The majority coalition in Reykjavík City Council handed in a three-year budget plan at a council meeting on Wednesday, almost six months behind schedule. The leaders of both the Independence Party and Left-Greens in the council’s opposition have criticized the majority for its work methods.
Reykjavík City Hall. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
According to the laws on local governments, a three-year budget plan is to be submitted within two months after the annual budget discussions have been settled, and so the Best Party-Social Democrat coalition should have submitted the plan in mid-February, ruv.is reports.
The Ministry of the Interior has reprimanded Reykjavík City for the delays. Mayor of Reykjavík Jón Gnarr said the uncertainty on a certain part of the transition of the affairs of the disabled from the state to the city caused the delays in addition to economic uncertainty, both in Iceland and around the world.
However, there is not much new in the three-year plan, Gnarr stated more detailed plans will be included in the five-year budget plan, which is to be submitted in September.
Sóley Tómasdóttir of the Left-Greens declared the delay of the budget plan and its meager content disrespectful while Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir of the Independence Party told RÚV it is clear that the majority coalition cannot handle the operations and obligations of a local government.
ESA
