The new Zabrze authorities must look for savings. The city's debt has reached PLN 883.5 million – We read on wnp.pl after PAP. At Tuesday's press conference, Secretary of Zabrze Łukasz Urbańczyk calculated that under the previous mayor Małgorzata Mańka-Szulik (who headed the city in 2006-2024), Zabrze's debt increased by as much as 1,263 percent. The new city authorities had to look for savings from the very beginning, including by reducing jobs. Zabrze employed more officials per capita than, among others, KatowiceGliwice, Ruda Slaska.
Zabrze's financial problems. The city has parted ways with almost a hundred officials
Zabrze has reduced the number of civil servants employed by almost 100. – At the moment, civil servants who work with us are of course burdened with duties, because we had to pass them on to those who stayed with us. Some of the civil servants were people who left us with a notice period, some retired, and some resigned from work themselves – said the city's mayor, Agnieszka Rupniewska.
The city lacked money to cover 74 positions. The lack of money in Zabrze is due to several reasons. The new authorities accuse their predecessors of elections they ordered pay rises and bonuses that were not secured in the budget. In addition, during the time of Małgorzata Mańka-Szulik, as many as 197 new positions were created (2006 – 530 people, 2024 – 727 people), despite the fact that the number of inhabitants decreased by as much as 36 thousand.
Currently, the budget is lacking PLN 220 million. Vice President Tomasz Olichwer emphasized, however, that Zabrze is not facing bankruptcy, but rather liquidity problems – we read in “Dziennik Zachodni”. Apart from job cuts, the city also has other ideas on how to overcome the crisis.
Zabrze seeks a loan from the Ministry of Finance. And cash in the sale of Górnik
The mayor of Zabrze, Agnieszka Rupniewska, informed that the city is in talks with, among others, Ministry of Finance on the subject of the loan. – The tool offered by the Minister of Finance would be the most appropriate for us and would give us the opportunity to catch our breath – Rupniewska assessed.
Moreover, the local government wants to get out of the crisis by privatizing Górnik Zabrze, which has been having problems for years. In recent months, work on selling the club has begun to take on a more concrete dimension and a candidate for purchase has even emerged.. Rupniewska emphasized, however, that the club will be sold only to an investor who will keep the name, colors and headquarters in the city.
And what about those who brought the city's finances to this state? When asked whether the city intends to refer the former mayor to the prosecutor's office, for example, in connection with allegations of mismanagement, the vice president replied as follows: – Of course. This does not only apply to the mayor, but also to the boards of companies. Such hearings are held in the office.