Town Council

General presentations

• SB040377 – Minutes of the Planning and Building Officer

  Minutes from the planning and building officer's disposal meetings of 05.10.11 and 12.10.11 were presented. Item A was dealt with by the building officer in accordance with the Building Act No. 160/2010. $line$ Presented.$line$

• 2011 budget for the municipal fund, revision

  Item 1 from the minutes of the BÆJH meeting of 20th October. A proposal for the revision of the 2011 budget was presented. The Finance Director and the Operational Managers of Family and Educational Services attended the meeting and presented the proposal. A timetable for the work on the 2012 budget will also be presented. The Town Council refers the proposal to the Town Board.

  Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir took the floor and presented a memorandum on the 2012-2015 financial plan from the finance director and a report on the revised 2011 financial plan. Valdimar Svavarsson then took the floor. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Valdimar Svavarsson replied. Kristinn Andersen spoke. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir spoke. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to the objection. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a second objection. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to the objection a second time. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a brief remark. First Deputy Speaker, Valdimar Svavarsson, took the chair. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir made a point of order regarding the previous speech by Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir. The Speaker took the chair again. Lúðvík Geirsson made a point of order regarding the previous speech by Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir responded to the objection and made the following motion on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party: “It is requested that the meeting of the Hafnarfjörður Town Council be postponed. A meeting between the mayor and representatives of Depfa Bank is currently underway, and any further discussion regarding the finances and future of Hafnarfjörður will depend heavily on the outcome of that meeting.“$line$$line$Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign), Geir Jónsson (sign),$line$Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign), Valdimar Svavarsson (sign).$line$$line$Lúðvík Geirsson made a second intervention. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to a second objection. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir spoke in response to Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir's opening speech. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to an objection. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir spoke in response a second time. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to a second objection. Gunnar Axel Axelsson and Lúðvík Geirsson raised points of order. A vote was taken on the motion proposed by the representative of the Independence Party to postpone the town council meeting. The motion was defeated with 6 votes, 5 voted in favour of the motion. A short recess was taken. Gunnar Axel Axelsson took the floor. Then Geir Jónsson. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir made a point of order. Geir Jónsson replied to the point of order. Lúðvík Geirsson made a point of order in response to Geir Jónsson's previous speech. Then Helga Ingólfsdóttir took the floor. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir made a point of order in response to the previous speech by Helga Ingólfsdóttir. $line$$line$Bayrstjórn approved the proposed amendment to the 2011 financial plan, which had been referred to the council by bæjarráð, by 6 votes. 5 voted against.$line$$line$Valdimar Svavarsson submitted the following statement on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party:$line$$line$“The proposed revised budget for the municipal fund for 2011 shows that once again the majority's plans are not holding up and that expenditure is still increasing faster than income. Revenues are increasing by 9%, but at the same time costs are increasing by 11% for the education department and by 11% in the sports and leisure affairs portfolio. EBITDA is down by 100 million from the previous forecast, and so profit is decreasing even though revenue is increasing. Increased revenue is supposed to increase profit, but the prerequisite for this is that cost estimates are followed.“$line$$line$ Valdimar Svavarsson (sign), Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign), $line$ Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).$line$$line$ A short break was taken. $line$$line$ Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir made the following statement on behalf of the representatives of the Left-Green and Social Democratic parties: $line$$line$ “Fulfilling commitments $line$$line$It is pleasing to see that the priorities that have been pursued this year are delivering better results for the town than had been anticipated. This is not least thanks to the consultation and cooperation between politicians, staff and residents of the town.$line$The revision of the 2011 financial plan takes into account new collective agreements and finalised cost-saving measures, as well as new and amended contracts and decisions by the town council and town board.$line$$line$Projected tax revenues increase by 994 million króna, and council tax revenues increase by 819 million króna to 8.7 billion króna. The contribution from the Equalisation Fund is increased by 175 million krónur, which is in line with actual payments in 2011. $line$$line$Projected wage costs increase by a total of 989 million krónur due to new collective agreements and an adjustment to the projected savings from redundancies. Of this, the adjustment to pension liabilities is 230 million kr.$line$$line$ The 2011 budget was guided by the principle that Hafnarfjörður would honour its commitments, ensure an uninterrupted core service and minimise the burden on residents. The review of the 2011 budget shows that this has been achieved.“$line$$line$Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir (sign),$line$Gunnar Axel Axelsson (sign), Lúðvík Geirsson (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign).

• 0706404 – Presidential Commission, Code of Conduct for elected representatives.

  Item 13 from the minutes of the Municipal Council meeting of 6th October. Review of the current code of conduct. The Municipal Council refers the code of conduct to a first reading in the council. $line$The second vice-chair, Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir, took the chair. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir spoke. Then Geir Jónsson. The Chair resumed the chair. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, took the floor. Then Kristinn Andersen. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, responded. $line$$line$Borough Council of Hafnarfjörður approved, by 11 unanimous votes, to refer the matter to a second reading in the borough council.$line$

  The Hafnarfjörður Town Council approved the proposed code of conduct for elected representatives by 11 votes to 0.

• 1108348 – Planning and Building Committee - Terms of Reference

  Item 6 from the minutes of the Planning and Building Board meeting of 18th October. A new amendment to the terms of reference of the Planning and Building Board is discussed, in light of changes in legislation and administrative changes in Hafnarfjörður. The Planning and Building Committee approves the letter of appointment for its part and refers its finalisation to the Town Council.

  Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir took the floor and put forward a motion to refer the letter of instruction to the Presidential Committee for further review.The Hafnarfjörður Town Council approved, by 11 unanimous votes, to refer the letter of intent to the President's Committee for further review.

• 1109147 – Harbour regulations for the harbour of Hafnarfjörður

  Item 3 from the harbour board's minutes of 20th September. Draft harbour regulations for the Port of Hafnarfjörður were discussed.The Harbour Board agrees to propose to the Town Council that a new regulation for the Port of Hafnarfjörður be enacted, in accordance with the attached draft. $line$Eyjólfur Sæmundsson spoke. The First Deputy Chair, Valdimar Svavarsson, took the chair. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir spoke. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, spoke. The Chair resumed the chair. $line$$line$The Hafnarfjörður Town Council agreed to refer the harbour regulations for the Port of Hafnarfjörður to a second reading in the Town Council.$line$

  Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir spoke and put forward the following amendment to paragraph 8 of article 3 of the new regulation for the Port of Hafnarfjörður concerning the legal reference. It is proposed that the paragraph reads as follows: “The Harbour Board supervises construction of structures exempt from the provisions of the Building Regulations Act no. 160/2010 within the harbour area.“$line$ $line$$line$Borough Council of Hafnarfjörður approved the proposed harbour regulations for the Port of Hafnarfjörður, along with the amendment proposal, by 11 unanimous votes.

• 10101162 – National University Hospital, Hafnarfjörður (St. Joseph's Hospital-Sólvangur)

  Gunnar Axel Axelsson spoke. Geir Jónsson spoke. Then Lúðvík Geirsson.

Minutes

• 1101098 – Minutes 2011, for presentation to the town council.

  Minutes of the Town Council from 20th October.$line$a. Minutes of the Culture and Tourism Committee from 11th October.$line$b. Minutes of the Hafnarborg Board from 11th October.$line$c. Minutes of the board of SORPU bs. from 3 and 17 October. Minutes of the board of the Ski Area of the Capital Region from 29 September and 12 October. Minutes of the Planning and Building Council from 18 October. sl.$line$Minutes of the Family Council from 19 October sl.$line$a. Minutes of the Sports and Leisure Committee from 12th October. Minutes of the Environment and Operations Committee from 19th October. Minutes of the Education Committee from 17th October.

  Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir spoke under item 7 – Question, Town Council 20.10.2011 – in the minutes of the Town Council meeting of 20 October. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir responded to the point of order. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a second intervention. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir responded to the second intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a brief comment. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a brief comment. Gunnar Axel Axelsson made a point of order regarding Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir's previous speech. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to the point of order. Gunnar Axel Axelsson made a second intervention. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir replied to a second intervention. Valdimar Svavarsson spoke under item 7 of the Town Council's minutes from 20th October. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made an intervention. Valdimar Svavarsson replied to a point of order. Lúðvík Geirsson made a point of order regarding Valdimar Svavarsson's previous speech. Helga Ingólfsdóttir spoke on item 7 of the Town Council meeting minutes from 20th October. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Helga Ingólfsdóttir replied to the intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir intervened for a second time. Helga Ingólfsdóttir replied to the intervention for a second time. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a brief comment. Kristinn Andersen spoke on item 7 of the Town Council meeting minutes from 20 October. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a point of order. Kristinn Andersen responded to the point of order. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a second point of order. Kristinn Andersen responded to the second point of order. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a brief comment. Kristinn Andersen made a brief comment. Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir spoke on item 3 – Hafnarborg, Public Art – in the minutes of the Hafnarborg board meeting from 11 October, item 3 – Hellisgerði, Friends of the Park – in the minutes of the Environment and Operations Committee from 19 October, and item 4 – Corrugated Cardboard Belt – Bylgja – in the minutes of the Board of Directors of Sorpa bs from 17 October. Geir Jónsson spoke under item 7 in the minutes of the Town Council from 20 October. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir responded. Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir spoke under item 1 – Hringbraut 16, Bryndísarsjoppa – in the minutes of the Environment and Operations Committee from 19 October. $line$$line$Valdimar Svavarsson left the meeting at 17:45. He was replaced by Ólafur Ingi Tómasson. $line$$line$Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir submitted the following statement on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party:$line$“The Independence Party councillors find it unacceptable to have been prevented from putting the re-financing of Hafnarfjörður Municipality on the agenda for this council meeting. It is also incredible that the opposition representatives were neither informed that representatives of Depfa Bank had arrived in the country for talks with representatives of the City of Hafnarfjörður, nor invited to have their own representative at the meeting that is currently taking place. In recent months, the finances of Hafnarfjörður and the planned refinancing of the town's loans have been much discussed in the town council and town board, where councillors from the Independence Party have proposed seeking new agreements with Depfa and other creditors with frwith the long-term interests of the town's residents in mind. The fact that a meeting with representatives of Depfa is to be held today comes as a complete surprise to the opposition and shows, beyond any doubt, that the so-called consultation and cooperation between the ruling coalition of the Social Democrats and the Left-wing Greens with other elected councillors is merely lip service and not put into practice.Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign), Ólafur Ingi Tómasson (sign), Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).$line$$line$ A short recess was taken. $line$$line$ Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir made the following statement on behalf of the representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party: $line$“The councillors of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party express their surprise at the statements made by the councillors of the Independence Party. Negotiations between the municipal authorities and the municipality's creditors regarding refinancing are proceeding in a normal and proper manner, and the mayor has the full trust and support to safeguard the interests of the town and its residents in every respect.“ $line$Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir (sign),$line$Gunnar Axel Axelsson (sign), Lúðvík Geirsson (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign).