Jan Russ from PiS submitted an interpellation concerning mail arriving at the Council Office address but addressed by name to councillors. “Please explain who ordered this correspondence to be opened and who reads this mail,” the councillor said during Thursday’s session.
The county secretary responded to Jan Russ. “Municipal offices, county offices and marshal’s offices have no discretion regarding the receipt and handling of correspondence; this matter has been regulated by an ordinance of the Prime Minister,” explained Bogdan Gursztyn. “There is one general rule: private correspondence that cannot be opened does not arrive at public offices.”
Secretary Gursztyn’s explanation indicates that the Bolesławiec county head, in accordance with the instructions contained in Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s ordinance, issued an order specifying the types of mail that are not opened by the office registry. These are: mail addressed by name to the county head, deputy county head and members of the county board; mail constituting an official secret; valuable items and mail reserved for addressees; as well as bids concerning public procurement. “All remaining mail is public,” Gursztyn emphasized.
Jan Russ was not satisfied with the explanation. “It seems to me that since I was elected by the public, I am answerable at most to the chair and presidium of the Council, not to the county head. It is as if the Prime Minister decided to open mail addressed to each member of parliament. Let us assume that someone sends me a complaint about the county head. Before the letter reaches me, it is read by other people,” Russ said.
“We can expand the list of mail that we will not open,” county head Cezary Przybylski stressed. “But if an important letter arrives at the Council Office address, you will then receive it several days later. I cannot imagine office employees informing a councillor by phone every time some item of mail arrives for them. That generates costs. If we expand the list of confidential mail in this way, you may learn about something important only after the fact, but the confidentiality of correspondence will indeed be preserved.”
The county head’s explanation was firmly challenged by Józef Król, a councillor from Piotr Roman’s Committee. The councillor said that everyone should take one another seriously and that making a phone call is really not a major matter. Ordinary courtesy requires it.
The county head replied that he would not change his position and would not retract what he had said. Jan Russ demanded a full written explanation.
We will return to this matter.
(information: GA / KG)