On Friday at 11.45, Municipal and District Minister Erling Sande (Sp) and Labor and Inclusion Minister Tonje Brenna (Ap) have urgently called a press conference on the municipal economy.
In a picture Brenna posted on Facebook on Friday morning, she looks through what looks like a script before the press conference.
– 5 billion in permanently increased transfers will not solve all challenges. Even with these extra funds, many municipalities will still carry out tough priorities locally, the document says.
The picture was quickly deleted and the government has not confirmed that this is the sum they will give.
The backdrop for the press conference is that several municipalities are struggling to get their budgets to increase, both this year and for next year.
The government has previously promised more money to the municipalities in the so-called new balancing of this year’s state budget, which usually comes at the turn of November/December.
– We have said that the state will stand up, said Sande after a meeting with the municipal organization KS earlier this month.
He then also announced that the government would hopefully be able to give some signals about how much money is involved even before the new balance is ready.
KS has said that several municipalities are managing towards a deficit this year.
– Significant amounts are needed. If you look at our budget survey, the overrun is already close to NOK 10 billion. So the numbers are big, said chairman Gunn Marit Helgesen in KS after the meeting with Sande.
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