LET'S MAKE A GOOD THING EVEN BETTER
SJÁLFSTÆÐISFLOKKURINN IN ÖLFUS
Dear Voter We, the candidates of the D Party, would like to present our vision for the future and our ideas on how to continue making a good thing even better. In preparing this policy, we focused on consultation with residents all across the municipality and our preparatory meetings were well attended. We are truly grateful for your participation. After four years of single-party majority, we greatly value the support you shown us and are mindful that the offices we seek are bigger than any individuals who may occupy them. The last term has been successful for us. We have focused on moving forward, maintaining a positive attitude and promoting developments in line with the municipality’s strengths. The result has been widespread interest in Ölfus. The population has grown steadily and may reach close to 3,000 by the end of the year, which would be an increase of more than 30% over the last four years. Value creation and economic development has been pursued vigorously and projects of a magnitude never seen before are in preparation. The harbour has been renovated, new neighbourhoods planned and major investments in infrastructure have been made. At the same time, there has been a focus on improving services to residents, decreasing levies and strengthening our communal support network. Thus, gymnasiums facilities were completed, a nursery expanded, rural school buildings expanded, school bus services increased, payments for stay-at-home parents adopted, support for professional child-minders increased, leisure activities grants more than doubled and extended to all children 18 years and younger, and so on and so forth. All of this has been done without
losing control of the budget and the municipal treasury is in great shape. As the term draws to a close, the municipality of Ölfus is one of Iceland’s best positioned municipalities. The population has increased significantly, the economy is strong and polls indicate that the residents are the happiest in all of Iceland. Bnut while the situation is very good, we must not forget that there is a lot of responsibility involved in voting in local elections. Rapid population growth and infrastructure development requires strong and responsible economic management. Such changes come with great challenges, and it is important to be prudent to ensure a successful final stretch. It does not take much for things to go wrong when navigating rough waters. We, the candidates, encourage you to familiarise yourself carefully with our work over the last four years and what we stand for. We know that you will then decide whether to trust us to continue serving in our positions of responsibility. We promise to you that we will continue to do our utmost to promote the further strengthening and development of Ölfus in a responsible manner. We have all put our trust on this municipality for our future. This is where we want to raise our children and enjoy the privilege of living in this magnificent community. We want to create a better society for you and for us all. We want to make a good thing even better. Best wishes, Candidates of the D Party
3
We are going to make a good thing even better for children by... •
Building a new high-quality preschool in Vesturberg
•
Ensuring that that this preschool will increase parents' freedom of choice when it comes to its policy and operational arrangements
•
Immediately recruiting a principal for the new preschool to develop its policy in close consultation with key stakeholders
•
Completing the design for the expansion of the elementary school in collaboration with staff, parents and students, and carrying out construction work when required
•
Focusing particularly on teaching spaces and facilities for innovation, art, technology and vocational subjects in the school’s expansion
•
Preparing an outdoor teaching area in the vicinity of the elementary school
•
Working to ensure that the services of professional child-minders are available and subsidised to decrease the burden on parents to the extent possible
•
Continuing work on lowering the age of admission to preschool so that it will eventually be 12 months
•
Continuing to reduce primary school costs for parents, for example by increasing sibling discount significantly in the municipality’s schools
5
We are going to make a good thing even better in our community and culture by... •
Organising a new town centre north of Selvogsbraut and aiming to begin its construction as soon as possible.
•
Build a multi-purpose cultural hall in the new town centre to be used for musical events and exhibitions of art, photographs, museum exhibits, etc., like the gallery “Undir stiganum” has done.
•
Establishing a culture committee whose members include a part-time employee who carries out the group’s decisions and supports cultural activities in the community
•
Continuing to support the town festival “Hamingjan við hafið” (Happiness by the Sea) so that the festival reflects the rich cultural life in the municipality
•
Increasing the municipality’s involvement in independently developed cultural and community events such as Þollóween
•
Supporting multiculturalism in the community, including by creating a forum for cultural events to shed a light on the varied and vibrant cultures of residents and strengthening cross-cultural relations
7
We are going to make a good thing even better in the municipality’s administration by... •
Maintaining the municipality’s positive image, thus enabling the continued growth of the population and increased employment opportunities
•
Continuing to be prudent in the administration of the municipality
•
Allowing residents to enjoy the rewards of successful administration by lowering levies and increasing services
•
Implementing electronic administration to enable residents to pay electronically for access to municipal institutions such as the swimming pool, library, sorting and waste collection station, etc.
•
Processes and general operational procedures will be simplified to make it easier for residents to go about their business.
•
Launching the website Better Ölfus and inviting residents to submit suggestions on projects to improve the community and vote on such suggestions. The project would receive steady contributions from the budget
•
Raising awareness of the municipality’s existing suggestion portal so residents can submit their ideas and suggestions
•
Ensuring that key information is available in languages other than Icelandic
•
Continuing to consult with residents on municipal issues
9
We are going to make a good thing even better for people with support needs by... •
Bringing together parents of children with different support needs, leisure clubs and local community representatives to ensure the availability of suitable sports and leisure courses.
