Identification of budgetary sources of risk in Polish smart cities. Practical approach

The main aim of the article is to identify budgetary sources of risk in managing a smart city. This task is carried out on the basis of budgetary data concerning local government units in Poland. The conducted research and considerations are limited to cities with poviat (district) rights, assuming that these are the units with the greatest potential in terms of being “smart”. In the course of research, the budgetary risk is divided into two categories: (1) operational, relating to the level of total expenditures and revenues and the current budget balance, and (2) strategic, relating to the economic situation, budget inflows from income tax on natural and legal persons and indebtedness of the analyzed units. In addition, budgetary risk is considered in two regional and local research perspectives, using classic risk assessment measures, such as the coefficient of variation, standard deviation and range. The analysis and assessment shows that, among the operational sources of risk threatening the development of smart cities, the most serious is the large revenue disparity in individual voivodeships and cities with poviat rights and a high level of budget deficit in more than a dozen or so analyzed units. In the case of strategic sources, the most important threat is the above-average level of indebtedness of a significant part of cities with poviat rights, which constitutes a significant financial burden in subsequent periods, hindering the creation and development of smart cities in Poland.