Starosta/en

STAROST (Polish starosta) – a member of the → county board (c.b.) – the collegiate executive body in the district, heading the board, elected by the county council. This office is not counted as a district body (these are: county council and county board). S. has the authority of the county body when he/she issues decisions in individual cases within the scope of public administration belonging to the jurisdiction of the county. The competencies of the starost encompass the organisation of work of the c.b. and the county office, including: convening meetings of the b., preparation of materials necessary for the b. meetings, technical support for the b. meetings, and other matters considered necessary by the c.b.; organising the work of the county office – fulfilling the duties of the head of the office. In addition, the s. is responsible for: directing current affairs of the county (the list of related tasks should be detailed in the county statute); representing the c. outside, both in relations with other local government units, government administration, and in dealing with relevant local and regional authorities of other countries; taking necessary actions belonging to the properties of the c.b. in urgent matters: related to the threat to public interest, directly threatening health and life, and on matters likely to cause material losses. Within the scope of crisis management, the tasks include the management of activities related to monitoring, planning, response and removal of hazard effects in the county area; implementation of civilian planning tasks and implementation of critical infrastructure protection tasks [ J. Wojnicki ].

Literatura: B. Dolnicki, Samorząd terytorialny, Warszawa 2016 ■ K. Koc, Powiat; przestrzeń władzy publicznej, Toruń 2013 ■ E. Nowacka, Polski samorząd terytorialny, Warszawa 2005.