The case in summary • Askøy municipality has decided to introduce property tax from next year.• The Progress Party (Frp) left the hall in protest during the budget vote.• A law professor believes that the FRP’s action may be a violation of the law, as you formally have a duty to vote and are not allowed to leave the hall during voting.• Mayor Yngve Fosse in Askøy municipality believes there will be consequences for the Frps’ action, but it is uncertain what these consequences will be.• Despite the Frps protest, the property tax was passed and will be introduced in Askøy from next year. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. It became dramatic when Askøy municipality was to vote on the budget for 2025 this week. Askøy has long struggled with poor finances, and the majority of the municipal council saw no other way out than to introduce property tax. The FRP’s municipal group refused to be involved, and left the hall in protest. news has spoken to law professor Eivind Smith. He refers to this as an offence. Right-wing mayor Yngve Fosse in Askøy municipality does not take the incident lightly either. – I think the behavior is very unfortunate. It is showing contempt towards the municipal council, says Mayor Fosse to news. Askøyværingen mentioned the case first. – Having never experienced anything like this, Fosse is aware that there will be consequences once the shock has worn off. – I have to have a dialogue with the municipal council and perhaps the State Administrator. We need to gather our pace a bit and see what can be done. But I am fully aware that something has to happen. Fosse emphasizes that this is far from tradition in the municipality. – I have been involved in many interesting budget discussions over the years, but we have never experienced anything like this on Askøy. Askøy mayor Yngve Fosse (H) thinks the FRP’s behavior during the budget vote is unfortunate. Photo: Oddgeir Øystese / news Few sanctioning possibilities – Formally speaking, you have a duty to vote and are not allowed to leave the hall. So says associate professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Bergen (UiB), Roald Hopsnes. You cannot choose not to vote on part of the budget, as the FRP tried by walking out, Hopsnes believes: – You can vote collectively, either for or against the entire budget. The FRP could have voted against the introduction of property tax, but then they would have had to have voted against the entire budget. Professor of jurisprudence at the University of Oslo (UiO), Eivind Smith, believes that the FRP broke the law by its behaviour. – Leaving the hall during voting is a breach of the Municipal Act, says Smith. Offense or not, associate professor Hopsnes believes mayor Yngve Fosse has few opportunities to sanction the FRP for the incident. – I don’t think it will have any particular consequences. The incident can be reported to the Civil Ombudsman, who can express criticism, but not much more than that. Mayor Yngve Fosse says Askøy town hall is not used to drama as seen this week. Photo: Åge Algerøy / news Frp believes the municipal council broke the law Before Frp waltzed out of the council hall, the party announced that they will ask the State Administrator in Vestland to investigate whether the law has been broken. FRP and their group leader Stig Atle Abrahamsen argue that the proposal to introduce property tax, as well as the way it was done, is an offence. – We think that it is a completely inappropriate process to force elected representatives to vote for something that we believe is not in line with the law, says Abrahamsen. – It is completely unreasonable that you should be able to push through that you have to vote on such a comprehensive budget proposal, which has such major consequences, adds Abrahamsen. As group leader, Abrahamsen defends that he and the FRP left the municipal hall: – We understand that we cannot always win with our position. But when it is done this way, we cannot allow ourselves to be pressured into it. Will accept the municipal council’s decision Associate Professor Hopsnes believes the FRP has little chance of achieving anything by going to the Statsforvalteren. – It is most likely not going to happen that the State Administrator will consider the decision to be invalid, says Hopsnes and states: – The decision to introduce property tax in Askøy municipality is a provision that is unlikely to lead to invalidity. Because despite the FRP leaving the hall during the vote, as is known, property tax was introduced in Askøy. When asked if the FRP will accept the municipal council’s decision, group leader Abrahamsen replies as follows: – If there is a democratic and legal majority for a decision, of course we have to deal with it. But we are still against property tax. Published 14.12.2024, at 19.20 Updated 14.12.2024, at 19.55
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