– If it is not now to cut, I think it will never be done, and then it is our generation that will feel the consequences of it. This is according to the county leader in Agder Unge Høgre, Siri Heimdal Knudsen (18). She believes her generation is facing many major crises that their parents will not experience. – Oil will have a lower return, we will have more elderly people, and an enormous climate crisis that will cost us a lot of money, says Knudsen. In order to tackle these challenges, Agder Unge Høgre believes that the county council is a redundant level of administration that should be closed down. As long as the county council still exists, the youth party will work for strict financial management and tough prioritization of money in the public sector. – I think that many politicians have lived quite easily being politicians until now. You can throw money at problems and give money to whatever you want, says Heimdal Knudsen. This weekend, the youth party will present cut proposals at the county annual meeting in Agder Høgre. And it is urgent to get the cut through, according to the county manager. Johannes Strømberg and Siri Heimdal Knudsen in Agder Unge Høgre want stricter financial management in the county municipality. Photo: Ada Drevdal Bjøranger / news Calls for tough priorities – My generation and ours is the first generation that does not get the same opportunities as our parents. We propose the cuts so that we can also benefit from the welfare state. See all proposals for Agder Unge Høgre further down in the article. – The consequences of the policy we are pursuing now will have even greater consequences for my generation. Then the county council must also take its share of the responsibility, says Knudsen. Some of the cuts Unge Høgre will propose are: Reduce money for cultural offerings and to abolish the cultural school bag. They want to let private players own and run museums, and let private parties deliver welfare services. They will demand a 75 percent completion rate before school classes are created. Cutting salaries for politicians Agder Unge Høgre believes this is necessary to save enough for future generations. This is the cut Agder Unge Høgre wants: Responsible financial management: Continuously evaluate all services from the county council to ensure efficient operation. To the greatest extent possible, use tendering and public/private cooperation (PPP) for the larger projects from the county council. That, as a general rule, concession funds should only be used for projects within business development, education and climate and environment. Reduced bureaucracy: Reduce central administration from the county council. Reduce the number of scholarships and prizes awarded by the county council. Introduce an ABE reform in the entire county municipality. Critically review the organizational structure of the county council with the aim of greatly reducing the number of units, directors and managers. Aim to reduce the number of directors by at least six. Aim to halve the number of units in the county administration. Cut the number of positions in the communications department in the administration. Lower politicians’ salaries: Reduce the size of the county council to 43 members. Reduce the number of main committees to 3. Reduce the fixed annual remuneration for main committee leaders to 30 per cent. Reduce the meeting allowance for the youth council to NOK 400 per meeting. Do not give fixed annual remuneration to deputy managers and members of the main committee, and also county council representatives without a fixed committee. Reduce remuneration for all types of board positions. Halve the fixed allowances in KS Agder and ensure that no one who is freed up full-time receives a fixed allowance or attendance allowance. Shut down Jernbaneforum Sør, Blue forum, Agricultural forum and Traffic safety forum. Education – knowledge first: Require a 75 percent completion rate before the classes are created. Have a sustainable school structure with larger units to strengthen the range of subjects, the competence environment and the team around the pupils. Selling school buildings that are not in use. Transport – more road and less track: Cut investment in railways and prioritize road construction. Finish the work for connecting the Sørlandsbanen and the Vestfoldbanen. More culture for the money: Merge the Vest-Agder museum and the Aust-Agder museum and archive. Slim down the staff of the museum organizations and coordinate the archive functions. Make demands for increased own income at the museums from the county council. Let private individuals own and operate the museum. Tender for the operation of a museum where it is expedient. Shut down the Children and Youth Council in Agder (BURIA) and transfer the responsibility for allocating funds to children and youth organizations to the youth council. Put down the cultural school bag and the cultural walking stick at Agder. A dental health service for the future: Reducing the number of county dental clinics. That the county council should not compete with private dental clinics for adult customers. Reduced county ownership: Systematically review county ownership positions with the aim of selling/liquidating/merging companies to reduce county ownership. That the county council must exit all companies that are categorized as “less significant” in the ownership report. Systematically go through the property pool from the county council with the aim of selling properties that it is not necessary for the county council to own. Takes more responsibility than adults Håkon Snortheim is deputy head of the National Association of Young High Schools. He says they stand behind the fact that the county council should be abolished. – It gives the municipalities and residents more power to influence their local community. – The proposals from Agder Unge Høgre are brave and show that they take more responsibility than many well-grown politicians, says Snortheim. Agree with the concern But the proposal from Unge Høgre meets resistance. County manager of AUF Agder, Jesper Thoresen (18), says he agrees with Unge Høgre in the concern about poor financial management of the county municipality. But he disagrees that there are cuts in the welfare benefits to the county council, which solves them. AUF Agder also believes that the proposal regarding the school’s occupancy rate and a centralized school structure is not sustainable. – We are against a society where residents in the districts are forced to move from the villages to go to school, writes Thoresen to news. Jesper Thoresen is the leader of Agder AUF. He does not think cuts in the county council are the solution. Photo: Svein Sundsdal / news County head of Agder Senterungdom Nora Rudjord (21) is also concerned about the demand for more pupils to create new school classes. – For some of the district schools, this will be very challenging and the result will be a worse offer in the district, she says. She is aware that the coffers will be tighter in the future, but believes it is not right for a youth party to propose cuts in benefits for young people at regional level. The center youth also disagree on the cut in public support for cultural offerings. – I am skeptical that private interests should control how we present our past and history. Nora Rudjord is skeptical about cuts in public support for cultural offerings. Photo: Private – Dramatic consequences Director of the Vest-Agder museum, John Olsen, says cuts in support will directly affect operations. In the extreme, it could mean the hook on the door for some museums. – A cut in subsidy will very quickly have quite dramatic consequences when it comes to opening hours and offers to the public, says Olsen. He explains that many of the museum’s expenses cannot be cut, such as electricity and insurance. – In addition, we must secure and maintain similar buildings and facilities, for example the Setesdalsbanen. It should not be the case that only the generation living now gets to experience these. It must be taken care of. Getting private money for ongoing operations has been demanding. – We see a general perception that museums and those types of cultural institutions are a public responsibility, says Olsen. John Olsen fears how downsizing of museum organizations will affect operations. Photo: Hanne Rebecca Nilsen / news Best suited to manage the money book Arne Thomassen is county mayor in Agder and Høgre politician. – The county municipality has many important roles. Among other things within education, public health, dental health, regional development and culture, and is forced to continue delivering these in a good way. He does not share the same opinion as Knudsen, of the county council as redundant. – If one were to question the county council’s future, then one would have to have a completely different municipal structure. The way we are set up in Norway today, you cannot manage without the county council. Thomassen believes that the county council has sound and good financial management. – You can’t get someone better to manage the cash book than the county council, believes Thomassen. County mayor Arne Thomassen believes that it is not possible to liquidate the county municipality as the municipalities are structured today. Photo: Svein Sundsdal / news
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– It is urgent for our generation – news Sørlandet – Local news, TV and radio
