– It is a big challenge to get hold of trained professionals in small places. We are therefore dependent on inter-municipal cooperation. This means that we can have more full-time positions and gives us a better professional environment. And the financial gain is great. Torbjørn Larsen is the principal of the cultural school in Surnadal and Rindal. Around 300 pupils from the two municipalities enjoy this offer. The administration is located in Surnadal. But the teaching is divided between Surnadal and Rindal. This is far from the only collaboration Surnadal participates in. Surnadal is involved in 49 inter-municipal collaborations. There are the most in Møre and Romsdal. The PP service, which will help students and children with special needs, fire. Emergency services and child protection are other examples of cooperation in which Surnadal is involved. The culture school for both Surnadal and Rindal municipality takes place in Surnadal cultural centre. Photo: Torbjørn Larsen Municipality under pressure Cooperation with other municipalities is essential to be able to offer people a good offer. Municipal analyst Geir Vinsand also believes that the municipalities in the country are dependent on this. He follows them closely. And he doesn’t like what he sees. – Here it is a jumble of municipalities that only shop for cooperation at crossroad, says Vinsand. The municipalities in the country are under pressure. Many struggle to make ends meet. And they can’t get hold of the professionals they need to be able to give you and me the services we are entitled to. One solution could be more cooperation with the neighbours. But not everyone wants that. Day-to-day manager of NIVI Analyse, Geir Vinsand, challenges the municipalities to cooperate. Photo: Lars Tore Endresen / news Indefensible In some of the municipalities in the country with the biggest challenges, the warning lights are on full blast. The consequences are great and the result is that the municipalities break the law by not giving the residents the services they are entitled to. As in Hareid and nearly 70 other municipalities, where they do not have the statutory provision of a municipal psychologist. – This is indefensible and affects those who live there. It is about people’s welfare. In some municipalities, the law is only followed in around 50 per cent of the cases, says Vinsand. More and better cooperation with regular partners is the solution, believes Geir Vinsand. He knows what he’s talking about. Over many years, he has been responsible for a long series of reports in Municipality-Norway. Vinsand was also secretary for the government-appointed Christiansen committee, which worked out the division of municipalities and counties in Norway in the 1990s. In 2007, he helped start the consulting company NIVI Analyse. Now he has overseen the inter-municipal cooperation in several of the counties in the country. Among other things, he has written reports on the municipalities in Møre and Romsdal, Trøndelag, Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. He believes this is about the generalist municipality’s future. – We are at a crossroads. The collaboration must be much more individually organized. The municipalities must have regular partners. They must collaborate on core tasks such as health, social services and planning work. And instead of the host municipalities managing the cooperation, this must be more equal. Lack of overview On Sunnmøre, Haram has become its own municipality again after being separated from Ålesund. The new municipality will enter into collaboration with others in several areas, but will have its own child welfare service, PP service and NAV office. But mayor Vebjørn Krogsæter (Sp) says he has sense for the warnings. He points to geography as a challenge. – But this is something we can certainly get better at. If we are to succeed in working together, we must be equal partners. And then we need to get a better overview. Many new politicians have come in who have no idea what agreements exist. Mayor Vebjørn Krogsæter (Sp) believes that Haram can carry out several tasks on its own, but agrees that the collaboration must take a more permanent form. Photo: Trond Vestre / news – We have a long way to go Many of the reports that Geir Vinsand has prepared have been commissioned by the state administrators. They are the State’s extended arm in the county. Among other things, they control the municipalities. And they keep a close eye on what is happening. Else May Norderhus in Møre og Romsdal says she is worried. The municipalities have found themselves in a dilemma that is only getting bigger and bigger. People demand good services, and it has become increasingly challenging to meet these demands. She points to collaboration as an important part of the solution. – We have a long way to go. But we are ready to go that way. I think we are content to look at how the cooperation between the municipalities will be in the future. It will be very important. The municipalities are keen on more and better cooperation, says the state administrator in Møre and Romsdal, Else May Norderhus. Photo: Trond Vestre / news Geir Vinsand believes there is an urgent need to find better and more individualized, fixed ways to collaborate. Now he urges the municipalities to look at the possibilities. They must manage the development to a much greater extent, he says. – Today there is actually no cooperation. The municipalities must take what they get. You get to deliver the service that the host municipality wants to deliver, and then you pay the bill.
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The municipalities must achieve firmer and more organized cooperation to solve the challenges – news Møre og Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
