In the article “Promotion for One Ballpoint Pen” in 2009, we wrote, among other things, about the overly expensive promotion of the city. We criticized the Department of Development and Promotion for its lack of innovative ideas and wasting money on ineffective leaflets and expensive gadgets. In July last year, the head of this department, Elżbieta Chojnacka, lost her position. She was punished for rejecting a low-priced offer—for an inquiry about the cost of printing and designing leaflets, a Gliwice company responded with a price of PLN 2,992, while the official chose the offer from the company “Proart” owned by Grzegorz Matoryn, which priced the same service at PLN 7,283.40.
We became interested in the City Hall’s cooperation with the Bolesławiec-based company. We asked for a statement of the expenditure on “Proart” over the previous two years. We also asked about the company owned by Janusz Moniatowicz, “Moniatowicz Foto Studio”, which also works with the office and provides similar services for the city. In 2009, Grzegorz Matoryn’s company earned more than PLN 76,000 on advertising materials. Last year, more than PLN 55,000 was paid to it from the city’s coffers. In 2010, “Moniatowicz Foto Studio” collected PLN 88,000 for just two contracts.
Real Money from a Printed Leaflet
The City Hall orders albums, folders, diplomas, presentation folders, invitations, postcards, banners, advertising boards, presentations and event photographs from “Proart”. It is difficult not to appreciate the variety and quality of the services provided. However, the prices of some of them are puzzling, particularly in light of the scandal involving the order for leaflets for last year’s Ceramics Festival. The Gliwice company was able to produce them for more than half the price charged by the Bolesławiec company.
The expenditure statement is most striking for the high sums paid for reprinting leaflets and folders. These are usually PLN 4,000–6,000 for 5,000 copies. After checking market prices, printing the same quantity of leaflets, in the same format and on the same paper, costs several times less—about PLN 1,000 gross, including delivery.
For the graphic design and production of 5,000 Bolesławiec Ceramics Festival leaflets, the office paid “Proart” almost PLN 3,300 in January 2010. In April, it was decided that another 10,000 leaflets should be printed. The company owned by Matoryn was paid almost PLN 4,300 for this service. In June, it was again decided to reprint 2,500 copies, this time for PLN 1,800. According to our information, if the entire order had been placed at once, printing would have cost about PLN 1,800. “Proart” earned more than four times that amount—PLN 9,400.
That same year, the office paid almost PLN 6,500 to print 5,000 folding folders, although it could have paid PLN 1,000 (these were reprints of previously prepared and paid-for designs). Producing and printing presentation folders, a folder with tour routes and one advertising ceramics companies cost taxpayers almost PLN 12,900. According to our calculations, printing should have cost about PLN 3,600. The remainder—more than PLN 9,000—was probably the designer’s copyright fees, rights to maps and some company profit.
The new head of the Department of Development and Promotion, Tomasz Gabrysiak, explains that inquiries were sent to three companies regarding leaflets promoting the Bolesławiec Ceramics Festival. The most advantageous offer was submitted by “Proart”, owned by Grzegorz Matoryn. “The range of costs for reprinting leaflets or folders, when the contractors are also the authors of the publications, can be considerable,” Gabrysiak says. “This accounts for the difference between journalists’ estimates of reprinting costs and the expenditure shown in the statement. The price of reprinting is determined by the cost of copyright, and often also by rights to intangible assets in the case of maps, plans and photographs.”
Gabrysiak also assures us that every order to reprint promotional materials is preceded by negotiations on the final price, and that market prices for a product of a similar nature and quantity are taken into account. However, when taking the ordered leaflets in hand and checking market printing prices at a print shop, it turns out that they are lower every time—sometimes several times lower.
A Passport for Seventy-Seven Thousand
“Moniatowicz Foto Studio” also receives contracts from our office. Last year, it was paid PLN 53,000 for preparing, translating and typesetting a publication containing a compendium of information about the cities of Bolesławiec and Česká Lípa, entitled “Bolesławiec–Česká Lípa Passport”. An additional PLN 24,000 was paid for printing 4,500 copies of the folder; this work was handled by a company from Kraków.
The small, 72-page booklet with a map in three languages was published as part of an EU project. Its “EU” 2010 edition differs only slightly from the 2008 “Bolesławiec Passport”, which was also typeset and prepared by Janusz Moniatowicz’s company. At first glance, it is clear that only cosmetic changes were made to the publication costing PLN 53,000. Twelve pages about Česká Lípa were added. Several photographs were changed, but not their layout; the same texts about monuments and Bolesławiec were edited somewhat differently. There is a regional map, and the information about local companies was certainly updated.
“The order also included trips to Česká Lípa connected with preparing the Czech section of the publication,” Tomasz Gabrysiak explains. “The task has already been completed and positively inspected by the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Office in Wrocław, which in this case was the contracting authority. An invitation to submit a price proposal for printing the publication was posted on the City Hall’s website.”
Time to Cut Off the Hen’s Head
Formally, neither the Municipal Office nor the Department of Development and Promotion can be accused of anything. The projects were verified, ordered and settled in accordance with the law. Companies, meanwhile, have the right to price their services as they see fit. And had the information revealed in the press last year about the former head choosing the more expensive offer not come to light, she would probably still be in her position.
It is difficult, however, to resist the impression of financial mismanagement. It seems that officials ordering advertising leaflets spend public money freely, as long as the paperwork and settlements are in order. Considering the price of some folders and leaflets, their only possible explanation may be that some extremely expensive gold ink was used for printing. That is how much was paid for them. No one also thinks about using the potential of advertising specialists employed at City Hall. For example, Rafał Tur (the “Tukan” advertising agency) works at the City Hall and was recently used as a presenter at the Mayor’s Awards Gala. Perhaps, as part of the savings, he could prepare some leaflet designs during working hours? He could also arrange their printing. It would be much cheaper. However, this would require a different approach to spending public money.
Maybe it is high time to cut off the head of the hen laying golden leaflets?
(information by Grażyna Hanaf and Krzysztof Gwizdała)