Pursuant to Art. 61 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland “A citizen shall have the right to obtain information on the activities of organs of public authority as well as persons discharging public functions”. Not everyone obliged to provide public information respects the constitutional right of a citizen.  Such a case might have happened in Kalisz.

Over one of this year’s sessions of the Kalisz City Council the rise garbage collection fees was not enforced, since one of the councilors – Agnieszka Konieczna – decided to abstain. Finally, 11 councilors was for and 11 against. Afterwards, the councilor filed a petition for revealing public information on agreements concluded between the city and garbage collecting companies. The councilor was supported by another Law and Justice councilor, who called the Mayor to provide the documentation. The discussed information ought to be commonly available in the Public Information Bulletin. Information on imposing and increasing charges or taxes shall be publicly available and non-publication of such is considered essential undermining of citizens’ trust in the administration.

Threats against the councilor

The interesting fact is that both the councilor and the Mayor of Kalisz come from the same political party, that currently rules the city. Nonetheless, in this case, the councilor,  Agnieszka Konieczna, decided to vote differently. It might be concluded that someone recognized her act as a strike, since she started receiving unlawful threats, that directly corresponded to garbage disposal. It is to be highlighted that unlawful threats used towards the councilor resulted from the fact that she had been revealing information, that should have been publicly available.

Voting in favor of increases

In the end of the day, a month later the City Council outvoted raises amounted to ca. 60% of existing fees. Presently, inhabitants of Kalisz have to pay a monthly fee of PLN 23 per person for garbage collected selectively and PLN 40 for wastes do not subject to selection.  To compare, the same fee in Poznań is PLN 16 and PLN 48, respectively.

Sources:

A Kalisz councilor is concerned about her safety and life – “I hope that we are not dealing with the trash mafia”: https://calisia.pl/kaliska-radna-obawia-sie-o-swoje-zdrowie-i-zycie-mam-nadzieje-ze-nie-mamy-do-czynienia-z-mafia-smieciowa,46246

The Law and Justice councilor fears for her life due to the threats: https://fakty.interia.pl/wielkopolskie/news-radna-pis-obawia-sie-o-swoje-zycie-w-zwiazku-z-grozbami,nId,4663746

No more raises in garbage collection fees!  https://zyciekalisza.pl/artykul/stop-podwyzce-cen-za/732679

Fees and due dates: https://www.goap.org.pl/deklaracje-i-platnosci/stawki-i-terminy-platnosci