•
Ensuring accessibility for all in all municipal institutions
•
Offering helath-promoting physical exercise free of charge to people with disabilities
•
Conducting an analysis of the needs of people with disabilities and developing a strategy based on this analysis, focusing on developing services at the Selvogsbraut apartment centre, supported employment, social activities and other factors
•
Focusing on improving services with respect to children's mental health
11
We are going to make a good thing even better in environmental work and zoning by... •
Organising a new town centre in Þorlákshöfn and concluding agreements on its construction. There we plan to have a multi-purpose cultural hall, as well as shops and services of various kinds
•
Working hard on realising ideas to develop tourism in the municipality
•
Supporting further development in rural areas
•
Simplifying the process of for permit applications and the involvement of applicants in planning and construction
•
Continuing work on implementing a circular economy
•
Ensuring an adequate supply of building lots for residential buildings and commercial activities
•
Responding to increased demand for building lots with an improved allocation process
•
Continuing to improve water supply in both urban and rural areas
•
Developing a comprehensive plan for Þorláksskógar to utilise the site as a familyfriendly outdoor area
•
Continuing to improve the appearance and approach into Þorlákshöfn
13
We are going to make a good thing even better for families by... •
Continuing to provide top conditions to raise chlidren
•
Immediately beginning work on improving the swimming pool’s outdoor area, including installing a new water slide. The indoor area will also be upgraded
•
Continuing to build and improve outdoor playgrounds in the municipality
•
Having facilities for the social centre in the new annex to the elementary school building, thus increasing the collaboration and consultation between the two entities
•
Encouraging young people to make a difference through the municipal youth council
15
We are going to make a good thing even better for sports by... •
Increase direct financial support for sports clubs
•
Enhancing the role of the sports movement in risk prevention
•
Continuing to support and provide a solid foundation for local sports by providing the sports clubs with funding to recruit a managing director
•
Developing a variety of hiking and horseriding routes
•
Building a small enclosed football pitch for practice
•
Beginning work on constructing a multi-purpose sports centre in stages
•
Improving the appearance and environment of the horse stable area
•
Increasing support for electronic sports, including by providing fixed financial contributions to meet training costs and purchasew tools and equipment to practice the sport
17
We are going to make a good thing even better in the economy by... •
Immediately beginning preparations for the next phase of the harbour’s expansion, focusing on expansion to the North
•
Initiating targeted discussions with passenger ferry operators interested in sailing between Þorlákshöfn and mainland Europe
•
Developing Ölfus as a tourism area and exciting destination
•
Ensuring the supply of good building lots for commercial activities
•
Supporting innovation by local companies, including the production of new products, development of new production methods and all types of value creation
•
Entering into negotiations with Reykjavik Energy to allocate part of the hot water in Hellisheiði to Þorlákshöfn in order to boost the local economy
•
Creating an environment for local enterprises that can compete with the best in all Iceland
•
Continuing to support Ölfus Cluster as a collaborative forum for local enterprises and a venue for innovation
•
Continuing to support Verið as a venue for those engaged in teleworking
•
Maintaining an active dialogue and pressure on government entities regarding the common interests of residents, e.g. road construction, road services, the location of goverment offices, etc.
19
We are going to make a good thing even better for senior citizens by... •
Recruiting an ombudsman for senior citizens to safeguard the interests of senior citizens in the community and supporting them when necessary. This employee will be a spokesperson for these services, with a comprehensive overview of the issue
•
Building a new ward at Egilsbraut 9 and operating a day care centre there, with more service facilities and even better services
•
Building more apartments for senior citizens
•
Continuing the health promotion project for senior citizens
•
Continuing to develop and implement a senior citizen policy
•
Implementing welfare technologies that enhance the quality of life and safety of seniors
•
Increasing awareness of services that are available to seniors
•
Increasing personalised social home services
•
Ensuring that hot food is available all days of the year for senior residents of the municipality
•
Introducing a project to promote health among senior residents with a network of walking routes, with benches located at appropriate intervals, to give seniors more opportunities to enjoy outdoor activities and exercise
21
We are going to make a good thing even better for rural areas by... •
Introducing a district council to safeguard the interests of rural areas in particular
•
Initiating targeted discussions with the town of Hverigerði and the horseriding association Ljúf to build a horseriding hall at Vorsabæjarvellir
•
Increasing snow clearing activities in rural areas significantly
•
Continuing to improve the school bus services to shorten the school day for elementary students
•
Facilitating the planning process for new residential building lots in rural areas
•
Continuing to improve water supply
•
Making the sheep gathering day a bigger event
•
Entering into discussions with Strætó with an aim to improve public transport
•
Developing a diverse network of walking, cycling and horseriding routes
23
Candidates of Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn in Ölfus 2022 1.
GESTUR ÞÓR KRISTJÁNSSON
2.
SIGURBJÖRG JENNÝ JÓNSDÓTTIR
3.
GRÉTAR INGI ERLENDSSON
4.
ERLA SIF MARKÚSDÓTTIR
5.
GUÐLAUG EINARSDÓTTIR
6.
GEIR HÖSKULDSSON
7.
DAVÍÐ ARNAR ÁGÚSTSSON
8.
MARGRÉT POLLY HANSEN HAUKSDÓTTIR
9.
SIGRÍÐUR VILHJÁLMSDÓTTIR
10. HJÖRTUR SIGURÐUR RAGNARSSON 11. BETTÝ GRÍMSDÓTTIR 12. OSKAR RYBINSKI 13. STEINAR LÚÐVÍKSSON 14. ANNA LÚTHERSDÓTTIR
Our mayoral material is Elliði Vignisson our current mayor.
LET'S MAKE A GOOD THING
EVEN BETTER