– No mayor takes it lightly to increase a municipal tax. Of course, it is not popular. It is not a good campaign issue. But sometimes it is honest to do so if you need the income for something important, says Ap leader and Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. EXTREME WEATHER: Large costs are associated with dealing with torrential rain and floods in the coming years. Photo: NTB news meets him in Tromsø, where later this evening he meets Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg during a public meeting broadcast live on NRK1. Among the topics is what the municipalities can do to help residents who are currently struggling with the economy. AP-LAG: Støre warmed up for the top duel with party colleagues in Tromsø today. Mayor Gunnar Wilhelmsen on the right. Photo: Lars Nehru Sand / news Støre has taken note of Solberg’s election promise to keep the overall level of taxes and fees down in municipalities governed by the Conservative Party. He is more uncertain about what it actually entails. For Støre, Solberg’s election promise is a recipe for cuts in services offered to citizens. Now he demands answers: – They must show where they will cut, what they must put out to tender, what they must privatize, says the Labor leader. FLOOD: The summer has been marked by extreme weather in this country. Photo: Ksenia Novikova “Time is up” It was before the summer that long-time Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg came up with a tax plan that has already been hotly debated: – One of the Conservative Party’s most important election promises this election campaign is that the sum of municipal taxes, fees and charges must be kept down, it says on the party’s website. VG raised the issue during Solberg’s election tour in Western Norway in June. Solberg is advocating better prioritization and streamlining operations so that most people don’t end up paying the bill during the peak season. – In the municipalities where the Conservatives get the mayor, the time when the politicians increased your bills to get their own budgets to go up will be over, says Solberg. Støre believes the election promise shows a clear priority on the part of the Conservative Party. – If this is the most important thing, that the total income of the municipalities should be fixed, then it means that it is not possible to invest in care for the elderly, infrastructure or clean water without having to make cuts elsewhere, he says. Hitting back In the middle of the preparations for tonight’s top duel, Erna Solberg comes up with a rambling reply: – If Jonas has said this, then he has now announced a significant increase in property tax in the municipalities. Because the only thing he can use for welfare purposes from this is the property tax, says Solberg. REJECTS: Erna Solberg, who rejects the criticism from Støre and believes it is revealing. She believes that people in Ap-governed municipalities must expect increased property tax. Photo: Rodrigo Freitas / NTB She points out that fees related to, for example, water and sewage must go to this and not be used for other good purposes, in line with the so-called self-cost principle. – This means that he is now saying that they are planning a strategy of increased property tax all around the municipalities. The voters must take into account that the Labor Party’s concern for the private economy is that they get more property tax, she says. Støre, for his part, believes that there is little credibility in what he hears from Høyre when it comes to obtaining coverage for the levy lift in the municipalities. – Erna Solberg’s answer is often that they can improve efficiency and turn the tables. Take Tinn municipality, which has a Conservative mayor and which has a water pipe network that is completely out of date and needs to be replaced. It will cost several hundred million kroner over time. If you are going to finance it by running the municipality more efficiently, it will take hundreds of years before anything is done about it, he says. ELECTION CAMPAIGN: Jonas Gahr Støre visited Mortensne’s nursing home in Tromsø today. Photo: Lars Nehru Sand / news – So you think that this promise is in reality a notice of cuts in the service offered to citizens? – Yes, it must be. – Will increase the Conservative Party’s mayoral candidate Marius Arnesen in Sarpsborg says there will be increased taxes in the municipality, regardless of whether the Conservative Party wins the election. He established that when he was confronted with Solberg’s promise in the SA podcast, the podcast of Sarpsborg Arbeiderblad. – What the Conservative Party has said is that taxes and duties must be “held down”. It is certainly not the same as saying that the fees will not increase, he says to news. – It is crystal clear that there will be an increase in municipal taxes in Sarpsborg. A race has already been set up that is impossible to reverse. PROMISES: The right-wing candidate for mayor in Sarpsborg, Marius Arnesen, warns of increased municipal taxes next year. Photo: Høyre Among other things, it is the plan to improve a sewage treatment plant that has led to an extraordinary increase in municipal taxes. – And they will increase even more, but we cannot go to an election saying that this will not happen. Then we will stop statutory services and create a risk that the sewer does not work. But we must turn over every stone and work hard to make sensible decisions when it comes to the citizens’ wallets, says Arnesen. – But how will you keep what you are now saying against the Høyre’s election campaign promise? – It is completely in line with the promise given centrally to “keep costs down”. It’s about getting costs under control in our municipality. We want to use more tools to meet these challenges, including being open to looking at public/private collaboration. We have to get together. Must be “held down” Erna Solberg told news that the election promise means that taxes and fees must be kept down “out of respect for people’s difficult financial situation”. – It sounds like you guarantee that there will be no increased fees if the Conservatives win the election. But that’s not what you’re saying, is it? – No, we have said we will work to keep the fees down. – But what does that mean? – This means that we must work according to the most efficient ways of operating. Also, we do not promise every single one of these. We promise the sum of this. What is our promise is that if something has to go up because there are new challenges there, then you have to go down in other areas, for example on fees or on property tax. – And at the same time I have taken into account, among other things, that the Oslofjord has some special expenses related to cleaning and the fees there. But that means that if it comes up that you have to increase, then you have to try to reduce other expenses or other fees to make this happen. – So this election promise does not apply to all the municipalities that border the Oslofjord, i.e. half of the Viken? – I have reserved that it may be difficult in relation to fees. But everyone should make an effort to keep their fees, charges and taxes down. Challenges in line At the same time, it is clear that many municipalities are facing major challenges in the coming years: Solberg has made a reservation in statements about his election promise that municipalities around the capital may receive increased fees and taxes related to cleaning the fjord. Unsettled mayors A number of municipalities may have to invest in water, drainage and sewerage as a result of stricter EU rules in a new directive. The municipalities’ interest organization KS has long since announced this. – There could potentially be demands for huge investments in water and sewage which do not have a clear environmental benefit, said area director of KS Helge Eide to NTB this spring. MAYOR: Lene Conradi in Asker municipality. Photo: Tore Linvollen The new regulations will probably be adopted next year. The Conservative Party’s long-standing mayor in Asker municipality, Lene Conradi, has warned against sharply increased fees for water and sewage. She has asked the government for help. – Future increases in fees nationally will be large. This is revealed in large national surveys where the need for investment and renewal within water and sewage will be large, she told the Nation this spring, before Solberg made his promise. MAYOR: Steinar Bergsland in Tinn municipality. Photo: Martin Torstveit / news Conservative mayor Steinar Bergsland in Tinn was among those who were delighted by Solberg’s message. His hope is that there will be more central help to cover future expenses. The municipality is now upgrading its water and sewage network for close to NOK 1 billion. – I lean on Erna and think she and the state will take a large part of the costs. As I understand it, the promise must mean that the state takes part of the cake, Bergsland told Kommunal Rapport this spring.
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Asks the Conservative Party to clarify its election promise – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
