“The Regional Chamber of Audit in Katowice upheld the key allegations raised by the Audit Committee of the Gliwice City Council concerning the implementation of the City of Gliwice’s 2025 budget,” Olaf Pest, a Law and Justice (PiS) councilor in Gliwice, told Niezalezna.pl.
“The Audit Committee identified numerous irregularities related both to the implementation of municipal investments and to the overall execution of the budget. For example, nearly PLN 160 million remained unspent in the city’s accounts last year. Importantly, the Chamber supported the committee’s right to regard these shortcomings as grounds for submitting a motion to deny budget discharge.”
Under Poland’s local government law, municipal councils annually decide whether to grant or deny budget discharge for the previous year’s budget execution. A refusal opens the way for a referendum initiative aimed at dismissing a mayor, town mayor, or city president from office. Such a decision reflects a lack of confidence in the financial policies pursued by local authorities. At every stage, the process is reviewed by the Regional Chamber of Audit, which oversees municipal finances.
Gliwice Mayor Undermined the “Okrąglak” Project
The Audit Committee of the Gliwice City Council concluded that the city’s mayor managed public finances unreliably during the previous year.
First, anti-flood investments intended to protect residents were abandoned. In addition, a planned hospital project will not be built. Furthermore, the flagship “Okrąglak” development—a recreational area with a central city park—was reportedly carried out in violation of the law.
Equally significant, some budget categories achieved only 70 percent of their planned spending targets. As a result, as much as PLN 160 million remained unspent in the city’s coffers.
The budget analysis was submitted to the Regional Chamber of Audit in Katowice, which supported the committee’s right to treat the identified shortcomings as grounds for seeking the denial of budget discharge.
However, Mariusz Kopeć, spokesperson for Gliwice Mayor Katarzyna Kuczyńska-Budka, downplayed the matter.
“The Regional Chamber of Audit did not ‘uphold’ the Audit Committee’s allegations concerning the implementation of the City of Gliwice’s 2025 budget. The Chamber’s resolution concerned only an assessment of the committee’s motion from a formal and procedural standpoint. The Chamber evaluated whether the committee had carried out all legally required actions, particularly whether it had reviewed the budget execution report, which had previously received a positive opinion from the Chamber itself. (…) The Chamber merely stated that the Audit Committee fulfilled the statutory procedural requirements connected with filing a motion to deny budget discharge,” he emphasized.
Council Vote Scheduled for June 18
“Now the Audit Committee’s documents and the Chamber’s opinion will be submitted to the Gliwice City Council for a vote on June 18. If councilors share the position of the Regional Chamber of Audit in Katowice, this could open the way for a motion seeking a referendum on removing the city mayor from office,” Councilor Pest added.
In the 25-seat Gliwice City Council, the ruling coalition consisting of Civic Coalition (KO) and the “Nowy Ratusz” grouping holds 13 votes.
Niezalezna.pl asked Nina Drzewiecka, the Civic Coalition chairwoman of the council, whether her group would support the motion, but the question remained unanswered.