An expert committee has gone through the income system for the county municipalities and presented its recommendations. The aim of the new system is to adapt the income distribution to the county division from 2024, when Norway “bounced back” to 15 counties. The Storting decided in June to divide the following counties: Viken will be divided into three new counties: Østfold, Akershus and Buskerud Vestfold and Telemark will be divided into two new counties: Vestfold and Telemark Troms and Finnmark will be divided into two new counties: Troms and Finnmark It the new system contains both winners and losers (see graphic). The losers are: Rogaland, Nordland, Møre and Romsdal, Troms and Vestland. The winners are: Akershus, Oslo, Innlandet, Østfold and Finnmark. – I am confident that the Minister of Local Government will undo this Vestland county council loses 82 million with the new income distribution, which a majority of the committee supports. – This proposal is so bad that I am confident that the local government minister will reject it, says county mayor Jon Askeland (Sp). He belongs to the same party as Local Government and District Minister Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp). Askeland says the submission “weakens Norway’s ability to succeed in creating value and employment”. – I wish the people in Akershus and Oslo all the best. But for the current government, it is out of the question to allow an income system that weakens the development potential in the value-creating county along the coast and centralizes the economic muscles in the country even more, he says. This is what Minister for Municipalities and Districts Sigbjørn Gjelsvik (Sp) says – We must ensure that the income system is adapted to the new county division that we will get from 2024. Today’s income system is designed with the county division that was introduced in 2020 in mind. The income system must contribute to giving people equal services in all counties throughout the country. – It is important that all county councils get a chance to have their say before we make changes to the income system. We are therefore sending the report to public consultation today, so that we can assess input from the county councils and others before we decide on the proposal for the committee. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum and Sigbjørn Gjelsvik during the presentation of the government’s proposal for changes to the state budget to the Storting. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB – It suits the government very badly The new distribution key is being received with unease in several places along the coast. Deputy head of Nordland county council, Svein Øien Eggesvik (Sp) says the proposal is consistent with “taking money from the districts and giving it to areas with denser populations”. – It suits the government very badly, he says. In August, a proposal was presented for a new distribution of income between the municipalities. Among the proposals was “a moderate equalization” where 10 percent of the income of the “power municipalities” was shared with other municipalities. Hurdalsplattforma says that local communities that make their natural resources available should get more for it. The proposal therefore created ideological and practical challenges for the Center Party, which left the proposal dead after one day. – None of this will happen with us in government, said Heidi Greni, municipal political spokesperson for the Center Party. – People will notice this Tove-Lise Torve (Ap), county mayor in Møre og Romsdal county municipality – It will be dramatic for Møre og Romsdal county municipality if the proposal from the expert committee becomes adopted policy. When we also take into account that our ferry operation is currently underfunded by the state by more than 200 million, a further weakening of the income from the state will have very large consequences for the range of services both in further education, bus and ferry services, road maintenance and more. People will notice. We will therefore strongly object to the proposal, which is now out for consultation. The aim of the new system is to adapt the income distribution to the county division from 2024, when Norway “bounces back” to 15 counties. Photo: regjeringen.no – The model has dramatic consequences County mayor in Rogaland, Marianne Gudmundson Chesak (Ap), says the proposal for a new revenue system for the county municipalities will destroy their investment in getting more people to travel by public transport, and “must be sent back”. – This model will have dramatic consequences for us, and will mean major cuts in our services. Among the winners in the new model is Agder, which receives a gain of NOK 25 million, or NOK 82,000 per inhabitant. – Here we are more satisfied than with previous changes to the income system. It seems that we are now to a greater extent adjusting to our needs, says county mayor Arne Thomassen (H). In the “Control Committee”, which is a podcast from Kommunal Rapport, he elaborates: – Now we have been the losers in two previous changes. So now I hope the others are generous with us, and that it is our turn to come out a little better. – Is this system fairer? – We feel it, but there are certainly different views on that. County mayor in Rogaland, Marianne Gudmundson Chesak (Ap), says the proposal for a new income system “must be sent back”. Photo: Øystein Otterdal / news – It is not unexpected that those who lose out on the proposal criticize it. The proposal for a new income system has now been submitted for consultation, with a deadline for feedback in March next year. The expert committee is led by Trond Erik Lunder, senior researcher at Telemarksforsking. – It is not unexpected that those who lose out on the proposal criticize it, he says. He underlines that the committee has tried to find a distribution key that is based on the most objective criteria possible. – The county must receive funds according to need, and not what they prioritize to spend them on.
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These are the winners and losers – news Vestland
