Methodology of Informing about Participatory Budgets in Reports of the state of Commune for 2020 (analysis of 41 communes of the Metropolis GZM)

Abstract

In 2018, local government units were obliged to prepare new documents every year – reports about the state of the commune (poviat, voivodeship). Local government acts generally describe which elements should be included in such a report. One of the highlighted element is the participatory budget. The article aims to present the methodology of reporting about the participatory budgets in reports on the state of the commune (for 2020, published in 2021). Forty-one communes from the area of the Metropolis GZM were analyzed. These communes are quite diverse. In some of them, as cities with poviat rights, the participatory budget is obligatory. Other communes implement it on an optional basis or do not implement it at all. The author presents the key elements of participatory budgets, reports on the state of the commune and the Metropolis GZM. The presented data indicate which elements were included in the reports by individual communes (e.g. financing, schedule or references to previous editions). Information about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the participatory budgets is also presented. In addition, the author presents other aspects of the reports related to the main topic, e.g. reporting about the sołectwo fund or other forms of participatory budgeting. The most important information was presented in the form of maps and tables.