– Is there anyone who would like to speak on the matter? Does anyone want to vote against it? Silence. A small wooden mallet is hit on the table. – Then the case is decided! At a meeting in June 2019, a decision was quickly and unanimously made, which would prove to be extra profitable for some of the county politicians in Akershus. No one had any objections when the county council in Akershus decided how they were going to do it with wages in the period with both the old and new county. Three months later, new politicians were to be elected to govern the large county of Viken. But the old counties were not to be formally shut down until 1 January 2020, and would still have some responsibility for a few more months. Therefore, Akershus decided that their politicians should keep their fixed payments for the rest of the year. If the same politicians were elected to the county council in Viken, they would also be paid from there. In this way, they ensured that they received payment from both Akershus and Viken, during a transition period of just over two months. In addition, they also received a meeting allowance. Election researcher: – Strange and unreasonable Johannes Bergh is an election researcher and works at the Institute for Social Research. There he researches, among other things, political participation, electoral systems and political mobilization of young people. – It sounds like a strange arrangement that the politicians benefit from, he says. He believes many voters will react to the rules the politicians have made for themselves. – They can react to the fact that they receive benefits that go further than what you would say is reasonable. Election researcher Johannes Bergh at the Institute for Social Research believes that the system of double payment will be detrimental to voters’ trust in politicians. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB I think it was wrong and too loud – I understand that people react. And with good reason, says Arne-Rune Gjelsvik. – That decision should never have been made, he adds. The decision meant that he himself got to keep the money from a part-time position in Akershus for the rest of the year. At the same time, he was elected to the Viken county council and was paid from there as well. For the former Frp politician, the combined sum was just over NOK 100,000, which he himself believes was far too generous. According to the law, the counties ready for closure should only have absolutely necessary meetings. And in Akershus, activity was low. In fact, they only had one county council meeting this period. PAID: Arne-Rune Gjelsvik received double salary during a transition period in 2019/2020. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB Several counties did the same In several places in the country, county politicians opened up to double salaries. In four out of seven merged counties, politicians received salaries from both the old and new counties, news’s investigations show. In total, this applied to 97 county politicians, news is informed. This mainly applies to people who only work partially with politics. Those who had a full-time position could not receive double payment in the vast majority of cases. But some part-time politicians earned over NOK 200,000 in two and a half months. news has spent a long time trying to map how the various counties have paid their politicians during this period. The figures from the county authorities have often been imprecise, and it has been difficult to obtain the information because the counties themselves have not had a complete overview. This is what we found: Troms and Finnmark A total of 24 representatives were paid from the new and old county at the same time. The politicians received a total of NOK 742,000 from Troms, NOK 756,000 from Finnmark and at the same time NOK 1,149,000 from Troms and Finnmark. Highest amount for an individual politician: 100,000 NOK from Troms and NOK 100,000 from Troms and FinnmarkVikenA total of 30 politicians were paid from the new and old county at the same time. The politicians received a total of NOK 1.5 million from Viken and at the same time a total of NOK 1.3 million from Akershus, Buskerud and Østfold from October and until the end of 2019. Highest amount to an individual politician: NOK 100,000 from Buskerud and NOK 128,000 from Viken Vestland A total of 31 representatives were paid from new and old counties at the same time, according to the figures obtained by news. Several politicians nevertheless say that they have paid back the extra money they received from his old county at the request of the county mayor. It is not clear how many followed the calls. Originally, the politicians received a total of NOK 2.6 million from Vestland and at the same time NOK 1.2 million from Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane, the county’s overview shows. Highest amount to an individual politician: NOK 171,000 from Vestland and NOK 48,000 from HordalandInnlandet A total of 12 representatives were paid both from the old and new counties at the same time. It happened between 28 October and 31 December 2019, according to the county’s own figures. One of the politicians tells news that he did not get more than he should have as a politician in the interior. The politicians