The Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs has asked the state administration in Akhtar to investigate the Christian Chand division.
The government writes in a letter to the state administrator in Akhtar on Friday night that a study will be conducted to show the effects of a section of the municipality of Christianzant.
The ministry will carry out what it calls “citizen consultation” in this matter.
“If the state administrator recommends a division, a clear and ambiguous proposal for new municipal boundaries should be submitted to the Ministry,” the letter said.
The bill for the report will be taken up by the Ministry of Local Government.
Potatoes
The case is hot on the heels of the government and the opposition Is particularly large in the Labor Party.
The starting point is that on 8 June 2017 Storting approved the merger of the Kristiansand, Søgne and Songdalen municipalities with effect from 1 January 2020, although there is no local agreement on the merger.
– The letter from the Ministry of Local Government and District stated that the government therefore considers it “compulsory” to merge today’s Christian municipality.
It is pointed out that “According to the third paragraph of subdivision law § 8, the ministry may inquire into the questions of dividing a municipality on its own initiative.”
“Opposition to the merger was strong among the population in Søgne and Songdalen, and inquiries from residents into the ministry show that opposition is still strong,” the ministry wrote.
Results
They conclude:
“The Ministry has decided in a special case that a study will be carried out to map out the consequences of the separation of Christianity and the Municipality. .
This has to be done
The State Administrator is asked to:
- Prepare a knowledge base on the consequences of dividing Christiansand municipality into two or three new municipalities that follow the boundaries of the former municipalities of Chokne, Sangdalen and Christiansand prior to the merger.
- We provide information on relevant factors such as population, area, geography, communication, travel, development patterns and municipal services.
- Discuss the implications of social development, services to citizens (including the fact that new municipalities may take care of legal tasks), the use of power, and the division of a division into municipal administration and local democracy in new municipalities.
Knowledge first, then advice
Explain the potential impact of a division on new municipalities in the long run, including the financial preconditions for being separate municipalities.
The ministry says it would like to negotiate with the municipality of Christianzand about cooperating in the consultation with citizens. The Ministry will brief the State Administrator in more detail on the framework for citizen consultation, including the potential role of the State Administrator.
They insist that the knowledge base of the state administrator should be made public before the hearing of the citizens so that they have a good foundation when the citizens express their opinion on the matter.
New municipal boundaries
Elected representatives of Christianchand will also be asked:
“The Municipal Council in Christianzant will be allowed to comment on the report of the State Administrator and the outcome of the consultation with the citizens, before the State Administrator sends the case to the Ministry,” the letter said.
It is emphasized that a clear and ambiguous proposal for new municipal boundaries should be submitted to the Ministry if the State Administrator recommends a division.
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