Town Council

General presentations

• SB040377 – Minutes of the Planning and Building Officer

  Minutes from the planning and building officer's disposal meetings were presented. 24.08.11 and 31.08.11. Item A was dealt with by the building officer in accordance with the Building Act No. 160/2010. Submitted.

• 1105246 – Stekkjarhvammur 74, plot enlargement

  Item 16 from the minutes of the BÆJH meeting of 8 September 2011. Arnar Þór Þorláksson Baxter, Harpa Thorsdottir and Ingibjorg Brynjolfsdottir, by letter dated 8 June 2011, apply for an extension to plot no. 74 at Stekkjarhvamm (see attached documents), to include a plot of land they have had in their care.At the planning and building officer's meeting on 29 June 2011, the application was received favourably and the matter was referred to the town council. $line$Beyarstjórn recommends to the town council:$line$“The Town Council of Hafnarfjörður approves the requested land expansion in accordance with the available documents and the further conditions of the planning and building officer.“$line$

  The town council approved the proposed motion by 11 votes to 0.

• 1104347 – Loan refinancing

  Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the mayor, took the floor. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir took the floor. Then Helga Ingólfsdóttir, Kristinn Andersen and Geir Jónsson. Valdimar Svavarsson took the floor. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the mayor, took the floor. Valdimar Svavarsson rose to make a point of order. $line$$line$Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir rose to speak and, on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party, moved a motion.$line$$line$ A short recess was taken. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir took the floor and read out a corrected motion from the representatives of the Independence Party, which read as follows:$line$“The Town Councillors of the Independence Party express concern about the difficult financial position of the City of Hafnarfjörður's municipal fund and the heavy repayment burden facing the city due to the planned refinancing of its maturing debts. According to the expected terms of the proposed refinancing, various debts of the municipality, totalling 14 billion krónur, are expected to be refinanced on extremely unfavourable interest terms. There is a risk that these high interest rates will cripple the municipal budget for years, and even decades, to come. Furthermore, surprise is expressed at how long the refinancing has taken and how late talks were initiated. It quickly became clear that there would be no refinancing from DEPFA and that plans to pursue other options, such as the path that has now most likely been taken, were too late in coming forward. Nor was an attempt made to negotiate a reduction or write-off of part of the debt with this largest creditor of the municipal fund, i.e., the DEPFA bankruptcy estate, whereas debt write-offs have been common practice for Icelandic banks, numerous companies and others. This caused loans to fall into arrears and resulted in us now negotiating the refinancing of debts amounting to 14 billion, instead of the 4.3 billion that was scheduled to be refinanced this year. Considering the sums involved, the interest rates and all other factors, (cf. inflation forecast, debt sustainability thresholds, the town's existing maintenance needs, etc.) it will be difficult for the town's residents and businesses to meet a significantly increased repayment burden in the long term, let alone pay down the principal of the debt. The council's debt service must not become so onerous that it impacts the council's statutory services.“$line$$line$$line$ Valdimar Svavarsson (sign), Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign), $line$ Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).$line$$line$Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir took the floor and, on behalf of the representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party, submitted the following statement: $line$“Analyses have been carried out by independent parties on the creditworthiness and financial position of the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður, which show that the municipality has full capacity to meet the refinancing that is currently underway.“$line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason (sign), Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign),$line$Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Gunnar Axel Axelsson (sign), Eyjólfur Sæmundsson (sign).

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

  Minutes of the Environment and Operations Committee from 7th September. Minutes of the Education Committee from 5th September. Minutes of the Municipal Council from 8th September. Minutes of the Harbour Board from 7 September. $line$b. Minutes of the Health Board of the Hafnarfjörður and Kópavogur area from 20 June and 29 August. $line$c. Minutes of the Culture and Tourism Committee from 30 August last. $line$d. Minutes of SSH from 15 August last. $line$e. Minutes of the Board of Sorpa bs. from 29 August. $line$Minutes of the Planning and Building Council from 6 September. $line$Minutes of the Family Council from 7 September. $line$a. Minutes of the Sports and Leisure Committee from 31 August.

• 0812160 – The Straumsvík Aluminium Smelter.

  Item 1 from the minutes of the Municipal Council meeting on 8 September. Taken up again, but at the town council meeting on 31 August the matter was referred back to the town board.$line$$line$Gunnar Axel Axelsson left the meeting during the discussion of this matter.$line$ The Town Council refers the matter back to the Town Board for further consideration at the request of the representative of the Independence Party.

