Municipal board representative Stein Plukkerud (Sp) in Øyer has shares and management positions in a number of companies in cottage areas in Hafjell. He has served on both the municipal board and chairmanship for seven years. In addition, he was also previously on the municipal planning committee. He has been on leave from there since February last year, at his own request. The dual roles have brought him into a number of situations with the risk of disqualification. Frequent use of goods From October 2020 to October 2022, he declared himself ineligible to elected bodies 31 times in connection with matters related to his own business activities. In some of the meetings, he was disqualified several times at the same meeting. 10 of these cases are 10 different meetings in the municipal planning committee. These may be cases where he, as a cottage developer, can make money from a specific decision. He is then obliged to report, so that a deputy representative can replace him during the vote. COTTAGE DEVELOPER: Stein Plukkerud is central to the development of Mosetertoppen in Hafjell. Photo: Privat Responding to the use of numbers Stein Plukkerud believes that the number of cases in which he has been disqualified gives a completely false impression, and that news inflates the extent. – Many of these 31 cases are about the municipal sub-plan. Therefore, there are actually fewer cases, he says. He also believes that the cases of disqualification show that he has been honest and spoken out whenever he has business interests in a case. Mayor of Øyer, Jon Halvor Midtmageli (Sp) says that Plukkerud has always been very careful about reporting his own business interests. – He likes to say one time too much than one time too little, he says. – The politicians are part of the decision-making environment INVITES THE PARTIES TO RAISE AWARENESS: Sigrid Stokstad at the Department of Public Law. Sigrid Stokstad is associate professor at the Department of Public Law at the University of Oslo. She believes it is very unfortunate that the parties distribute positions to politicians who are disqualified many times in major and important matters. – We are now facing a local election where I hope that the parties are aware of their responsibility and think about this, she says. Researcher Gro Sandkjær Hansen at Oslo Met believes it is not enough that politicians with dual roles only refrain from participating in the treatment. WANTS DEBATE ABOUT DOUBLE ROLES: Gro Sandkjær Hansen at Oslo Met. Photo: BENJAMIN A. WARD – Politicians cannot hide behind the fact that they declare themselves incompetent, when this happens again and again, says Sandkjær. She has land policy as a special field. – They are part of the decision-making environment and have great opportunities to influence outside the actual processing and voting, she says. Both emphasize that it is the trust that people act impartially that is the point, and not whether it has actually happened. A key player in the cabin industry, Plukkerud has been the leader of several of the large development projects in Hafjell since the 1990s. He now has day-to-day responsibility for many of the largest companies within property development in the well-known cabin and alpine destination. This applies to Mosetertoppen, Norgesski, Kringelåslia and Hafjell Invest, among others. The development of the Mosetertoppen Ski Stadium is described by the project itself as “the most spectacular and sophisticated project in the Norwegian mountain world”. Furthermore, the project highlights that Stein Plukkerud has had a hand in most of the development of Hafjell. In 2021, he had an annual income of NOK 3.8 million and a fortune of NOK 37 million. Dual roles in many cottage municipalities news has conducted a survey among the largest cottage municipalities in Norway. The investigation shows that in four municipalities there have been a total of 61 cases where politicians have declared themselves incompetent over the course of two years. This applies to Vinje (13), Hol (13), Trysil (6) and Sigdal (29). At the same time, there are five municipalities where there have been no cases (Fredrikstad, Nord-Aurdal, Nore and Uvdal, Hvaler and Ringsaker). Survey in Norwegian cottage municipalities In October 2022, news asked the largest cottage municipalities in Norway, measured on the basis of the number of holiday homes in the municipality, the following questions: How many times have elected representatives in the municipality been declared ineligible in meetings of elected bodies (municipal council, chairmanship, other committees ) in the last two years (2021-22) because they have business interests related to holiday homes? Here are the results: Vinje 13 Hol 13 Trysil 6 Sigdal 29 The following municipalities have no such cases: Fredrikstad Nord-Aurdal Hvaler Ringsaker Nore and Uvdal It is important to emphasize that there may be coincidences linked to these figures varying from year to year. For example, there may be more cases of disqualification when spatial plans are processed. There may also be different “cultures” from municipality to municipality on which threshold there is to declare someone incompetent. – A danger signal Professor Ole Kristian Fauchald at the Department of Public Law says that these are surprisingly high figures. WANTS DEBATE: Professor Ole Kristian Fauchald. Photo: