On the same day that the new municipal council in Rana met for the first time after the election, the politicians decided that changes should be made to the regulations that govern how much money they will get for the job. Here they decided that the committee and group leaders should be bought free 20 percent to run politics. Until now, they have only been covered for lost earnings and meeting allowances. In the new regulations, the committee and group leaders will now first receive the money for buyouts, in addition to the fact that lost earnings will be covered. On top of this comes the meeting fee. And therein lies the problem. The Local Government Act does not allow for the politicians to be freed in addition to having their employment benefits covered. In other words: the politicians cannot get both in the bag and in the sack. The interim calculation shows that the new scheme will cost NOK 5.3 million annually. The old scheme had an annual cost of NOK 2.5 million. That’s twice as much. Rana Blad wrote about the case first. – Much to read before the meeting Raudt politician Alf-Helge Straumfors in Rødt is a member of the chairmanship and voted for the proposal, along with all the group leaders from the other parties. According to Straumfors, the members of the various municipal committees have an awful lot of hundreds of pages to read for every single meeting they go to. – Then I don’t think that increasing the allowance from NOK 1,800 to NOK 2,200 was actually terribly generous. The total sum, when you spread it over 50-60 representatives, will not be a big increase. Group leader Alf-Helge Straumfors in Raudt believes the politicians in Rana deserve more money. Photo: Frank Nygård / news According to the group leader in the Labor Party in Rana, Lars Yngve Frøysa, this was a proposal that was drawn up by all the group leaders in the municipal council as a collegium. – It was a unanimous decision. I went into it and had a clue that it was correct. But when there are considerations about it, we correct any errors. Jurist: – Should correct Jurist and associate professor Sigrid Stokstad at UiO, has been presented with the decision that was made at the municipal council meeting. – I think they should rectify that, she says. Stokstad refers to section 5 of the Municipal Act. Act on Municipalities and County Municipalities (Municipalities Act) § 8-3. Coverage of expenses and financial loss Anyone who holds a municipal or county office of trust is entitled to transport, board and accommodation allowance for travel in connection with the office. The municipal board or the county council itself issues regulations on such compensation. Anyone who incurs expenses as a result of a municipal or county office of trust is entitled to have the expenses covered up to a certain amount per day. The municipal council or the county council itself issues regulations on the coverage of such expenses. Anyone who loses income because he or she holds a municipal or county office of trust is entitled to compensation up to a certain amount per day. The municipal council or the county council itself issues regulations on such compensation. Different rates must be set for documented and undocumented losses. Section 8-4.Remuneration for work Anyone who holds a municipal or county office of trust is entitled to remuneration for their work. The municipal board or the county council itself issues regulations for such compensation. Source: Legislative data She does not, however, believe that the decision will have major consequences, as the new municipal council has not been established for a long time. So there is no reason to have so many meetings yet. Lawyer and associate professor Sigrid Stokstad at UiO. – I don’t think the consequences here will be very big if they fix it now. Stokstad confirms that if the politicians agree to a buy-out scheme, they must not provide work allowance or compensation for lost income in addition. – But they are completely free to decide the level of the buyout. Councillor: – Not legal When the chairmanship in Rana municipality met on Tuesday, councilor in the municipality, Robert Pettersen, said the following: – The preliminary assessment is that the allowance as it is designed, is not legal. He has already notified the politicians that the changes may come back to the politicians’ table. The reason is precisely that the decision may be illegal. Councilor Robert Pettersen in Rana himself earns NOK 1.6 million a year. He got a salary jump of NOK 220,000 in 2021 after he applied for a job in Bodø municipality. Photo: Frank Nygård / news The councilor says that the matter has not been dealt with by the administration. – It is the elected representatives themselves who have been responsible for the matter. And in that sense, I have to be careful about what I think about the matter. – But it is my duty to ensure that decisions taken by the municipal council are legal, he says. And the preliminary assessment of KS is that the allowance can determine whether elected officials who are bought off can receive a fixed allowance instead of covering a fixed income and work allowance. Laying flat Both the group leader for the Labor Party, Høgre, and Raudt are clear that they must correct this if the decision is illegal. – Now the municipal council must of course look into the matter and correct any mistakes. We are also awaiting legal feedback from KS. It is clear that we must correct mistakes, no doubt, says the group leader for Ap Lars Yngve Frøysa. – Why didn’t they check this before they adopted it? – This was a regulation drawn up by the former group leaders who were left over from the previous period, says the group leader for Høgre, Hans Myrnes. It is nevertheless the group leaders in the current municipal council who voted on the proposal. The group leader in Raudt says that such things happen, and that this is why they have a system that intervenes and points out that this is a proposal that cannot be adopted without further ado. – We didn’t manage to check all sections of all decisions, I readily admit that. In this case, perhaps we should have done it, but we didn’t, and then the response is that the system works, quite simply.
ttn-69
The politicians increased their salaries for themselves – may be illegal – news Nordland
