About PLN 570 million was spent to support 37 thousand flood victims in 2010 in the audited provinces*. Nearly PLN 111 million of that amount was paid as benefits to satisfy essential life needs (the so-called non-returnable benefits of up to PLN 6 thousand) and PLN 382 million for the repair of damages in more than 14 thousand buildings and flats. NIK assesses those measures as positive. However, during the audit the inspectors detected many irregularities in individual communes which resulted mainly from the lack of provisions determining the manner of helping the local flood victims.
NIK established that almost none of the audited communes had any crisis management plans during the flood (as was the case for instance in Cisk and Annopol). Some communes had the plans which did not specify the principles of estimating and documenting damages in the property of flood victims. The procedures used by officials, without legal regulations, did not guarantee fast payments of benefits of up to PLN 6 thousand although they should have been made immediately after the flood. In the first week after the flood, the money was paid in three communes only (Gąbin, Słubice and Bogatynia). The inhabitants of other communes waited longer for help. More than 30 percent of them did not receive financial aid for one month or more. The level of awarded benefits varied as well. For instance, in Słubice and Bieruń the level of funds paid did not depend on the actual losses in the household - all the aggrieved were paid the benefit in the maximum amount of PLN 6 thousand. In Małopolska its average level was approximately PLN 1700.
The auditors also identified some problems with the payments allocated to repairs and reconstruction of buildings. In 2010, in Bogatynia only 5 flood sufferers received such benefit (in 227 requestors). It was the case because the cost estimate was delayed and the municipal officials wrongly interpreted provisions of the Public Finance Act. In Wilków Commune 51 families requested increasing the benefit to PLN 300 thousand for the reconstruction of houses scheduled for demolition. However, the requests were not reviewed because of the lack of funds.
The communes which suffered during the flood used the funds not only from the state budget but also from the grants of other local government units, donations of companies and individuals as well as their own income. More than PLN 21 million obtained in that way was allocated among others to: payment of extra benefits, purchase of furniture, food, white goods or to cover the accommodation costs of flood victims. The auditors pointed to a range of irregularities in the way that money was used. For instance, in Wilków Commune 27 families of employees of the Social Welfare Centre and Commune Office received additional benefits which were PLN 3.5 thousand higher than the benefits paid to other aggrieved persons.
* Dolnośląskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Lubelskie, Małopolskie, Mazowieckie, Opolskie, Śląskie and Świętokrzyskie Provinces.
