Councilors in Myslowice, southern Poland, will have street lamps turned off in their neighborhood for voting for budget cuts.

The municipal office has already sent a list of streets where lamps are to go out on 1 March to the local energy supplier. The decision was taken by the city mayor Grzegorz Osyra. His spokeswoman, Katarzyna Szymanska, admits that the list corresponds with the addresses of unruly councilors, who endorsed cuts in the budget of the municipal road management office.

“We realize that the councilors do not live on those streets alone. Let the people see whom they have elected,” she told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

The municipal council head Bernard Pastuszka, who voted for the austerity budget, says he and his neighbors will manage somehow. But what about the mayor? How long will the people have to tolerate his insane ideas, he wonders.

The mayor of Myslowice is known for his unorthodox initiatives. Among them was a plan to erect a monument to the popular Myslovitz band, which hails from the city. Its musicians refused the honor.

It is not clear how much money will be saved thanks to the selective blackout. (kk/mmj)