Municipalities have a difficult economic restructuring task ahead of them. This is due, among other things, to lower revenue growth than we have had in recent years combined with increased expenses.

We asked former mayor of Drammen, Tore Opdal Hansen, to share some of his experiences with building processes that provide good financial management. Tore was in the driving seat during a period when Drammen Municipality carried out an extensive and successful urban development.

 "The key was good processes that created choices with good decisions and broad support that stood the test of time"

Tore Opdal Hansen emphasizes the importance of knowledge-based decisions to meet the main economic challenges. When looking ahead to the medium term, dark clouds are starting to appear on the horizon. Municipal debt is increasing, interest rates will rise and significant expenditure growth is expected, for example as a result of the increase in the number of elderly people over 80 years of age.

Opdal Hansen encourages political and administrative leadership to take the economic outlook seriously. He offers three pieces of advice to political and administrative leadership to face the future and lay the foundation for good transition processes.

1..1 Elected officials should have an annual, well-prepared discussion on the economic plan
1.2. Mayor and municipal director of facilities
1.3. The municipal council must take ownership of the process and results

1.1 Elected officials should have an annual, well-prepared discussion on the economic plan.

Going backwards into the future has never been a good solution. Greater emphasis should therefore be placed on the financial planning work in the municipalities than is done today. This work can be separated from the budget work and can just as easily take place in August/September as in November/December.

Good processes must be set up that elected officials feel ownership of. They must then be involved in the work. This will also provide a different, more predictable budget process, when the long-term lines have been laid out through an economic plan.

1.2 Mayor and municipal director of facilities

The mayor and municipal director jointly lay the foundation for good processes to ensure good, knowledge-based decisions. The mayor manages the progress of the meetings with professional introductions from administrative management.

Opdal Hansen's experience is that this form of work produces processes with good anchoring and results. Urban development in Drammen municipality was built on such cooperation between politics and administration. Broad agreement was created around municipal plans, city center plans, sector plans for care and schools, and unanimity on the zoning plan for a 10 billion krona investment in a railway through the city.

1.3 The municipal council must take ownership of the process and results

When a case comes to final consideration, it is of great importance how the process has been in the lead up to it. The security and approach of the elected officials will be different if there has been a broad process versus if there has been a more common case investigation from the municipal director with an invitation to make a decision. Contradictions are reduced through good processes. Through good processes, agreement on the course of action can last for a long time.

 Municipalities need decisions with good and broad political support in the coming time.