Christine Fagerbakke / news – The figures news has obtained show that there is a need for a debate about this. – It is a danger signal when municipalities have problems carrying out important land matters without there being a large number of cases of disqualification, says Fauchald. He believes there may be a need to look at the legislation. – One alternative is to extend the opportunity for the general public to complain about planning decisions where they believe there is an adverse influence on the decision-making process, he says. Warns against tightening Plukkerud refers to the survey where it appears that there were no disabled persons in Hvaler in the period 2021-22. He emphasizes that there were many in 2019, when the municipality finalized its municipal plan. He believes that it will have very far-reaching consequences if you try to narrow down the opportunities for business people to be politicians. – Should none of these be elected to become politicians? Shouldn’t entrepreneurs be allowed to participate in the social debate? he asks. He also believes that there is no danger of the other politicians feeling any pressure to vote in a certain direction because he is a developer. – I have great confidence in the political system in Norway and those who allow themselves to be elected. This is democracy, that you have to respect the views of the other representatives. – I keep a low profile. He also refers to several examples from Øyer where he, as a developer, has not had his proposals passed. – It just shows that there is not necessarily an advantage to having both of these roles, he says. Plukkerud says that he does not do any lobbying for his own companies, and that he keeps a low profile. – In the last two years, I have hardly participated in any group meetings and members’ meetings in my own party, where the municipal sub-plan has been the topic, he says. – Plukkerud is very careful Mayor of Øyer, Jon Halvor Midtmageli (Sp). Photo: Dag Kessel / news Mayor Jon Halvor Midtmageli (Sp) says that the high number of cases with disqualification is due to the municipal sub-plan being up for consideration. – Some have a large commitment to food. And when the municipal sub-plan is under consideration, he will be disqualified every time, he says. Midtmageli agrees that politicians with large business interests should not sit on the planning committee. Plukkerud sat on the municipal planning committee, which is a separate body separate from the ordinary planning committee. The members of the chairmanship are automatically members of the municipal planning committee. He reported himself disqualified at ten of the first meetings. He then applied for leave. – Shouldn’t he have been on leave straight away? – He probably could, if we had thought about it, says the mayor. 31 cases of disqualification Here are the case numbers and titles of the 31 cases referred to in this case: The municipal board: 10/21 UBA final processing – 201901 – Nestingsætra 17/21 Kommunedelplan Øyer sør – working meeting after input 23/21 Fee self-cost plan, building case, survey , sectioning 43/21 Request for purchase of land from Øyer municipality – Hafjell Arena 51/21 Fee self-cost plan, building case, surveying, sectioning 59/21 Tingberg Vest II municipal takeover of VA lines 91/21 Request for purchase of land Hafjell Arena 95/21 Kommunedelplan Øyer Sør – revised progress 118/21 Request for purchase of land Hafjell Arena 137/21 Appeal against decision on option agreement 17/22 PlanID 201504A – Mosetertoppen Sentrum 45/22 PlanID 201301A – Hafjell Ski resort Mosetertoppen 84/22 Appeal against decision – PlanID 201301A – Hafjell ski resort – Mosetertoppen 90/22 PlanID 201504A – Mosetertoppen Sentrum – Development agreement 91/22 PlanID 201709 – Storsteinvegen – Stubberud Sæter 96/22 PlanID 201502 – Kommunedelplan Øyer Sør 114/22 gbnr 16/101 – License for the occupation of real estate 115/22 gbnr 17/50 – Concession for the occupation of real estate Chairmanship: 21/21 Request for the purchase of land from Øyer municipality 37/21 Request for the purchase of land Hafjell Arena 39/21 Tingberg Vest II – municipal takeover of VA lines Municipal planning committee: 2/20 Revised development plan – municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør 3/20 Municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør – clarifications and decisions regarding land input 1/21 Topic for discussion – PlanID 201502 – Municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør 5/21 Sifting criteria – area input – municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør 6/21 Coarse silting – area input – municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør 8/21 Municipal sub-plan Øyer Sør – revised progress 9/21 Area strategy working meeting 10/21 Junction, flood and storm water working meeting and planning processes 12/21 Municipal sub-plan for Øyer Sør – basis for development volume 1/22 Municipal master plan for Øyer Sør – preliminary draft meetings there was disqualification several times at the same meeting: Municipal Board 25.3.21, 26.8.21 and 27.10.22: 2 times Municipal Board 29.2.22: 3 times Chairmanship 20.4.21: 2 times
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Local politician and Hafjell investor registered as disqualified 31 times in two years – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
