– This shows that Viken was not such a stupid idea, says KrF’s Ida Lindtveit Røse, who is group leader in Viken KrF. – It is positive in and of itself that strong professional communities exist, but there is also a recognition in this: That the symbolic policy that Sp has brought forward here, with dissolution, really should not have been done. – Should resolution be dropped? – Yes, I mean it. – Why? – Because it is expensive. Viken has worked in many areas. The fact that we will now continue to collaborate in many areas shows that there is a need for strong professional environments in the future as well. CRITICAL: Viken should remain, not least because there will be close cooperation in a number of areas, believes group leader in Viken KrF, Ida Lindtveit Røse. Photo: Anders Fehn – Important areas In a proposal from the county council in Viken, it is laid down for binding cooperation between the three county municipalities in the following areas: The county attorney Cleanliness management and development Procurement The vocational school in Viken Statistics, analysis and maps (SAK) Department of transport Regional research fund Regional library development – These are important areas in the county council and also areas where it is important to have a strong professional environment, says Røse. Collaboration is also planned for the Data Protection Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children and Young People. But these are not organized as a binding cooperative organisation, according to the proposal. ICT and digitalisation is organized as a binding cooperative organisation, organized as an inter-municipal company. The proposal will be considered in October. – But surely it is secondary schools, county roads and public transport that are the counties’ most important tasks, so these are after all less important areas? – No it’s not. There are areas where a strong professional environment is needed. That was the whole reason for creating larger county councils – to be able to look after the areas where there are small and vulnerable professional communities. But the Center Party’s municipal policy spokesperson Heidi Greni believes that cooperation across the new county boundaries is very sensible. – But doesn’t this show that it is unnecessary to dissolve Viken? – No, by no means. Intermunicipal cooperation makes sense, especially in those areas where development work in narrow specialist areas is concerned. – But that you have the geographical units where both politicians and administration are able to have the local knowledge that is absolutely necessary to deliver good services for the citizens, is the bottom line in all county councils. – Not enough money The Storting has decided that a number of counties and municipalities that have been merged should be split up. The issue is very central to the Center Party. Viken becomes Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold. Troms and Finnmark will remain two counties. Vestfold and Telemark will become two counties again. In addition, the old Haram municipality will be part of the new Ålesund and there will be two municipalities. Whether Søgne and Songdalen go out of Kristiansand is still unclear. The municipal board in Kinn recently decided not to seek dissolution. But it costs money to split up, and the government’s proposal for the national budget now leads to new questions. NOK 200 million has been set aside in the budget for all three county solutions. – I can see that it is not enough, says Røse, and explains: – If we start from what the counties themselves have said it will cost, the total bill is approximately NOK 650 million. If you divide it in two, i.e. 2023 and 2024, there is still 100 million missing just next year. For Viken, the county alone needs NOK 385 million for the dissolution, and the county council is asking the government to keep up with NOK 377 of the million. REVIEW: Group leader in Viken Høyre, Anette Solli. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB – I hope the county council will now start to re-evaluate the whole process, as they obviously cannot fulfill their own requirements, says group leader in Viken Høyre, Anette Solli. With a fork? Greni defends the process the government has set up. Absolutely necessary expenses will be compensated based on a sober approach, is her message. – So we will know when we will know when we come out in 2023 whether it will be necessary to allocate funds in the upcoming budget for 2024. – But is there any reason to believe that the estimates referred to are far too high? – It is difficult for me to say. But when I saw the overview for Viken, it struck me that perhaps a bill had been written here with a fork, says Greni. – Not that I have any professional basis for saying that, but it is very reasonable to believe that the dissolution cost will be a fairly small part of the merger cost. The SP top has problems understanding the costs Viken describes. – I don’t have the expertise to go into those calculations. But immediately it is very strange if it should cost almost the same to dissolve as to merge. – Have you exaggerated the cost, Røse? – We in Viken have come up with a sober budget, according to the county council, which after all consists of Sp and Ap. She recalls that the government has been very clear that it will fully finance the dissolution.
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