From Iceland — Reykjavík City Council Racks Up Massive 7.2 Million ISK Food Bill

Reykjavík City Council Racks Up Massive 7.2 Million ISK Food Bill

Published December 3, 2019

Sam O'Donnell
Photo by
Vísir/Vilhelm

The cost of 20 Reykjavík City Council meetings from June 2018 to July 2019 amounted to 17 million ISK, or 850,000 ISK per meeting, Vísir reports. Of the 17 million, 7.2 million was spent on food and drink, or 360,000 ISK per meeting.

According to information from the City of Reykjavík, roughly 40 people are allowed to eat at the meetings, including city deputies, city hall staff, security guards and 23 council members. That means the culinary budget for each person is roughly 9,000 ISK. And you thought 2,000 ISK for lunch was a splurge.

The issue was first raised when Pawel Bartoszek, President of City Council, asked how much of the budget was dedicated to food for the meetings. The answer was 5.8 million ISK to Múlakaffi, and 1.3 million ISK to other companies. Pawel then suggested the council adjourn at an earlier hour to save costs on dinner.

After the inquiry, the City Council began ordering pizza to keep costs down. We can only imagine they took full advantage of last week’s Domino’s Megavika.

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