Bubble, News | The municipality receives frequent criticism from politicians and editors:

After a lengthy debate and legal rounds with, among other things, the Civil Ombudsman and the State Administrator, Larvik municipality has now taken action to change the practice around the use of the digital meeting portal, colloquially better known as “Bobla”.

This is “bubble”

All local politicians in Larvik have their own municipal iPad. One of their most important systems is Aco’s meeting portal, also simply called the politician portal. Here the politicians have an overview of political meetings, and they can read the matters to be dealt with in the various meetings.

All this is public information that can also be found on the municipality’s website.

To access the Acos system, however, the politician must log in. After logging in, the politician can read the alternative proposals from other politicians, suggest deletions or add their own proposals. These appear in the form of a small speech bubble symbol next to the issue in question.

Bubble.

The adopted item only becomes public when the minutes of the meeting are presented a few days later.

When a journalist is to cover a political meeting where a proposal has been put forward in this way, the journalist will not be able to see the new proposal if, for example, it is inserted during the meeting, and thus it will be difficult to report on the political treatment of a case.

The State Administrator and the Civil Ombudsman have discussed in several rounds the legality of Larvik municipality’s use of “bobla” for use in preparation for political decisions.

ØP’s editor-in-chief Eirik Haugen has in several rounds criticized the municipality and the Statsforvalteren for delay, but stated a year ago that it is good that they finally decided to burst the bubble.

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The ministry responded to this

Last autumn, the municipality sent the case to the Ministry of Local Government and District Affairs. The answer only came in April this year. The ministry states that political case processing must take place in meetings, and not via digital solutions that the municipality uses.

The ministry considers that the use of digital meeting portals can be considered as case management if they allow debate or processing before an official meeting, and that this would be against the law.

“A digital portal or ‘meeting place’, where members can comment on and discuss other members’ proposals for decisions, is therefore not in line with section 11-2 first paragraph of the Local Government Act”, writes the ministry.

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– Prior

Following the response from the ministry, Larvik municipality has now issued a press release announcing that they already implemented new routines in February that comply with the ministry’s guidelines.

Digitization manager Vilhelm Einen in Larvik municipality writes in the press release that he is happy that the ministry confirms that the municipality’s current practice is in line with the Municipal Act. He explains it like this:

– The routine that has been adopted contributes to the fact that the political proceedings actually take place in meetings, and not in advance. A proposal for a resolution will only be put forward when a political meeting starts, Einen explains.

Therefore, the administration now proposes that the political debate will take place in the public space, and that it will be up to the politicians, the media and the citizens themselves to follow meetings that are streamed.

– Harmful for democracy

The municipality’s digitization manager states that in practice it is now the case that elected officials will only have the opportunity to share their proposals with the political leader of the body in question, as well as with the administration’s meeting secretary.

Already a year ago, Conservative politician Kjetil Vold expressed that his patience had run out in the bubble case, and that he wanted greater transparency from the municipality’s side.

He believes that the municipality’s latest move in the matter is, on the contrary, a step in the opposite direction.

– From a political point of view, it has not only been about case management, but about everyone having equal access to what is discussed in public forums. The way it is set up so far, it is so that everyone gets the same bad access, says Vold.

– That you get poorer visibility?

– Yes, and that it applies to everyone. There are many other municipalities out there that have good solutions, says Vold.

He gives an example:

– If on a Thursday you enter in the meeting system that you want to propose closing a school, then no one will hear about your proposal until the actual meeting where it will be adopted the following week. It is harmful to democracy that people should not be aware of what is happening, or how we think about political decisions, Vold believes.

– Should be concerned with transparency

Editor-in-chief Eirik Haugen of Østlands-Posten does not agree with the ministry’s assessments, but that he primarily wants to challenge Larvik municipality.

– Why can’t they take the signal that openness and public meetings are important, and why can’t they try to find a solution that is well within the current law, instead of spending a lot of resources and time to find out if they are exactly within the law? The municipality should be concerned with being as open as possible, says Haugen.

He claims that, through the new practice, the municipality is now in the process of creating a system “with even more gray areas”. He will not accept this.

– If necessary, we will challenge it by having new rounds of complaints. I still have faith that the municipality can find a system that ensures the greatest possible transparency, which is good for everyone in Larvik.

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– Does not stand on the will

Digitization manager Vilhelm Einen in Larvik municipality believes for his part that the municipality has tried to show as much transparency as possible, and he believes that the ministry’s assessments force the municipality to reduce the right of access considerably in the meeting system.

– It is not on the will; the old solution contravenes the Municipal Act, and the administration is obliged to find arrangements that are in line with the law, says the digitization manager.

He emphasizes that the administration facilitated transparency by publishing all received proposals on the website, but that this turned out to be a practice that is in conflict with the Municipal Act.

– Do you disagree with the ministry’s conclusions?

– I don’t disagree, but in a 2024 context I can agree that it appears strange, but here they have drawn a dividing line between what is case management and what is political debate. When dealing with specific cases, it will be against the law to use the meeting system. Political debate, on the other hand, is something you want more of, but it has to come out of the system, says Einen.

Leave it up to the politicians

One will not engage in a polemic against Kjetil Vold’s opinion that the new practice of Larvik municipality is a threat to democracy.

– It is true that you can get surprising proposals for decisions in a meeting, which no elected official or citizen has heard about in advance. This is now once again the way the Local Government Act has always worked – to ensure that the political proceedings are done in political meetings, which are open to everyone, and not at the forefront, says Einen.

– Do you think that other municipalities, including those that use systems other than Larvik, will now have to change their practice?

– Yes, as I understand it. This is a matter of particular interest. This is a matter that should have been raised nationally, and not against Larvik municipality. In principle, all municipalities face the same challenges as us, Einen believes.

He is actually doubtful whether it is even possible to establish a similar system to today’s “bubble”, and at the same time stay within the municipal law:

– Will you follow the Ministry of Local Government and Districts’ guidelines?

– We are going to present a case to the municipal council so that our elected representatives can decide how we should relate to the ministry’s guidelines, replies Einen.