On Friday, January 10, a text with the telling title “Out of spite, a veto” was published on the Nowogrodziec Municipality website. It begins with a comment by Mayor Robert Relich:

I appreciate the candor of Councillor Krzysztof Durda, Chair of the Economic Development and Budget Committee, who stated that some investment projects had been removed by the Skutecznie i Razem Councillors’ Club out of spite against the Mayor of Nowogrodziec and the other councillors.”

Further on in the aforementioned post, we read (original spelling):

On January 8, 2020, the 20th session of the Nowogrodziec Municipal Council was held. Its main item was the adoption of a resolution on the budget of the Nowogrodziec Municipality and Town for 2020.

Following earlier committee work, councillors of the Nowogrodziec Municipal Council made many changes to the draft budget of the Nowogrodziec Municipality and Town for 2020 submitted by Mayor Robert Relich. It should be emphasized that, despite this being included in the committee’s work schedule, the Economic Development and Budget Committee did not analyze budget requests submitted by residents, school principals, etc.

The Mayor of Nowogrodziec’s actions are focused on the systematic development of and investment in roads, street lighting, and sanitary and stormwater sewers. With the aim of improving the living standards of the residents of Nowogrodziec Municipality by improving road infrastructure, constructing street lighting, and reconstructing the municipality’s sanitary and stormwater sewer networks, Mayor Robert Relich planned and submitted further investment proposals for 2020 to the Municipal Council.

The details were presented on the local government’s website.

Municipal officials summed up the entire text as follows:

Unfortunately, at the budget session on January 8, 2020, the councillors made numerous changes to the draft budget of the Nowogrodziec Municipality and Town submitted by Mayor Robert Relich and adopted a resolution that cannot meet the expectations of the residents of Zebrzydowa, Gierałtów, and other localities in the municipality.

Councillors from the Skutecznie i Razem club issued their own statements. Łukasz Izydorczyk, Chair of the Municipal Council:

The information presented by Robert Relich on the Municipal Office’s website misleads the residents of the Nowogrodziec Municipality and Town. Above all, when councillors of the Municipal Council take action, they are not doing anything against anyone.

I believe that all initiatives undertaken by councillors stem from a desire to improve living conditions in the municipality, develop infrastructure, and ensure residents’ safety. Accusing councillors of ill will and spite, and blaming individual councillors for implementing their programme, is in this case an attempt to conceal one’s own inability to build consensus and secure a majority for one’s own ideas.

Furthermore, I am surprised by the mayor’s position, in which he questions the legality of the budget adopted for 2020. Pursuant to Article 18 of the 1990 Act on Municipal Self-Government, adopting the municipal budget falls within the exclusive competence of the municipal council. Even resolutions adopted by the council cannot restrict this competence. I believe that disseminating such information is highly damaging and does not befit the dignity of the office held by Robert Relich.

I also regard blaming councillors for abandoning the investment project entitled “construction of a sidewalk along provincial road no. 357 in Zebrzydowa” as an attempt at manipulation. According to information published by the Lower Silesian Roads and Railways Service, this project was not selected for implementation in 2020. Why, then, did this item appear in the draft budget?

At the same time, I inform you that Councillor Krzysztof Durda denied the words attributed to him by Robert Relich, namely that “some investment projects had been removed by the Skutecznie i Razem Councillors’ Club out of spite against the Mayor of Nowogrodziec and the other councillors.” He also demanded a correction and an official apology for spreading false information.

Statement by Krzysztof Durda:

I never said anywhere or to anyone that councillors from the Skutecznie i Razem club had blocked some investment projects in the 2020 budget of the Nowogrodziec Municipality and Town “out of spite against the mayor and other councillors.” Those words were never spoken. I demand that R. Relich correct the published information and apologize on the nowogrodziec.pl website and on the social media profiles of the Municipal Office and the Mayor of Nowogrodziec.

What do you think? We invite you to join the discussion.