– There is a human side to it all, too. You lose a social network and you lose good colleagues. This is something I take with me as an experience I can learn from, says Siri Halvorsen. On 1 August last year, the room downgrade started in the job as municipal director in Moskenes municipality in Nordland. – The job is very challenging, but interesting. Combined with the fact that Lofoten has beautiful nature, this made us consider this a great place to move to, she says. The municipality with its beautiful nature and many tourists has had financial challenges for many years. – A report I had access to also talked about challenges in the collaboration between politicians and the administration. Trying to get such a municipality on track sounded exciting, says Halvorsen. On 19 August, just over a year after she took the job, Halvorsen had to retire after a few turbulent months. – I experienced that there was no will to sit down and have good conversations between the politicians and us in the administration, says Halvorsen. According to her, all parties agreed on the challenges in the municipality and what was needed to gain control over the economy. In December 2023, the municipal council adopted, among other things, a binding economic plan. As municipal director, it was Halvorsen’s job to follow up on the decisions the politicians had made. – Such processes require major changes. But we experienced that the politicians withdrew from their own decisions when the consequences and reactions came, says Halvorsen. The municipality also recently received a stern message from the acting state administrator in Nordland. She said that the development in the municipality is disturbing, and that the municipality has not been able to gain control and an overview of the economy. Mayor of Moskenes municipality, Hanna Sverdrup, does not want to comment on the allegations from Siri Halvorsen. But Halvorsen’s experience is not unique. And it costs Norwegian municipalities dearly. Moskenes municipality answers this Photo: VILDE BRATLAND ERIKSTAD / news news has sent several questions to mayor Hanna Sverdrup in Moskenes municipality. Here are the questions and answers: – How do you comment on Halvorsen’s allegations regarding her departure and the collaboration you had? – Regarding her departure, I refer to the final agreement that was entered into. – What do you think of the claims that local politicians lack an understanding of what is actually needed to take the necessary measures in a municipality? No answers – As far as I understand, Halvorsen received 14 months’ severance pay when she left. How does it affect the municipal economy? – There will of course be a cost for the municipality with the final agreement, but it is a cost we will bear. – How has the process to get a new director in place been? Has it been difficult? – Since every municipality must have a municipal director in place at all times, we solved it by Randi Gregersen agreeing to be here temporarily at short notice and it was dealt with in the municipal council on the same day. As regards the recruitment of a new municipal director, the municipal council decided last week to use the employment committee for this. Here we work as fast as we can. Beyond this, I have no further comments. Based on the processes a municipal director must go through to get the job, Siri Halvorsen (in the middle) believes that it is too easy to dismiss a municipal director. On the right is the mayor of Moskenes, Hanna Sverdrup. Photo: Vilde Bratland Erikstad / news 20 has been fired – As municipal director, you are responsible for ensuring that the services to the citizens are sound, says Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker. She is the general manager of the Norwegian Municipal Directors’ Forum. – You also have responsibility for implementing the decisions, facilitating good political processes, and a duty to present a balanced budget, she continues. – That sounds like a rather risky job? – It is a very exciting and interesting job. But it is clear that it is also an exposed and very demanding job. So far this year, 20 municipal directors have been “forced to leave their jobs”, as Grindaker calls it. – The parties will then agree on a final agreement. As a rule, it is based on a wish from political leadership for the municipal director to quit his job, she says. The Municipal Directors’ Forum does not have an overview of how many people have been fired in previous years, but according to the Municipal Sector’s Interest Organization (KS), the figure was the same as last year. And the municipalities themselves have to foot the bill. The map has been prepared in collaboration between news and the Norwegian Association of Municipal Directors. Costs between NOK 1 and 4 million According to a survey carried out by PWC and the Norwegian councilors’ forum, it costs municipalities between NOK 1 and 4 million to remove a municipal director. When Siri Halvorsen left her position in Moskenes, she received 14 months’ severance pay, according to Lofotposten. Janne Kankaala was fired in Hadsel municipality earlier in September. He receives severance pay for six months. Inger Hegna in Arendal received 16 months’ severance pay when she left. – One thing is that these final agreements cost a lot of money. The second is that it takes time to bring in a new director. It is also costly. In addition, many major political matters are put on hold, says Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker. Relinquishing employment protection A survey carried out by the University of Agder (UiA) shows that 27 per cent of municipal directors waive their employment protection when they sign an employment contract. In such employment agreements, the parties agree on severance pay if you have to resign. – We also see that there are more shifts after elections. It can look like there is “politics going on” with the municipal directors, says Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker in the Norwegian Municipal Directors’ Forum. Photo: Magnus Knutsen Bjørke But then the municipal council can decide that you have to quit your job, if they are not satisfied. – We believe that this leads to it being far too easy to end the employment relationship, says Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker. KS, on the other hand, recommends such agreements. – This is to avoid conflicts ending up in the legal system, which is often harmful for the municipality and the director, says Tor Arne Gangsø. He is director of working life in KS, with 16 years as municipal director behind him. – But we are clear that there must be strict requirements. The parties must make proper arrangements to resolve a conflict before they eventually decide to terminate the agreement, says Gangsø. Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker believes it is not always done. – We have seen a good number of cases where the municipal director has not been informed in advance of what is wrong. The parties have not sat down and discussed how they can make this work better together, says Grindaker. – There is cause for concern when the simple solution to the challenges in a municipality is to get rid of the municipal director. Grindaker acknowledges that there are municipal directors who have not been able to perform their duties well enough. – But in those situations, you have to be able to sit down and discuss a way out to a greater extent, she says. Siri Halvorsen was employed on normal terms when she took the job at Moskenes. – I believe that a municipal director should have the same rights as an employee. Then it’s not just about making demands of no confidence in you without having good reasons. Something I think we see more and more of, unfortunately, she says. Both Halvorsen and Grindaker believe that the job as municipal director has become more demanding. They receive support from KS. Looking for other jobs In 2021, 29 per cent of municipal directors answered that they might consider quitting their job. In 2024, the figure will be closer to 41 per cent, according to the figures from a survey from UiA. – Although most people enjoy their jobs, we see that the work is becoming more demanding, says Tor Arne Gangsø in KS. – It is about poor municipal finances, a lack of money and perhaps a lack of relevant labor and expertise. As a result, the politicians will have to make difficult, perhaps also unpopular, choices. And it is therefore the municipal director’s job to ensure that the decisions are carried out. – This also puts pressure on the relationship between politics and administration, says Gangsø. Among the municipal directors who have changed jobs voluntarily, there are a couple of recurring reasons: Lack of room for action Lack of trust in/from the mayor The political interaction in the municipality Well-being – Both the new and previous surveys show that major conflicts in the political environment affect the cooperation with the administration and the municipal director. We also see that the level of conflict is increasing in municipalities where there are many parties in the municipal council, says Grindaker in the Norwegian Municipal Directors’ Forum. Siri Halvorsen in Moskenes sees the same. – My impression is that the politicians are not always willing to sit down at the table and try to find solutions when things start to drag on, she says on a general basis. Must dare to stand in difficult elections Halvorsen believes that regular meetings between the municipal director and the mayor are important. The same is fundamental trust in the administration’s work. Gudrun Haabeth Grindaker highlights a program KS implements for the elected representatives. Here the politicians learn more about their role as elected representatives. That understanding sees Tom Arne Gangsø in KS stand strong in the municipalities where the collaboration actually works. – Respect and understanding for the political role and the administrative leadership role have a great effect, says Gangsø. Published 04.10.2024, at 9.30 p.m
ttn-69
– Far too easy to get rid of a municipal director – news Nordland
