The study aims at showing the organizational and task-oriented aspects of competency in local government units. Within the theoretical part the authors deal with issues related to the organization of promotional activities and the impact of marketing communication on local development. In the research part the results of the analysis of organizational rules of county authorities and municipal authorities with county rights of the Lodz region were presented, displaying some practical ways to organize promotional activities. Common types of organizational units appointed in order to conduct promotions, their place in the structure of offices and the scope of their assigned competence were investigated. Among the units covered by the study there were in particular those responsible for marketing communication. Units of local government assign promotional competencies to organizational units resulting from the regulations of the law or the specifics of marketing communications. For all those activities that are not mandatory, significant differences which stem from having more discretionary powers of local governments can be observed, as well as the possibility of impact related to the level of development of a given unit. These possibilities are related to the type of unit (rural district, a town with a county status) population size and the level of income per capita. Only such units that achieve a high level of development can use a relatively broad and versatile range of tasks and promotional competencies.