Former mayors recount the cuts they regret and defend

Several Danish municipalities are discussing savings worth millions on Tuesday, including Morsø Municipality, where councillors are considering closing two kindergartens and one school while making major cuts to services for older people, DR reports.

The proposals have sparked protests and a petition in the local community. For politicians, however, leading unpopular decisions is sometimes part of being in office, said three former mayors: Social Democrat H.C. Østerby, who led Holstebro from 2009 to 2025; Venstre politician Erik Flyvholm, who was mayor of Thyborøn-Harboøre from 2002 to 2007 and then of Lemvig until 2025; and fellow Venstre politician Carsten Kissmeyer, who was mayor of Ikast and Ikast-Brande Municipality for 15 years.

“It affects politicians, there is no doubt about that. Some of these politicians have been elected for the first time, and it is like being thrown to the lions,” Østerby said.

The cuts they regret

Østerby said one of his worst decisions was cutting street lighting during the financial crisis, when municipalities were under pressure to save 100 million kroner.

“It became pitch dark around midnight, when our home-care workers were driving around and could not see anything, and people fell on pavements and paving stones,” he said. The negative publicity was so severe that he regretted the cut and said it should never have been made.

Flyvholm said he was not proud of consolidating and closing some kitchens at care homes. Some residents were very unhappy, he said, while the savings were limited and the process was poor.

Kissmeyer said cutting staff in the employment department led to a sharp increase in caseloads and lower-quality work. The poor working environment made it difficult to retain staff, and it took six or seven years to correct the consequences, he said.

The cuts they stand by

Flyvholm defended a restructuring of schools in Lemvig that involved closing some schools while investing in others. He said the results could now be seen in the municipality’s strong performance in mathematics and Danish.

Østerby said bringing three childcare institutions together in one location had produced savings and made good financial sense.

Kissmeyer said Ikast-Brande cut staffing levels in the 1990s, particularly in after-school clubs, when relatively generous arrangements were in place and few children used childcare because many home seamstresses cared for them. The cuts led to major strikes by childcare workers and caused unrest, but he said they were necessary and had worked.