A map of connections in local governments was created. “Everyone has to work somewhere”

Can a councilor who is supposed to control the president or mayor also be his employee? Although the law allows it in many cases, it raises huge ethical controversies. The Watchdog Polska Civic Network has launched a special website that is intended to expose the scale of political and business connections in Polish local governments.

“Everyone has to work somewhere” – this is the name of a new initiative that aims to increase transparency in local power structures. The project focuses on monitoring the employment of councilors in entities dependent on the local government in which they hold a mandate.

The so-called “Local government Erasmus” will not be covered by the study for now, although this is also a topic, because local government officials from many Polish cities have created a system of earning extra money by exchanging positions on supervisory boards of companies under their control.

Citizen control – how does the map work?

The website kazdymusigdziespracowac.pl is an interactive tool thanks to which residents can check whether their representatives in municipal or city councils are not involved in official relationships with the local executive authority. The mechanism of action is based on cooperation with citizens:

1. Report – residents send information about councilors who they believe work in municipal companies, offices or subordinate units.
2. Verification – Watchdog Polska experts verify this data using the public information access mode (e.g. by asking about payrolls or contracts).
3. Publication – confirmed cases are placed on a publicly available map.

The creators of the project emphasize that a situation in which a councilor is the mayor's subordinate in a municipal company, and after hours he is to supervise him at a council session, is a classic conflict of interest.

Huge earnings in municipal companies

The topic of employment in municipal companies arouses emotions not only because of ethics, but also because of finances. Publicly available data show that the salaries of top positions in municipal companies often drastically exceed the salaries of parliamentarians or ministers.

According to Polish regulations, a councilor cannot act as the head of a municipal organizational unit (e.g. a school principal in the same municipality) or sit on the management board of a company with the municipality's shareholding. However, the Act has loopholes – it does not prohibit the employment of councilors in non-managerial positions, as specialists, advisors or proxies.

It is these “gray zones” that Watchdog Polska takes a closer look at. The project aims to show how councilors' mandates often become a gateway to stable and very well-paid work in the public sector, which may ultimately weaken the independence of councils and their control function.

Prepared by JM

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