Reinforcing Social Interaction

There's currently a high level of interest in the question 'how can we create an urban renaissance? how can cities re-create themselves and think they are great places to live'. The research undertaken regularly by the Szczecin City Council, through the www citizens' panel, tells us more about what people do and don't like about the city today, the quality of life it offers, the city budget and its leaders.

People like the city's museums, galleries, libraries. They like the parks and open spaces, as well as the shopping facilities in the outlying districts. But there are aspects of life in Szczecin which are less popular, as there are in any city. The roads are congested, or people find travelling around the city is less easy or convenient than it should be. Nor do they think the roads are in a good state of repair, and some dislike the amount of litter in our streets. We could also do with the waste water treatment plant.

Development of governance at local and regional levels determine compel forms of citizen participation in democratic decision-making. That's why Szczecin City Council so eagerly provides its budgetary information and economic data on the municipality to its citizens. Clearness and transparency of the city finances management have become the city's visitors' card'. What is more, both the planning process and budget control have been made public through providing a wide, unrestricted access to the budgetary data via internet, in this way reinforcing an interaction between the citizens and the local government.

For example, the citizens get informed about Standard & Poor's ratings, which is significant to the city's finances and debt burden in the medium term. In fact, they are provided with the same level of information as the city managers, and exposed to the problems faced by the city in terms of expenditure.

There they can also find out that the city's revenues partly depend on the state of the local economy, that municipal taxes (other than real estate tax), which accounted for 35.0% of Szczecin's operating revenues in 2001, are unlikely to be affected substantially, and that the budget deficit will be entirely covered by proceeds from the sale of 49.9% of the city's heating company Energetyka Cieplna Sp. z.o.o., and the city's cash reserves.

Szczecin City Council is interested what its citizens and customers think. We actively encourage feedback from people and businesses becuse it is the only real means of ensuring the Council is providing services that all 'fit for the purpose'! Comments and suggestions can be made verbally, electronically and in writing to the Council's office. They are all treated as a valuable contribution to energising a common vision of the city we want to create in a concerted way.