The case in summary: – Retirement pay is intended to secure politicians who do not have a job to return to after finishing their service. – Vestby municipality has a rule that allows mayors to receive severance pay and salary at the same time.- Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen at the University of Bergen believes the arrangement is illegal, as the municipal law states that the right to severance pay must be reduced kroner for kroner against other income.- Mayor Tom Anders Ludvigsen (Ap) denies that it has been the purpose of the rule to allow double payment, and denies that it has happened. – Politicians from the opposition are reacting to the rule and will raise the matter in the municipal council. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Once again, it will be about the money that municipal politicians can get when they retire, the so-called severance pay. The usual thing is that a mayor without a job to go back to can keep his salary for another three months. In the Akershus municipality of Vestby, on the other hand, the rules allow ex-mayors to receive full severance pay even if they have acquired new income after leaving. – Yes, the way it is worded, there is probably a lot to indicate that, says mayor Tom Anders Ludvigsen (Ap). news discovered the special rule when we looked at the rules for severance pay in all Norwegian municipalities. In the survey, we found that several municipalities offer illegally long severance pay periods. But there are more generous rules. Not shortened = illegal In Vestby, it is stated that the outgoing mayor receives severance pay in return for the person helping the new mayor to settle into office. After resignation, he or she can receive full mayor’s salary until October, and then in November, December and January. Funnily enough, it says that shortening will (first) take place in January. This is what the rules in Vestby §1 – 2 Duration of the allowance say. Remuneration is provided from and including 1 October in the election year. In the event of resignation as mayor following a municipal council election, remuneration is paid up to and including the month of October and thereafter for up to three months. The outgoing mayor is obliged to assist the incoming mayor to settle into office. If the resigning mayor receives another salary or remuneration after 1 January after the municipal council election from another client or employer, the mayor’s remuneration in January will be reduced in the same proportion as other salary or remuneration is received. Abbreviation is not made in other remuneration such as elected representatives. “Avkorte” means that the support from the municipality is cut or disappears completely, if the ex-mayor gets a new job. – The way I read it, there is no shortening for the period October-December, explains councilor Sjur Authen in an e-mail to news. The rule thus allows for an ex-politician to keep all the support, even if the person in question may have got a new job. In that case, this is illegal, according to law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen, at the University of Bergen. – The Municipal Act states outright that the right to reimbursement must be reduced kroner for kroner against other income. Law professor Hans Fredrik Marthinussen believes that the severance pay rule in Vestby is not valid. Photo: Paul André Sommerfeldt It is not allowed to have such a provision, he says. These are the frameworks the Storting has set: People’s elected officials in municipalities and county councils and who have politics as their livelihood, can apply for supplementary compensation when they resign from office. It is the county or municipal council that decides how long the severance pay can be, but the maximum is the general notice period in the municipality (three months). If the politician receives income during the period, the severance pay must be cut accordingly. The same applies to ordinary income that the elected representative voluntarily waives. Old age pensions shall not be deducted, the Storting has decided. These rules are set out in section 8-6 of the Municipal Act. Rejects double pay Vestby’s regulations were adopted by the politicians as recently as 4 September last year. But they have had the provision on severance pay for a long time, according to the mayor. – It is an allowance that has been in our regulations almost since the dawn of time, says Ludvigsen. Aps Tom Anders Ludvigsen has been mayor of Vestby for 16 years. When he retired in 2007, he received severance pay, but he did not earn double, he says. Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news Although the rule should open up double payment, he denies that this was the intention. Ludvigsen also denies that anyone has received this. When he himself had to resign after the election in 2007, he had severance pay and a cut in support in January, he says. – But you had no income then in October, November, December on top of the mayor’s salary? – No, he replies. The opposition reacts – It is unfortunate that we have a rule that is in conflict with the Municipal Act, says Rødt’s Heidi Bahr. She says she will raise the matter with the other parties in the municipal council. Høyre’s Åshild Marie Fagerjord also reacts. The right-wing group leader in Vestby, Åshild Marie Fagerjord, wants a review of how the rule has worked. Photo: Hallgeir Braastad / news – We must rectify this as soon as possible, she says. – I have to trust that the mayor is right, says Fagerjord and refers to his answer that no one has been paid twice. Nevertheless, she thinks a review of how the rule has worked is in order. – So it is not unnatural that we follow up the matter further and make sure that there have been no unfortunate consequences, she says. The mayor also wants them to reconsider the severance pay clause. – If it now turns out that our regulations contradict the provisions of the Municipal Act, then we have to look into it, and of course we will, he assures. Noise elsewhere too In Oslo, too, there was talk of severance pay when news was able to report that former city council leader Raymond Johansen would start a new job exactly three months after his departure as city council leader. Thus, he was likely to get the maximum out of the scheme and close to NOK 400,000, even though it turned out that he could start earlier in the new job. Later, he asked to be allowed to take up the position of general secretary of Norwegian People’s Aid earlier. With that, the subsidy from the municipality was greatly reduced. Hello! Did you think of anything when you read this article? Or do you have a tip? Feel free to send me an e-mail! Do you have any tips for other things I should look into? Get in touch with me!
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Raus’s arrangement means that mayors can receive severance pay and earn money at the same time – Greater Oslo