  Valdimar Svavarsson took the floor and put forward the following motion on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party: “The Hafnarfjörður Town Council considers it important that a vote on the aluminium smelter's permit to expand is held as soon as possible, in accordance with the will of the residents. In light of the recent statement by the City of Hafnarfjörður and Rio Tinto Alcan, and the changed premises set out therein, a new proposal can be drawn up to be put to a referendum. $line$ $line$ Rationale:$line$By holding a repeat referendum, a clear outcome will be obtained regarding the residents“ will on this important project, and this is also in accordance with the provisions of the municipal council's 2002 resolution, which stipulates that 25% eligible voters may request a vote on specified matters. Only in this way can a clear outcome be obtained on residents“ stance towards this important project. The Social Democratic Alliance majority has placed great emphasis on active participatory democracy in recent years and incorporated provisions for referendums into the town's bylaws. Due to the majority's indecisiveness in the last term, the result was that the aluminium smelter's expansion plans were scuppered, the municipality and the entire community were deprived of enormous revenue, and hundreds of job opportunities were lost. The Social Democrats need to see the matter through and make amends for their mistakes. The councillors of the Independence Party hope that the Social Democrats and the Left-wing Greens will now mean business and that work will begin immediately to find opportunities for growth at the company that are acceptable to all, and that the majority councillors will show the necessary drive and integrity.courage to take a stand on an issue as important as this. The town's residents also do not deserve to have their will ignored again. On the contrary, there is now a need for job creation and to get the wheels of industry turning. Here is an opportunity to do so, and the Independence Party will promote the matter's progress.“$line$$line$$line$ Valdimar Svavarsson (sign), Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign)$line$ Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).$line$$line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, took the floor and, on behalf of the representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-wing Greens, put forward the following motion:$line$“The Hafnarfjörður Town Council, with reference to the joint conclusion of the negotiating committees of the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður and RTA on the status and future of the aluminium smelter in Straumsvík, that it is not timely to hold a vote on the zoning proposal that was under consideration in 2007. $line$Beyjarstjórn Hafnarfjarðar reaffirms the will expressed in the conclusion of the negotiating committees, to continue discussions on the company's possibilities for normal development in the town.“$line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason (sign), Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign),$line$Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Eyjólfur Sæmundsson (sign).$line$$line$Gert took a short break. $line$$line$Valdimar Svavarsson made a point of order. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason replied to the intervention. Valdimar Svavarsson intervened a second time. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason replied to the intervention a second time. Geir Jónsson intervened in response to Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason's previous speech. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason replied to the intervention. Geir Jónsson made a second intervention. Kristinn Andersen made an intervention regarding the previous speech by Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason responded to an intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir took the floor. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made an intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir replied to an intervention. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made a second intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir replied to an intervention for a second time. Kristinn Andersen made an intervention on an earlier speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir responded to an objection. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir responded to a previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Valdimar Svavarsson responded to a previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir replied to an intervention. Valdimar Svavarsson made a second intervention. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir replied to an intervention for a second time. Valdimar Svavarsson made a short comment. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir made a short comment. Eyjólfur Sæmundsson took the floor. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made a point of order. Eyjólfur Sæmundsson responded to the point of order. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made a second point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a point of order in response to Eyjólfur Sæmundsson's previous speech. Eyjólfur Sæmundsson responded to an intervention. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a second intervention. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir took the floor. Kristinn Andersen made an intervention. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir responded to an intervention. Kristinn Andersen made a second intervention. Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir replied to an intervention for the second time. Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir took the floor. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made an intervention. Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir replied to an intervention. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a second intervention. Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir replied to a point of order for a second time. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a brief observation. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made a point of order regarding Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir's previous speech. Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir replied to a point of order. Geir Jónsson spoke. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason made a point of order. Eyjólfur Sæmundsson made a point of order in response to Geir Jónsson's previous speech. $line$$line$The First Deputy Chair, Valdimar Svavarsson, took the chair. $line$$line$Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir intervened in response to a previous speech by Geir Jónsson. Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, spoke. The Chair of the Town Council resumed the chair. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a point of order regarding Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason's speech. Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason responded to the point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a second intervention. A short recess was taken. The Mayor, Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason took the floor and put forward the following supplementary motion to the previously submitted motion on behalf of the representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party: “If such discussions lead to a proposal for the expansion of the aluminium smelter being put forward, then it will, of course, be presented to the residents of Hafnarfjörður.“´$line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason (sign), Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign),$line$Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Eyjólfur Sæmundsson (sign).$line$$line$Valdimar Svavarsson made a point of order. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason responded to the objection. $line$$line$The proposed motion from the representative of the Independence Party was put to the vote. The motion was defeated with 6 votes. 5 voted in favour of the motion.$line$$line$The proposed motion, together with an additional motion from the representatives of the Social Democratic Party and the Left-wing Greens, was put to the vote. The motion, as amended, was approved with 6 votes. 5 voted against. $line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, spoke and submitted the following statement on behalf of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Party representatives:$line$“The proposal adopted here is in line with the conclusion of the aluminium smelter and Hafnarfjörður that it is not realistic to vote on the proposal that was voted on in 2007. It is based on the emphasis of both parties on the importance of an agreement regarding the company's position in the community and its future plans. A vote on the undefined ideas of the Conservative councillors is equally unrealistic. Councillors for the Social Democratic Party and the Left-Green Movement reiterate the will expressed in the town council's resolution to continue discussions on the company's potential for normal development within the town. Should such discussions lead to a proposal for the expansion of the aluminium smelter being put forward, it will of course be presented to the residents of Hafnarfjörður. $line$The majority of the Social Democratic Party and Left-Green Party is of the opinion that this statement by the councillors of the Independence Party is neither in accordance with the joint proposal of the party leaders in the town council, nor the joint statement by Rio Tinto Alcan and the party leaders. It is not conducive to promoting this agreement.“$line$$line$Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason (sign), Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign),$line$Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Eyjólfur Sæmundsson (sign).A short recess was taken. Kristinn Andersen spoke and, on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party, submitted the following statement: "The representatives of the Independence Party reject the assertions in the majority's minutes and reiterate that they are not proposing that the 2007 detailed plan proposal for the expansion of the aluminium smelter be re-submitted, but rather that the will of the residents as expressed in the referendum be respected, as it is clearly stipulated that the right in the regulations of the City of Hafnarfjörður. However, a new proposal for an expansion could be drawn up. The representatives of the Independence Party reject the claim that their proposal and justification are not in accordance with the joint statement of the parties to representatives of Rio Tinto Alcan." $line$$line$ Valdimar Svavarsson (sign), Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign)$line$Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).$line$$line$Guðfinna Guðmundsdóttir left the meeting at 17:30. She was replaced by Gunnar Axel Axelsson.