Attendants of the Urban Resources/Finance meeting in Zgierz discussed the following, among others:

• Local finance and system changes – pre-2021 and post-2022 reality,
• Significance of information to municipal budgeting (including the budget planning stage),
• Most frequent errors in budget resolutions based on Regional Audit Office rulings – can “non-financial” departments help avoid mistakes?

Association of Polish Cities expert Jan Maciej Czajkowski delivered a lecture on “Budget conditions – changes to the Local Government Unit financial system and their impact on urban funding potential”. The purpose of the intervention was to point to key changes to the Local Government Unit financial system, of major impact on ultimate budgets. The expert identified sustainable budgeting challenges faced by individual cities while adapting to recent and dynamically changing legal regulations.

Assisted by the Zgierz Municipal Authority financial service, Association of Polish Cities expert Agnieszka Dawydzik spoke of the significance of data to municipal budgeting (including the budget planning stage). Speakers engaged in seeking responses to such questions as, “Is information (and its flow) a resource, and how important is it to Local Government Unit finance? Is it worth our while to exchange future-related information?”

The Network meeting agenda also included a workshop session “The Idea-to-Investment Delivery Roadmap”, with a focus on the following topics: Tasks planned and not budgeted or made part of the Multiannual Financial Forecast; Financial outcomes for future budgets; The information process for assorted Local Government Unit types; Good practices and issues, and ways of resolving them; Is the BeSTi@ for financial specialists only? How can other departments benefit? Examples of BeSTi@ use at the stage of investment project planning.

Pursuant to EMPIRIAE objectives, the meeting agenda included a debate. Local government officials exchanged experience with regard to 2023 budgeting. Using their own case studies of duties assigned to treasurers and resource planning (fundraising included) departments, attendants presented their 2023 budget planning process. They also had an opportunity to learn more about most frequent budget resolution errors (in a nutshell) – can “non-financial” departments help avoid mistakes? Association of Polish Cities expert Daniel Budzeń joined forces with town and city representatives to respond to these questions.

Good public-private-partnership practices from Zgierz and Włocławek (Energy Management Systems) were also presented.