Every December, the vast majority of municipalities in Norway adopt a budget for the coming year. The municipalities must ensure that this is in balance – that the expenses are not greater than the income. But when the politicians in Moskenes municipality adopted their budget this week, there was a lack of money to achieve balance. A total of NOK 40 million. Or NOK 40,733 per inhabitant. – It is not a good situation, but at the same time it highlights how the small municipalities are financed and what it means to be a generalist municipality. That’s what mayor Lillian Rasmussen (Bygdelista) says. Should present a realistic budget One year ago, Moskenes municipality was told to present a new budget, as it was not approved by the State Administrator. – Then a new budget was presented in June, and it was not approved either. – We were told to present a realistic budget. But then we don’t get the income and expenses to match. Then we made the financial gap visible. Then we received the same message for 2023, to create a realistic budget. ROBEK: – We have been on the Robek list since 2012. And we will be there until the state finances the municipalities in another way, says Rasmussen. Photo: John Inge Johansen / news Moskenes municipality has entered into a project with the State Administrator and KS. The municipality has been asked to create a budget that looks realistic, as the requirement for a balance sheet is not possible to implement. Senior adviser Linda Karin Storjord at the State Administrator says it will be very challenging to turn around the municipal finances in Moskenes given the municipality’s tasks and income. – What happens next with the municipality’s budget when the State Administrator has to approve this? – The challenge for Moskenes municipality is that it is currently not possible to create a balanced budget. That the budget must be realistic is nevertheless important for the municipal council to be able to govern according to the budget. – So that when both the balance and the realism requirement cannot be met, we recommend that realism weighs more heavily. Storjord describes the financial situation in Moskenes as very serious. – During the last 10 years, the municipality has not been able to adjust expenses in relation to the income that the municipality has. Over the past few years, overall additional consumption has increased considerably. A helpless state – I believe Moskenes municipality has been left in a helpless state by the government and Storting. A solution must be found for this in the municipal cooperation in Lofoten. That’s what Geir Vinsand says in NIVI Analyse. Vinsand has, on behalf of the State Administrator in Nordland, mapped the cooperation between municipalities in Lofoten. SOLUTION: Social scientist, Geir Vinsand, believes there are two possible solutions for Moskenes. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news The main points are that the municipalities cooperate well already, but not sufficiently to avoid that four out of six municipalities are very vulnerable. Moskenes municipality is the worst in Lofoten. Here you struggle with running costs, a lack of sufficient expertise and a deficit of over NOK 100 million. – There is nothing wrong with Moskenes as a community, but it is a hopeless municipality to manage. They lack key competences and have too many tasks. – And there will be more such municipalities that sit alone with far too many and large tasks, warns Vinsand. Because no matter how big or small a municipality in Norway is, it is required to have nursing homes, schools, kindergartens and health services for its residents. This also means that you must have people to manage these tasks in a good way. – What is difficult is finding expertise in management, governance, finance and municipal plans. In small municipalities, it becomes highly dependent on individuals and very vulnerable. Light in the tunnel But all is not dark for the municipality with 982 inhabitants at the far end of mainland Lofoten, believes Vinsand. – Within half a year to a year, many of the problems can be rectified. The operation of the municipality itself can be solved relatively easily, but it requires the neighboring municipalities to help. From before, the municipalities have extensive cooperation across municipal boundaries. Among other things, services such as the NAV office for a common ICT system are shared. But the collaboration can be much better, Vinsand believes. – For example, you could have a joint finance office in Lofoten. It would help the Mosques radically. Vinsand sees two possible alternatives: Either the municipalities merge into a regional municipality – Lofoten municipality. The alternative is to expand regional cooperation across municipal boundaries. The mayor of Moskenes is positive about looking at changes and does not rule out municipal mergers. – Moskenes has said all along that we are positive about looking at structural changes. If you want to become a powerful municipality, it must at least become Mainland-Lofoten. – We operate relatively soberly, and we know the reason why we are out of whack. One of the reasons is that the municipality has residents who, for various reasons, require a lot of resources. But the municipalities’ income system does not take into account the fact that these people live in such a small municipality as Moskenes. – Simply shameful to look at Both of the possible alternatives, as Vinsand foresees, come with an aftertaste. – There are no other municipalities that want to take over a municipality that has NOK 100 million in debt, even if they ask for a municipal merger. – On the other hand, there are several municipalities in Nordland that have slammed the door on more inter-municipal cooperation, precisely because they want a merger. Vinsand is also critical of the fact that there is no national follow-up system through the State Administrator or the Ministry of Local Government. – It is simply shameful to watch. There is no effective emergency function that steps in before it has gone too far in relation to legal certainty and proper services. – In the case of Moskenes, the crisis in the municipality contributes to a negative reputation for the wonderful local community with such great opportunities, he believes.
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