"Priority not to cut services to residents"

Langanesbyggð municipality commissioned Björn Ingimarsson, former chief executive of Múlaþing municipality, to conduct an independent review of its finances. Björn previously carried out a similar review for Vopnafjarðarhreppur municipality. The findings are fairly positive, according to the municipality's new chief executive, Jón Hrói Finnsson - but if no action is taken, he says, its finances will fall into deficit in the coming years. The findings indicate that the municipality could be running a deficit in around two to three years if we do nothing about it. One reason is that merger grants the municipality currently receives will come to an end. The municipality also faces significant capital projects and maintenance work that will need to be undertaken. Want to avoid cutting services Langanesbyggð municipality has recorded a positive operating result in recent years. Jón says no decision has yet been made on how to respond to the findings, as they were only recently presented to the municipal council. The options are being examined, but municipalities have limited scope to increase their revenue. It is very likely that we will have to prioritise some projects and perhaps spread them out over a longer period. But we hope we will not have to make major changes to services for residents; keeping those changes to an absolute minimum will be a priority. Hopefully we can work on this in close consultation with both staff and residents. Jón Hrói is the newly appointed chief executive of Langanesbyggð municipality. The position had been open for applications since shortly after the elections this spring, when Björn S. Lárusson stepped down after four years in the role. Jón was previously chief executive of Þingeyjarsveit (municipality), but left the post in 2023.
2026-09-02 06:39:51