Bodø tempts students with NOK 5,000 if they report relocation to the municipality.This caused neighbouring municipalities, which then lose money, to react strongly.
The reason why Bodø tempts the students with money is that the municipality itself receives NOK 25,000 in state-owned housing subsidy per person who reports moving to the municipality.
The proposal was adopted in a split city council just before Christmas, said Klassekampen newspaper.
During the debate, it emerged that Høyre (H), which submitted the proposal, will bring 20 million into government revenue by 2020 after the scheme gets underway.
But that a municipality gets NOK 25,000 from the state, makes the municipality lose the same amount.
‘’This is something most people will perceive as a bribe.
Opposite the neighbouring municipalities where the students come from, it may seem like cannibalism’’ said columnist Bente Aasjord of Steigen to the newspaper.
According to the sources at Klassekampen, the majority in the Bodø city council are working on changing the decision and removing the bait.
Bodø is not the only municipality that lures students. In Kristiansand and Stavanger, they offer free bus tickets to the students for the relocation. The municipality of Bergen is considering the same.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