received a total of NOK 280,000 from the Interior, while they also received a total of NOK 500,000 from Hedmark and Oppland. Highest amount for an individual politician: NOK 90,000 from Hedmark and NOK 16,000 as a representative in the Interior. Vestfold and Telemark The politicians from the former Vestfold and former Telemark counties mainly did not receive remuneration from the old counties at the same time as they received remuneration from the newly merged county. One person was nevertheless paid twice for a few days in November 2019AgderPoliticians from old Aust- and Vest-Agder did not receive double remuneration. Politicians who were also elected to the new Agder county council only received a fixed remuneration from Vest-Agder. The politicians only received meeting allowances for meetings in the resigning counties. Trøndelag Politicians from old Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag were allegedly not paid twice during the merger of the two Trøndelag counties. Sources The political secretariat of the county municipalities has provided figures and information for news. Has paid back the money she received One person who was involved in adopting the regulations, but who afterwards believes it was a mistake, is Kristin Antun (MDG). She received NOK 162,000 for being MDG’s group leader in Viken, but at the same time received over NOK 30,000 from Akershus. After news made contact and questioned the payments, she has paid back the money she received from Akershus. – I think the remuneration for being a group leader in Viken is good enough. It is good enough that it could have covered the rest of the work that remained in Akershus. PAID BACK: MDG’s Kristin Antun thinks she was paid too well when Akershus became Viken, and has paid back part of the sum. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Vestland county council has stated to news that there were 31 politicians who were paid twice in 2019. County mayor Jon Askeland (Sp) says that he encouraged everyone to pay back one of the allowances if they received two. – I hope and believe that everyone followed the recommendation. But we did not have the authority to impose this, and it was probably not checked. It was voluntary, says Askeland to news. Rejects double payment Buskerud politician Bjørn Tore Ødegården (Ap) is one of those who earned the most when the counties were merged. He is not a full-time politician, but works as a section manager in Kongsberg municipality. He received a total of NOK 128,000 from Viken and NOK 100,000 from Buskerud in October, November and December. This was payment for various political positions. He denies that it is a matter of double payment: – The positions represented independent specific tasks for two legal entities, on behalf of two different electoral districts. There were also no overlapping functions that make it possible to claim that there is double payment, he writes in an email. He also emphasizes that it was a very hectic work period. DEFENDS PAYMENTS: Bjørn Tore Ødegården from the Labor Party takes no self-criticism about the high allowances he received. Photo: Press photo Had never merged counties before Former county mayor in Akershus, Anette Solli (H), believes it was right that many politicians were paid from old and new county at the same time. – They did two jobs, she says to news. – It was a process that no one had done before us. No one else has tried to close down a county and create a new one, she defends. Nevertheless, she does not ignore the fact that they can do things differently when the old counties are soon to be resurrected. – I think it is good that you deal with this now. Perhaps you can see that the lesson is that when we do this again next year, we look at how the allowances should turn out overall. DID NOT GET DOUBLE; Anette Solli from the Conservative Party defends the principle that those who sat in both Viken and Akershus should receive fixed remuneration from both places. And full-time politicians like herself only got one salary. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news In a series of cases, news has told about the politicians’ salaries in Viken. We have looked at high meeting fees for five-minute meetings, politicians with several positions who earn more than ministers, and full-time politicians who should have been paid extra for attending meetings during working hours. We have also told about a county politician who received NOK 117,000 to hire a new manager. County divorces in 2024 It has been decided that Viken will be dissolved in 2024. So will Troms and Finnmark and Vestfold and Telemark. From next year’s election until 2023, the three large counties will exist side by side with their individual sub-counties: Akershus, Buskerud, Østfold, Vestfold, Telemark, Troms and Finnmark. It opens the door for double wages, once again. Which financial arrangements will apply to the politicians next autumn has not yet been decided. Hello! Do you have tips, input or comments on the matter? If so, please contact us by e-mail. We are also interested in input on other matters that you think we should look into more closely.
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County politicians gave themselves double pay – news Oslo og Viken – Local news, TV and radio
