The Democracy Center carried out a Fund Voting project in Skaftárhreppur Municipality (South Iceland) in the period October 2009 - November 2010. The seven issues voted on were as follows:

1. A municipality budget item (a charge)
2. Borders of the Vatnajökull National Park within Skaftárhreppur
3. Preschool location
4. One or more principals for the Municipality schools (primary school, preschool and music school), i.e. should there be a principal for each school, as is now, or should there be only two, or even only one?
5. Master plan: Which one/ones of the four feasible new electrical power plants included in the Municipality?s motion to the Icelandic National Planning Agency should be incorporated in the Plan?
6. The future of the Skaftárhreppur Municipality. Should it continue as a separate entity or be united with other municipalities (four choices).
7. Responsibility for the five local meeting-houses from the time before Skaftárhreppur Municipality was established by the fusion of five earlier municipal units IN 1990. The alternatives to be voted on were in all 32, i.e. that the Municipality should have no responsibility for any of them, for all five, for four of them, and then which four, etc., all the way down to only one, which obviously includes five alternatives.

Presentation of Voters' Choices

Issue 1

Fund voting on a garbage collection charge

Five alternatives (cf. the ballot Issue 1):

A. Charge remains the same

B. Charge down 10%

C. Charge up 10%

D. Charge up 20%

E. Charge up 30%

Fund voting finished on 16 November 2009.

Results/conclusion

Largest number of votes (35) offered on alternative C (charge up 10%).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 2

Borders of the Vatnajökull National Park within Skaftárhreppur Municipality

Six alternatives (cf. the ballot Issue 2):

Alternative A - The borders remain unaltered. Alternative F - The entire municipality within the National Park. Alternatives B, C, D, E - four expansion choices for the National Park (different in size and shape).

Fund voting finished on 15 December 2009.

Results/conclusion

Largest number of votes (155) offered for alternative F (the entire Municipality within the borders of the National Park).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 3

Preschool location

Two alternatives (cf. the ballot Issue 3):

A. Preschool remains at its present location.

B. Preschool moved to the primary school building.

Fund voting finished on 5 February 2010.

Results/conclusion

Largest number of votes (187) offered for alternative B (moved to the primary school building).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 4

One or more principals for the Municipality's schools

Four alternatives (cf. the ballot Issue 4):

1. Separate principals for the principal school, the preschool and the music school, as is now

2. One principal for the three schools

3. One principal for the primary school and the preschool, and another for the music school

4. One principal for the primary school and the music school, and another for the preschool

Fund voting finished on 30 March 2010

Results/conclusion

Largest number of votes (135) offered for alternative B (one principal for all three schools).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 5

Plans for hydroelectric plants in the Master Plan

The Municipality's motion for the Master Plan included four feasible hydroelectric plants: Búland plant 150 MW, Hólmsá plant 50 MW, Hnúta plant 40 MW and Skál plant 6 MW. On the ballot there were 16 alternatives, one including four plants, four with three plants, six with two plants, four with one plant each, and one with no plant (cf. ballot Issue 5).

Fund voting finished on 29 April 2010.

Result/conclusion

Largest number of votes (440) offered for alternative P (no hydroelectric plant).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 6

The Future of Skaftárhreppur Municipality

Six alternatives (cf. the ballot Issue 6):

1. The Municipality's status remains the same

2. The Municipality joins the adjacent municipality to the east

3. The Municipality joins the adjacent municipalities to the east and west

4. The Municipality joins the adjacent municipality to the west

5. Establishing a new municipality covering an area of two earlier administrative districts

6. Establishing a new municipality covering an area which was an Althing constituency until 2003

Fund voting finished on 14 June 2010.

Results/conclusion

Largest number of votes (279) offered for alternative B (joining the adjacent municipality to the east).

Click HERE for total results.

Issue 7

The Municipality's Responsibility for Local Meeting-Houses

There are five local meeting-houses in the Municipality, remnants from the time when there were five municipalities in the area (until 1990): Tungusel, Herjólfsstaðir, Efri-Ey, Kirkjuhvoll and Múlakot. All alternatives were presented, from "no responsibility" to "no changes to the present responsibility" and all varieties in between. (cf. ballot Issue 7).

Fund voting finished on 15 November 2010.

Result/conclusion

Largest number of votes (120) offered for alternative A (no responsibility for the houses).

Click HERE for total results.