Since the beginning of 2018, the citizens’ budget has been one of the forms of social consultations, however it is particularly important, because according to the the legislation, its results are binding for the local government. By its means, members of the local community can independently decide on the allocation of a part, even though rather small, but nevertheless, of the financial resources, allotted for this purpose from budget pool of a given unit for a specific budget year. This institution complements the catalogue of legal measures providing citizens with governing powers, and moreover, plays an important role in shaping their sense of influence and responsibility for public affairs. This study presents an example of the regulation of the local citizens’ budget and the participatory budget of a district town - Dąbrowa Górnicza. The author discusses them, in the light of the amendment adopted at the beginning of 2018, including constitutional local government acts of 11 January 2018.

The aim of the article is to show the origin and characteristics of the citizens’ legislative initiative and the European legislative initiative through the prism of the concept of good governance, which postulates decision-making inclusiveness. The hypothesis assumed in the considerations indicates that the legislative initiative, as a general power at the national or European level, in its current form, is only a sham instrument for socialization of the law-making process in accordance with the concept of governance. Both institutions in question formally fit into this concept, but the analysis of their functioning in practice shows a contradiction with its essence. The content of the considerations consists of both theoretical and legal remarks as well as those related to practical implementation of the examined legal provisions.

The aim of this article is to look at strategic management of a large city from the two different perspectives: theoretical and empirical. In the first part the author focused on theoretical fundaments of management, particularly of the public strategic management. The second part presented the characteristics of the process of strategic management based on empirical data: two strategic documents adopted in Katowice over the last number of years were analysed. One of these documents is a currently binding one and the other is of an archival character. Referring to both the systematics and the means of preparation of these documents, as well as to their content, the author showed their common elements and the transformation which have occurred over the last number of years concerning the manner and approach to strategic management in the city. Based on documents analysis, the author answered the question asked in the introduction, which is whether in relation to the long-term policy of Katowice can one talk about change or continuation.

Problematyka artykułu ma wyraźny związek z pandemią COVID-19 i jej negatywnym wpływem na partycypację. W 2020 r. pandemia i związany z nią lockdown czasowo przerwały deliberację w procesach budżetowych w ponad stu polskich miastach. Jednak zarazem w ogólnym pejzażu oraz w kształcie topografii budżetowania obywatelskiego w Polsce wiele się nie zmieniło. Nadal jest to teren dla deliberacji niełatwy, choć jest ona możliwa. Autorzy artykułu podjęli próbę przybliżenia skutków oddziaływania tych elementów ustawowej regulacji budżetów obywatelskich, które nie sprzyjają rozwojowi deliberacji. Wyniki analiz odniesiono do znanej w literaturze modelowej typologii partycypacji w budżetowaniu obywatelskim, z uwzględnieniem przypadków trzech polskich miast.

The article is an attempt to characterize and analyze the institution of a civic initiative, by describing its idea, genesis and four legislative paths, the last of which was successful. Pursuant to the 2018 amendment to the local government laws, the right to initiate a legislative procedure may be exercised by residents of all Polish municipalities, poviats and voivodships on an equal basis. The considerations of the article focus on the formal following of the legislative path of the act, which is today the legal basis of the discussed institution, as well as the characteristics of the three previous - ineffective - drafts. The axis of the work is a discussion and dispute in the doctrine and among local government officials, among others, about the legitimacy of introducing this regulation and its final shape. The article uses methods characteristic for research on public policy as well as law and administration studies. The main tool is a comparative analysis of draft legal acts, and the auxiliary is a functional system analysis. During deliberations, the authors want to answer the question about the attitude of individual political circles to the legitimacy of regulating the resolution initiative in common law and to the manner and scope of the regulation itself. The question is also why, despite almost a decade of attempts to standardize individual solutions, it was possible to do it only in 2018?