Following our article: Former Deputy Mayor Łuczkowski Got a Position in the Company. Changes at Hydrotech, Leszek Socha, a community activist and vice-president of Nowogrodziec’s Obywatelskie Stowarzyszenie Inicjatyw Lokalnych VE-TO, decided to add his comment.
Hydro-Tech z Nowogrodźcu sp. z o.o. was established on January 6, 2000. Its activities include the extraction and treatment of water, as well as its distribution, and the disposal and treatment of wastewater. Since 2008, the company has produced and distributed heat. The company is owned by the Gmina i Miasto Nowogrodziec.
“The article mentions a loss of more than one million zlotys and a PLN 200,000 increase in wages in 2023,” comments Leszek Socha. “What is the local authority’s response to this? Replacing the supervisory board is supposed to be the antidote, but the president of the management board—the person under whom the loss occurred—is being left in place. What are we talking about here? Probably a sinecure (a well-paid position requiring neither much effort nor skill—editor’s note),” adds the VE-TO vice-president.
In his extensive commentary, Leszek Socha addresses the issue of protecting taxpayers’ money in Gmina Nowogrodziec.
“And what does this mean for me, an ordinary resident of Gmina Nowogrodziec?” Socha continues. “It is not enough that municipal fees are already expensive because this is a commercial-law company operating on municipal property; we also have more expensive services because of an expanded administration consisting of a management board and a supervisory board. They do not meet there from time to time for free. I do not know how much their remuneration is; you should take an interest in that. What does this mean for us, the residents? Someone has to pay for this million-zloty loss. We will pay. A widow who cannot afford to pay for a grave at the municipal cemetery will pay for it, because that is more or less what it looks like. More expensive housing, more expensive municipal services, more expensive water, because everything is managed by the company,” Socha explains.
In his commentary, Leszek Socha also calls for an audit at the municipal office following former Mayor Robert Relich.
“Why do I insist so much and criticize the fact that the new mayor has not conducted an audit?” Socha asks. “An audit is nothing more than an inventory, put most simply. When a new shopkeeper takes over a shop, they conduct an inventory so they do not take on the previous owner’s arrears, while also allowing the owner to know how the shop is being run. It is the same here: an audit is not for the mayor’s satisfaction. An audit is for society, so that people know how our property and finances are being managed. This is not a favor or a whim; it is an obligation. There was no audit, and there is a loss, while everything is in the company’s documents. Without analyzing those documents, we will not find out what caused it. I know about these matters, but I am unable to do it because I have no decision-making authority. However, the mayor should find out as soon as possible what caused this loss. And covering it up with a new supervisory board will achieve nothing. We will have to cover this loss out of our own pockets. More than one of us will not be able to afford to maintain the proverbial grave. This happened in Gmina Nowogrodziec. And I propose that we oppose it,” Leszek Socha concludes his critical commentary.