By virtue of law, citizens of Mińsk county establish the local self-government.
The citizens of the county make settlements in general voting – through elections and county refrendum – or by means of county bodies.

Bodies of Mińsk County are:

• County Council
• County Board

The County Council is the legislative and controlling body of the county. Its term of office is 4 years. Councillors are selected in direct elections. Rules and mode of conducting the election to the county council are specified by the act of July 16, 1988. Electoral regulations of commune councils, county councils and voivodeship assembly Dz.U. 95, item 602 with further modifications).
Election to the Mińsk County Council of the first term 1998 – 2002 took place on October 11, 1988. The Council consisted of 50 Councillors, while since January 1, 2002, after excluding the cities of: Sulejówek and Wesoła from Mińsk county – 40 Councillors.
Election to the Mińsk County Council of the second term took place on October 27, 2002. The Council consisted of 25 Councillors.

Specific properties of the county council include:

1. establishing acts of local law, including the county statute,
2. selection and dismissal of the county board and establishment of the head’s remuneration,
3. appointment and dismissal, on request of the Staroste, of secretary of the county and treasurer of the county, being the main accountant of the county’s budget,
4. establishing directions of activity of the county board and considering reports of the board’s activity, including financial activities,
5. passing the county budget,
6. considering the report from execution of the budget and passing the act regarding acknowledgment or non-acknowledgement for the board in this respect,
7. passing resolutions in matters of amounts of taxes and payments within limits defined by acts of law,
8. passing resolutions in matters pertaining to the assets of the county regarding:
   • rules of obtaining, disposing of and encumbering estates and their leasing or renting for a period of longer than three years, unless particular acts do not state otherwise,
   • emission of bonds and establishing of the rules of their disposal, obtaining and purchase,
   • raising long-term loans and credits,
   • establishing the maximum value of short-term loans and credits raised by the board and the maximum value of loans and securities provided by the board in a budget year,
   • obligations in the area of undertaking investments and renovations of value exceeding the limit specified yearly by the board,
   • establishing and joining unions, communities, foundations and collectives, their termination and leaving,
   • establishing and joining companies, their termination and leaving, as well as specification of the rules of making contributions and taking, purchasing and disposing of shares and stocks,
   • co-operation with other counties and communes, if it requires allotting assets,
   • creation, transformation and termination of organizational units and equipping them with assets,
9. passing resolutions in matters of assuming tasks in the scope of government administration, as well as in matters of executing public tasks,
10. establishing the sum up to which the board my independently raise obligations,
11. passing resolutions in matters of cooperation with local communities of other countries and engaging in international groups of local communities,
12. establishing the county program for preventing crime and for protecting the citizens’ safety and public order,
13. establishing the county program of combating unemployment and empowering the local job market,
14. conducting evaluation of the state of the county’s fire security and protection against floods,
15. passing resolutions in matters of the county’s coat of arms and flag,
16. passing resolution sin matters of granting scholarship for students of schools and universities,
17. passing resolutions in other cases specified by acts of law for the competence of a county.

The County Council operates during sessions and decides by means of resolutions all matters belonging to its competences specified in the act of county self-government and other acts, as well as in regulations provided on basis of the acts.
The County Council expresses opinions and takes stand in form of resolutions in matters related to realization of its legislative and controlling competences.

The County Board is the county’s executive body. The County Council elects the Board consisting of 3 to 5 persons, including the Staroste and vice-Staroste, within 3 months from announcing election results by the proper election body. The Mińsk County Council specified the number of members of the Board as 5.
The County Board executes resolutions of the County Council and tasks of the county specified by regulations of law.
 
The County Board’s tasks include in particular:

1. preparation of drafts of the council’s resolutions,
2. execution of the council’s resolutions,
3. management of the county’s assets,
4. execution of the county’s budget,
5. employment and dismissal of heads of organizational units of the county.

The County Board executes tasks of the county by means of the County Office and organizational units of the county, including the County Employment Agency. The County Board decides in form of resolutions all matters belonging to its competences springing from acts and executive regulations to acts and within the limits of authorizations established by acts. Apart from resolutions containing decisions, the Board may pass other resolutions, in particular such that contain opinions and standpoints of the Board. The headquarters of the county authorities is:

Starostwo Powiatowe
w Mińsku Mazowieckim
05 - 300 Mińsk Mazowiecki
Kościuszki 3
tel./fax (0 25) 759 - 87 - 00

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