EN
Wagners’s Law applies to increasing public expenditure borne by the central government and local governments. In this article the notion of local self-government spending is explained along with its role in satisfying local communities’ needs. The study involves a discussion of budget expenditures borne by local communes (municipalities, gminas) and cities with county rights and details the expenditures of the capitals of provinces (voivodships) in Poland. A hypothesis is put forward that in the years 1995-2011 the aforementioned governments allocated continuously increasing expenditures to satisfy public needs. Moreover, the aim of the article is to analyze the level and dynamics of budget expenditures of gminas and cities with county rights in the years 1995-2011. For these years, particular types of expenditures per capita shall be analyzed along with those borne by the voivodship capitals and their share in the general expenditure of the discussed administrative units.