Participatory Budget and the SARS-COV-2 Pandemic in Poland

Jakub BARANOWSKI

doi:10.24193/tras.si2020.2

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected almost every aspect of social life. Public authorities are trying to combat the effects of the pandemic by introducing specific legal regulations. Even though the Polish legislature has established a number of regulations to combat the epidemiological threat, they have not regulated the participatory budget process. The obligation to establish it, especially in cities with powiat rights (a city with powiat rights should be understood as a city with over 100,000 residents, governed by a mayor), at a time when local government units seek savings, may result in some important investments not being made. On the other hand, maintaining the involvement of residents in the development of local communities can have a positive impact on participation in the community. In this article, the author attempts to analyze the legal situation of participatory budgets during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic under Polish legislation, at the same time indicating the possibilities of developing this form of civic participation by using, among other things, technologies that enable remote communication.

Highlights

The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to affect many aspects of social activity
Cities with powiat rights have to create a participatory budget to the amount of at least 0.5% of the expenses resulting from the last submitted report on budget execution, whereas in the case of entities which are not classed as cities with powiat rights, carrying out the process of social consultations with residents has been made optional by the legislature
It seems reasonable for the District Sanitary Inspector to provide general guidelines on epidemiological safety during voting in a participatory budget. This is all the more important because most often it is the seniors who are the beneficiaries of the traditional form of voting. This is important from the point of view of this year’s participatory budget schedule (Schedule of the Szczecin 2021 edition participatory budget, 2020), which indicates that the vote is to take place in November and, as epidemiologists claim, a return of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and an increase in the incidence of COVID-19 can be expected at that time

Summary

Introduction

The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to affect many aspects of social activity. The restrictions introduced by the authorities of European countries related to everyday life meant that certain legal participatory mechanisms in local government units had to be adapted to the new circumstances, activities under the broadly understood social participation had to be redirected. The basis for conducting participatory processes has been direct meetings of residents with public administration bodies This type of interaction was considered the most effective for building and maintaining a special bond between social activists and the administrative unit. The situation related to the SARS-CoV-2 virus meant that in a very short time it was necessary to change by 180 degrees the way of thinking about social participation. This is due to the special role of social participation in local government units. This article attempts to present the problematic aspects of organizing the participatory budget process in Poland, understood as one of the most important tools of public participation, during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The historical-legal method was used, indicating the origin of the participatory budget process and its evolution in recent years

The essence of the participatory budget and legal regulations in Poland

Stage of the call for proposals for the 2021 participatory budget

Stage of project selection by residents in a general vote

Findings

Summary