No areas avoid cuts when the city council presents the Oslo budget for next year on Wednesday. And it gets even worse the following year. The blue-green city council will shave around NOK 600 million from its first full budget proposal. In 2026, another billion will be cut. In 2028, Oslo municipality will be run NOK 2.3 billion cheaper. – Large savings are needed to get the economy on the right track, say city council leader Eirik Lae Solberg (H) and finance councilor Hallstein Bjercke (V). A storm warning Already a month ago, the city council leaders sent out what they called a storm warning for Oslo’s economy. They blame it on “animal times”, the government’s tax reform and the fact that the previous city council allegedly lived beyond its means. The Labor Party has called the latest a world record in disclaimer of responsibility, most recently in news’s Politisk Kvarter on Tuesday. BUDGET ARGUMENT ON ADVANCE: Finance Council Hallstein Bjercke and Labor Party group leader Marte Scharning Lund met for a duel. Bjercke calls next year a “year of adjustment”. – Changeover takes time and must be done in a proper and responsible manner. This is the start, says the Finance Council. The cheese grater cuts next year correspond to 0.8 per cent of the total operating budget. Here are a few cuts Frame cuts or “cheese grater cuts” where the sectors themselves have to find savings: The districts: NOK 198.5 million. Health: NOK 25.6 million. Social services: NOK 23.3 million. Education: NOK 83.0 million. Urban development: NOK 11.7 million – Environment and transport: NOK 14.5 million. Culture and industry: NOK 26.1 million. City council leader’s office: NOK 7.8 million. Finance: NOK 35.5 million. City council bodies: NOK 2.9 million. Some specified cuts: Work-oriented measures in the districts: NOK 5 million. Social housing development programme: NOK 5 million. Activity time for users in the home service: NOK 45 million. Dental health: NOK 37 million. Streamlining the school administration: NOK 7.9 million. Discontinue support for the Vocational School in Oslo: NOK 5 million. Other: Oslo Nye Teater gets NOK 40 million less (NOK 37 million plus price increase) The pop center loses all support. Within tight limits, the city council says that they will prioritize two things. Climate and environment Children and young people Here are a number of initiatives Children and young people: NOK 12 million. to alternative training areas NOK 51 million to make the cheese grater cut in primary schools smaller than it would otherwise have been NOK 138 million. for strengthened special education 5 million for the “Transition service” project 55.1 million for child welfare Climate and nature: NOK 50 million NOK 6 million for parks and nearby nature. NOK 5 million to create a “cloud break plan”. NOK 9.7 million in the support scheme for storm water measures. for the opening of the Østensjøbekken NOK 14 million. to raise the environmental quality of the Oslofjord NOK 25.7 million. over four years for footpaths and connections in the field. Culture: NOK 15 million. to Kloden Teater NOK 40 million. extra in cultural subsidies when the cut to Oslo Nye Teater is deducted from 15 million more for the libraries Drug addicts and vulnerable groups: 390 million over four years to provide more housing for the disadvantaged 4 million for drug analysis to prevent overdose deaths. 3 million for separate accommodation for young adults. Investments in sports: NOK 112 million. NOK 5 million for the rehabilitation of artificial grass pitches. NOK 30.4 million for the Voksentoppen artificial turf track. to the Kalbakken service center NOK 21.2 million. NOK 15.8 million for the rehabilitation of the Sloreåsen alpine resort. for Kampen free space NOK 372 million. over four years to rehabilitate Frognerbadet On Monday, news told news about the package to combat youth alienation and youth crime. Clear expectation At the same time, Oslo’s 15 districts must save money, more specifically NOK 198.5 million. Many preventive measures for children and young people are precisely the responsibility of the districts. Finance Council Hallstein Bjercke has a crystal clear message for the districts and district politicians. – We expect them to be able to protect children and young people. – All businesses in Oslo municipality, including the districts, manage to handle cuts of 0.8 per cent of their budget without closing leisure clubs. – If they can’t do it, it’s political laziness, says Bjercke to news. Bjercke and Lae Solberg specify that earmarked funds have been set aside to compensate for increased expenditure on social assistance in the districts. The property tax The city council has received a lot of pepper for announcing dramatic cuts at the same time that they doubt that the property tax on housing will go away. It gave well over NOK 1 billion straight into the city coffers before the bourgeois started the reduction. This year, revenues have been reduced by NOK 315 million. Next year, the city council proposes a reduction of just NOK 80 million. This will be done by lowering the tax rate from 2.8 to 2.5 per thousand. The real reduction will nevertheless be 155 million. This is due to changes in the tax base on the part of the Swedish Tax Agency. CONTROVERSIAL TAX: The reduction in property tax will be smaller next year than this year. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB Just as full, there will be NOK 665 million left when Oslo enters 2026. And the following year there are new municipal elections. The big question is therefore: Will the city council have to break the promise that the property tax on housing will go away during the election period? – It’s a bit like the football coaches say; now we take one game at a time, says Hallstein Bjercke. The monthly card Another important election promise was to drastically lower the price of the monthly card. In the city council’s declaration, it is written in black and white that the price in zone 1 will be reduced to NOK 499. In this year’s budget, NOK 130 million was set aside to start the reduction. It meant lowering the price from NOK 897 to NOK 747. Next year, the city council proposes NOK 53 million for “price measures” in public transport. But will buses, trams and railways be cheaper because of that? – We have set aside that money so that you don’t get an increase in ticket prices, says Eirik Lae Solberg. – Then it is possible that we will achieve a further reduction, he says. CHEAPER? The city council cannot promise cheaper monthly cards next year, but it should not be more expensive either. Photo: Simon Skjelvik Brandseth / news – Is it then on property tax and monthly cards that you have to, if not cancel, then at least postpone election promises to the greatest extent? – We will not get as far as we would have liked in 2025 because we prioritize protecting children and young people and the climate and nature, says Hallstein Bjercke. Oslo Nye and Popsenteret The support for the crisis-stricken Oslo Nye Teater will decrease from NOK 90 to NOK 53 million. Adjusted for price increases, the cut is NOK 40 million. PROTESTERS: Actors, employees and friends of Oslo Nye Teater demonstrated against the cuts on Wednesday morning. Photo: Anna Rut Tørressen / news Finansbyråd Bjercke tells news that the city council has not laid down guidelines for which scenes may be broken. The pop center loses all support. New Frognerbad In total, the Oslo budget for 2025 is NOK 105 billion. 81 goes to running the municipality, 24 to investments. No ongoing investments will be stopped. But less will be built in the coming years. – We are in a shift where there is a decline in the number of children. There is not going to be the investment volume in school buildings in the future as it has been, says Hallstein Bjercke. The city council is coming up with news that will please many. Frognerbadet is affected by the ravages of time, and the iconic Oslo bath is crying out for renovation. Over the next four years, the city council will spend NOK 372 million on a much-needed rehabilitation of the outdoor swimming pool from 1956. More expensive water We also take into account that the water tax will increase by 18 per cent next year. However, it could be even higher because the last cost gap for Oslo’s new water supply has not yet been factored in. Published 25/09/2024, at 13.00 Updated 25.09.2024, at 13.15
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Must save 2.3 billion in the Oslo budget – putting the brakes on important election promises – Greater Oslo
