– It is absolutely terrible. We get very frustrated, says auxiliary nurse Lene Lunde. She works at Gimle nursing home in Vestre Toten municipality. The municipality has decided that they must save 5 percent in all budgets. – We do not understand what we should save on. We feel that we have saved and saved for so many years and used a cheese grater. We don’t understand how much more we can save, says Lunde. Many other municipalities must make similar cuts. – I just get frustrated and sad. We are constantly promised that we will get more, but we who are on the floor see nothing. It just gets tougher and tougher, and we fly faster and faster, Lunde continues. Lack of money Municipalities and county councils across the country are likely to burst their budgets by a total of around 10 billion in 2024, according to a recent survey and calculations from KS. This means that the municipality of Norway is heading for a large deficit this year and will have to take out the savings knife. – There is too little money to finance what the citizens expect, and what the Storting has ordered the municipalities to deliver. The government and the Storting must take that into account – immediately, says KS leader Gunn Marit Helgesen. Gunn Marit Helgesen in KS believes the state must do more – The foundations are now shaking in Norwegian municipalities and county municipalities. It doesn’t add up anymore. Welfare services for people all over the country are at stake, says Helgesen. The survey from KS The survey is based on figures from the second quarter of 2024 – i.e. the situation on 1 September. KS has asked municipalities and county councils about the “expected financial status for 2024. The survey from KS shows that municipalities and county councils are severely underfunded in 2024. 170 municipalities and 14 county councils have responded. Additional consumption of almost NOK six billion is reported from the 170 municipalities that responded to KS’s survey. Overall, the municipalities will experience a total loss of around NOK 8-9 billion, is the estimate from the municipal economists in KS. Nor is Oslo included. In these figures, neither the tax failure nor the interest expenses are included. KS therefore believes that the figures are in reality larger. Three out of four municipalities report excess consumption. 86 per cent of the municipalities with additional consumption have it in nursing and care. In addition, KS sees in the survey a strong growth in primary schools and kindergartens due to organized teaching. Basic services More than four out of five municipalities answer in the KS survey that the lack of money is due to expenditure on health and social services. Many also mention school. Several also point to high interest rates and purchasing costs. Municipal director Bjørn Fauchald in Vestre Toten despairs. – We see that there are a number of budget leaks and money is given to good causes. But for someone in my role, it reflects on why there is not an even greater focus on financing the basic services we are to provide. And that they are fully funded, he says to news. Gimle nursing home and other agencies in Vestre Toten must all cut their budgets by 5 per cent Photo: Lokman Ghorbani / news Promise fresh billions Local Government Minister Erling Sande made a promise in May that the municipalities will receive an extra 2.5 billion in 2025. – We already saw early that this was a demanding situation. That’s why we announced already this spring that the municipalities were going to get a financial boost, says Sande to news. He has also promised more, but the final sum will only become clear on Monday when the national budget for 2025 is presented. – We have followed the situation going forward, and will present the figures and the whole on Monday when the state budget is presented. But we will grant more funds to the municipalities next year, says Sande. Published 03.10.2024, at 17.56 Updated 03.10.2024, at 19.21
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– I just get frustrated and sad – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
