Mayor Gets Raise While City Workers Get Sacked

The mayor of Hafnarfjörður gave himself a 28% raise, at a time when a number of city employees have been let go for lack of available revenue.

Vísir reports that Hafnarfjörður mayor Haraldur Líndal Haraldsson gave himself the raise. Town council opposition learned of the raise after putting in a request for an overview of his salary.

At the same time, 12 key city employees were recently let go due to a lack of available funds, town councilperson Gunnar Axel Axelsson pointed out. He added that the mayor’s raise – five million ISK – is more than what some city employees make in a year working full time.

Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the chairperson of town council, defended the salary raise, saying that Haraldur has a wealth of experience and knowledge in management, which has “paid for itself many times over”. For now, Haraldur’s salary will remain where it is.