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COUNTY – established by law, a separate union of the local society, a local self-government community, established to independently perform part of the tasks of the state and equipped with material means to carry out tasks; unit of the basic three-tier territorial division. C. was restored in 1999 as part of the local government reform, and operates on the basis of the County Self-Government Act. C. performs public tasks of supra-municipal character, specified in the Act, to the extent specified therein. The functions of the c. have a supplementary and compensatory character in relation to the municipality. C. was created in order to create, together with the municipality, a system for the implementation of all public tasks of a local nature in local government structures. The decision-making and control body is the → county council. The executive body is the → county board. An auxiliary unit of the county board is the county joint administration consisting of the county starost’s office, heads of county services, inspections and guards, and other c. organisational units. The head of the county’s starost office is the → starost. Supervision over the activities of the c. is exercised by the president of the council of ministers, voivode, and in the area of financial affairs → the regional audit chamber (→ local government, supervision of local government, local community) [ B. Marczewska ].

Literatura: B. Dolnicki, Samorząd terytorialny, Warszawa 2012 ■ H. Izdebski, Samorząd terytorialny. Podstawy ustroju i działalności, Warszawa 2014.