Councillors work for the benefit of the community and receive remuneration for it. An employer must even grant a councillor leave to support them in carrying out their duties. But how do councillors work in the city council? And do they actually do their work at all?
A councillor’s duty is to attend city council sessions and meetings of the committees they have joined. Each councillor earns PLN 1,238 net per month, which is not subject to taxation. Committee and council chairs receive more for performing their functions. When a councillor is absent from a committee meeting or session, 10% is deducted from the total amount each time. But only when the absence is unjustified. If a councillor provides an excuse, they do not lose the money.
With attendance lists for councillors at sessions and committee meetings during this term, it is possible to determine which councillor was diligent and which was not.
The laziest councillors are Dominik Chodyra, who did not attend more than half of the sessions and committee meetings (53% absence), and Bogusław Nowak (45% absence).
| First and last name | Number of committees on which the councillor sits | Number of sessions and committee meetings | Number of absences | Percentage of absences |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data from the Department of Municipal Authorities dated 2010-05-11 | ||||
| Dominik Chodyra | 2 | 161 | 86 | 53% |
| Bogusław Nowak | 2 | 160 | 72 | 45% |
| Józef Burniak (until August 2008) |
1 | 54 | 20 | 37% |
| Krzysztof Pieszko | 2 | 161 | 33 | 20% |
| Irena Dul | 1 | 106 | 17 | 16% |
| Lesław Śliwko (from September 2008) |
1 | 50 | 8 | 16% |
| Cezariusz Rudyk | 2 | 133 | 19 | 14% |
| Jarosław Kowalski | 2 | 136 | 18 | 13% |
| Bolesław Nowak | 0 | 50 | 5 | 10% |
| Małgorzata Goleńska | 2 | 161 | 15 | 9% |
| Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka | 2 | 133 | 12 | 9% |
| Janusz Kozioł | 2 | 163 | 13 | 8% |
| Andrzej Czeczutka | 2 | 164 | 13 | 8% |
| Leszek Chudzik | 2 | 134 | 10 | 7% |
| Eugeniusz Kowalski | 2 | 163 | 12 | 7% |
| Hubert Prabucki | 2 | 163 | 12 | 7% |
| Mirosław Sakowski | 2 | 164 | 9 | 5% |
| Stanisław Andrusieczko | 1 | 108 | 4 | 4% |
| Paweł Dul | 2 | 133 | 4 | 3% |
| Jan Jasiukiewicz | 1 | 105 | 3 | 3% |
| Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk | 0 | 50 | 1 | 2% |
| Józef Pokładek | 1 | 105 | 0 | 0% |
In a conversation with us, City Council chair Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk admitted that she had never reprimanded in writing any councillor who rarely attends City Council and committee meetings. “I’m afraid to approach Bogusław Nowak,” the chairwoman noted. “When the councillor receives even a gentle admonition, he reacts aggressively, and I then feel ill for the entire day.”
She added, however, that she had spoken with Dominik Chodyra, after which the councillor began attending sessions more often. “He really did attend rarely before; now he has improved,” Janina Piestrak-Babijczuk emphasises.
“I don’t know why some people join the Council. Being a councillor is a civic duty,” the chairwoman continued. “Someone who has received a councillor’s mandate should take part in the life of the city. That is precisely why one becomes a councillor. Meanwhile, some councillors do not attend committee meetings, and as a result they are later unfamiliar with the issues discussed during sessions. That is also why Council meetings drag on, even though they should proceed efficiently and substantively.”
Our newspaper has published materials showing that councillors are unfamiliar with the matters on which they make decisions. Sometimes councillors are unaware of their own power.
They do not know, for example, that the city’s stake in the Telewizja Lokalna “Azart-Sat” company depends on them, or that they can influence the subjects of programmes paid for from the municipal budget. Their lack of knowledge came to light during a meeting with the television station’s president, Alicja Burchard.
In one of our 2008 articles, we asked councillors from the ruling coalition what they knew about the problems surrounding the construction of a shopping centre in the area bounded by Zgorzelecka, Górne Młyny and Łokietka streets. It turned out that most of them had no idea about this enormous investment.
At the beginning of the year, we wrote that councillors had rejected a resolution containing a programme to prevent animal homelessness, despite the fact that the Animal Protection Act obliges the municipality to care for homeless cats and dogs. The resolution still does not exist.
“The City Council should consist of a group of wise people who support the mayor in good governance and oversee him,” councillor Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka said in one of our interviews. “The City Council exists precisely for social dialogue.”
A councillor’s laziness has a negative impact on fulfilling the basic duty: dealing with matters important to citizens. It also affects how society perceives all councillors.