Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the mayor, took the floor. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a point of order. Kristinn Andersen made a point of order regarding the previous speech by Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason. Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir made a point of order regarding the previous speech by Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason. Helga Ingólfsdóttir made a point of order regarding the previous speech by Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir took the floor. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a point of order. Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir replied to the point of order. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir made a point of order for a second time. Kristinn Andersen intervened in the previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir intervened in the previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Geir Jónsson intervened in the previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Helga Ingólfsdóttir responded to a previous speech by Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir. Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir spoke. Lúðvík Geirsson spoke. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir responded. Lúðvík Geirsson replied to the response. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir spoke in reply for a second time. Geir Jónsson spoke in reply to an earlier speech by Lúðvík Geirsson. Helga Ingólfsdóttir spoke. Then Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir. Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason, the mayor, spoke. Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir took the floor and, on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party, put forward the following motion to postpone:
“Proposals for administrative changes were first presented to all councillors three hours ago, but it is customary for changes of this nature to be given more thorough consideration and discussion in the relevant committees before being approved. There is no cost-benefit analysis for the changes, nor any clarity on the financial savings or costs they would entail, and the impact on services for residents and businesses is unclear. It is therefore proposed that the matter be deferred.“
Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign),
Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).
Proceeded to a vote on the proposed deferral motion. 5 voted in favour of the motion, 6 voted against. The motion was defeated.
Proceeded to a vote on the following motions referred to the Town Council by the Town Board:
“The Hafnarfjörður Town Council approves the proposed organisational chart for the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður and instructs the Committee on Democracy and Public Administration to prepare the necessary amendments to the bylaws accordingly.“
6 voted in favour of the motion, 5 voted against. The motion was passed.
“The Hafnarfjörður Town Council approves, with reference to Article 95. Articles of the Municipal Government of Hafnarfjörður and the Rules of Procedure of the Municipal Council to appoint Gunnar Rafn Sigurbjörnsson, who currently holds the position of Director of the Family Services Department, to the position of Director of the Administration Department. The Mayor is hereby authorised to advertise for the post of Director of Family Services, who will also serve as Director of Social Services.“
6 voted in favour of the motion, 5 voted against. The motion was passed.
Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir took the floor and, on behalf of the representatives of the Independence Party, submitted the following statement:
“Councillors for the Independence Party express their disappointment that the coalition of the Social Democrats and the Left-Green Party should push these administrative changes through and reject a proposal to postpone the matter.
In a time of austerity and cost-cutting in services for the town's residents, it is essential that the costs of administrative changes are known and that the savings are demonstrated beyond doubt. The representatives of the Independence Party therefore consider it most appropriate, and in line with good administrative practice, to advertise the new post.
It is proposed that the pros and cons of merging the operations and planning departments will be evaluated, and any such changes should have taken place at the same time as the administrative changes that have now been decided.“
Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir (sign), Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir (sign), Kristinn Andersen (sign),
Geir Jónsson (sign), Helga Ingólfsdóttir (sign).
Take a short break.
Gudmundur Rúnar Árnason, the Mayor, took the floor and, on behalf of the representatives of the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-wing Greens, submitted the following statement for the record:
<SPAN style=“LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt““Councillors for the Social Democratic Alliance and the Left-Green Movement express their disappointment that councillors for the Independence Party have not agreed to the changes to the town's administration that were drawn up by the party leaders of the Independence Party, the Left-Green Movement and the Social Democratic Alliance, together with consultants.
Contrary to what representatives of the Independence Party are trying to claim, the proposal put forward here does not involve an increase in management. Director of Family Services will also be the head of social services, which represents a reduction in managers from two to one and it is proposed that a Director of the Administration Department be appointed, instead of the current arrangement whereby the Mayor acts as the department head. By transferring the current Director of the Family Services to the position of Director of the Administrative Services, it is ensured that there will be no increased expenditure, and furthermore, the individual's experience is invaluable for the task of implementing the proposed changes to the Administrative Services support function.us department. The cost of this change is, at worst, nil, but in the long term, the revised administrative and housing arrangements for the town will result in considerable financial savings.“
Guðmundur Rúnar Árnason (sign), Guðrún Ágústa Guðmundsdóttir (sign), Margrét Gauja Magnúsdóttir (sign), FONT-SIZE: 12pt“>Gunnar Axel Axelsson (sign), Lúðvík Geirsson (sign), Sigríður Björk Jónsdóttir (sign).
