Paper/Speech Details of Conference Program for the 16th NISPAcee Annual Conference Program Overview I. Working Group on Local Government Author(s) Iwona Otola Czestochowa University of Technology Czestochowa Poland Title Decentralization processes of local government sector in Poland File Paper files are available only for conference participants, please login first. Presenter Abstract The decentralization of the public sector is supposed to lead to effective and rational managing with public means. The decentralization is perceived as the process of handing decision-making rights over into the lower part of organizational hierarchy, while the centralization consists getting rights back from the lower level and situating of them on levels higher and highest. It is worthwhile in this place quoting the definition given to the decentralization through Oates, according to which the common goods should be fulfilled by this level of the government which is most appropriate with representative of the community profiting from services delivered to it (Oates 2001). About the need of the decentralization also a subsidiarity principle of European Union tells. According to this principle, the responsibility for taking action should be on the lowest administrative level. Handing over the greater responsibility to the local authority is perceived as the road to breaking the kept inspection through the central planning and the mismanagement, thwarting attempts of poorer nations for establishing the own path of the growth. And so the decentralization is a mechanism allowing for the development of the policy which in the greater degree reflects local needs and involves the community in the process of democratic governing. The full decentralization should be examined in three dimensions and include the political, administrative and financial decentralization. Political decentralization consists in equipping units of the local government with democratically chosen representative organs and such a public-legal status which provides with the political independence from state. Granting the local government units of appropriate competence as well as instruments for the accomplishment of these tasks means the administrative decentralization. Financial decentralization, called also a fiscal decentralization, means equipping of the local government units with appropriate, public financial resources and handing the control over to them for administering these sources. In the literature on the subject the financial decentralization is often identified with the decentralization of the public finance. Describing the process of public sector decentralization is a aim of the article. Increasing the responsibility and competence of local government units is aimed at a taken of decentralization process of the sector of the public finance. Thanks to granted competence, the local authority together with the community take decisions concerning the path of the development of given local government unit. In the article tasks and competence of government units on different level were discussed. Describing the process of public sector decentralization is a aim of the article. Increasing the responsibility and competence of local government units is aimed at a taken of decentralization process of the sector of the public finance. Thanks to granted competence, the local authority together with the community take decisions concerning the path of the development of given local government unit. In the article tasks and competence of government units on different level were discussed. Also critically, issues connected with financial resources of local government units and the connection of these resources with the expenses side were presented.
