Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to report on how elected representatives perceive the current status and role of municipal council in governing process. The particular attention is paid to the impact of the introduced in 2002 leadership reform and influence of new participatory framework on council’s position and say. The paper draws on empirical data collected in municipalities of Lubelskie region under two, separate research projects in 2015 and 2016. The main research findings indicate that representing residents’ interests and controlling the executive constitute the priories for Polish councilors. Local representatives think at the same time that their role in governing process constantly diminishes. The main impact on this situation had the introduction of elected mayors what not only limited council’s say but also changed the governing pattern.
Highlights
Since the turn of 18th and 19th century, when democratically elected self-government was established, in a number of Western European countries local democracy underwent major transformation
In Poland, the questionnaire was distributed among councillors from 21 selected municipalities located in the Lubelskie region (N=410)
The list includes defining the financial strategy of the municipality and its budgets, defining the activities undertaken within the municipality and supporting the mayor
Summary
Since the turn of 18th and 19th century, when democratically elected self-government was established, in a number of Western European countries local democracy underwent major transformation. Changes included both the values upon which local institutions are built, and the understanding of the idea of self-governing, the Katarzyna Radzik-Maruszak optimal size and scope of tasks of local units as well as organization of their bodies. In Poland, the first wave of decentralisation reforms was implemented in the 1990s. On their ground municipality (gmina) became the basic, and the most vital, local unit. The second wave of decentralisation, namely the introduction of counties (powiaty) and the change in number and status of regions (województwa), conducted in 1998, did not change the situation. due to the increase in the number of own tasks, the role of municipalities in overall structure of Polish local self-government was even strengthened. Presently, almost 2,500 municipalities are responsible inter alia for provision of selected municipal and social services, local spatial planning, environmental protection, local roads, local culture, communal housing and education at pre-school and primary levels
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