s leader. (Details in the article: “A yellow card” for Robert Relich. Councillors reduce his salary; audit to follow).
In May, we reported that the Municipal Council in Nowogrodziec did not grant the mayor a vote of confidence and did not adopt a resolution on the discharge.
It appears that the conflict between the mayor and some councillors is intensifying. During the September session of the Municipal Council in Nowogrodziec, R. Relich proposed a draft resolution “changing the currently applicable rules” concerning councillors’ allowances. As we read on the Nowogrodziec local government’s website:
This motion resulted from the fact that, by a resolution of the Municipal Council dated 6 December 2018, councillors, at the request of the Skutecznie i Razem Club, decided—under the slogan of disciplining councillors—to deduct 10% of the allowance for absences from a session or committee meeting. This deduction can be avoided if a written justification is submitted to Łukasz Izydorczyk, the Chair of the Council, within the required time and the Chair considers the justification valid.
Unfortunately, this system is opaque, and the practice of applying it is controversial [podkreślenia – istotne.pl].
Unfortunately, the Mayor’s motion was rejected by the votes of councillors from the Skutecznie i Razem Club.
Municipal officials: “[…] you can assess this matter yourselves, as we present the councillors’ requests for justifying their absences that were presented during the session. Moreover, at the beginning of the term, there were instances in which the Chair of the Council excused councillors’ absences on the basis of oral and late requests, including requests from councillors from the Skutecznie i Razem Club, which was contrary to the Statute of the Municipality and City of Nowogrodziec.”
The officials added:
Furthermore, it is difficult to regard as understandable the justification for the absence of a councillor who, at the same time, as he himself states, conducts gainful business activity in other parts of Poland and for that reason will not participate in the Council’s work, while retaining the right to the allowance, whereas other councillors’ absences are not excused and an allowance is withheld from a councillor who at that time is performing responsible service protecting the health and property of residents.
It is also appropriate to point out that a councillor’s allowance is intended to compensate for earnings lost by the councillor. For local government officials who conduct business activity, this benefit is meant to supplement lost income; when a councillor is not employed and does not run a business, the allowance compensates for the earnings they could have obtained had they not devoted themselves to carrying out the duties arising from the mandate entrusted to them.
Details are available on the Municipality of Nowogrodziec website.
What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.