County authority accounts, 2012

The gross operating revenues for the county authorities amounted to about NOK 63.1 billion in 2012 compared to NOK 60.6 billion in 2011; an increase of about NOK 2.5 billion. Gross operating expenditure totalled about NOK 60.4 billion in 2012 compared to NOK 58.4 billion in 2011; an increase of about NOK 2 billion. This resulted in a gross operating surplus of approximately NOK 2.7 billion or 4.3 per cent of the gross operating revenues in 2012; an increase of about NOK 550 million from the previous year.

More government subsidies

Government subsidies are the largest source of income for the county authorities. In 2012, they amounted to NOK 42.5 per cent of the gross operating revenues and were just below NOK 27 billion. Despite an increase of about NOK 824 million from 2011 to 2012, government subsidies have shown a slight decrease of 0.4 per cent from the previous year.

Government subsidies and income taxes are revenues that county authorities can utilise without restrictions under certain laws and regulations. In 2012, these unrestricted revenues were about NOK 48 billion; an increase of about NOK 2.5 billion from the previous year.

Income and capital taxes accounted for about 34.2 per cent of the total gross operating revenues or about NOK 22 billion in 2012; an increase of almost NOK 1.7 billion from the previous year.

The other revenue sources have been more or less the same from the previous year. There is an increase in the revenues from sales and hiring from 2011 to 2012 by about NOK 300 million. Revenues from the reimbursement of value added tax (VAT) amounted to NOK 2.7 billion in 2012; a decrease of about NOK 8.8 million from 2011.

NOK 5.8 billion in applied loans

The percentage of loans allocated to investments amounted to 46.6 per cent of the gross capital expenditure in 2012, compared with 42.8 per cent in 2011. Applied loans for the county authorities constituted NOK 5.8 billion; an increase of about NOK 635 million from the previous year.

The largest investment in the county authorities is undoubtedly the transport affairs as a result of the administrational reforms. In 2012, the gross investment expenditure for transport affairs was about NOK 12.5 billion compared to NOK 12.2 billion the previous year; an increase of about 3 per cent.

As a result of the administrational reforms in 2010, the county authorities’ investments also showed an increase in revenues from contributions, reimbursements and property sales in 2012.These revenues amounted to about NOK 4.3 billion, and represented almost 34 per cent of the gross capital expenditure. From 2009 to 2012, these revenues have increased by about NOK 3.4 billion or 20.7 per cent of the gross capital expenditure.

In 2012, the deficit before loans and allocations was about NOK 3.1 billion; a decline of about NOK 400 million from 2011. An allocation to funds for future use was about NOK 929 million; an increase of about NOK 640 million from the previous year.

Slight expenditure increase in upper secondary education

Upper secondary education is the largest sector in the county authorities. The amount allocated by county authorities to upper secondary education went up in 2012. Expenditure for upper secondary schools amounted to about 48.5 per cent of the gross operating expenditure; an increase of about 0.9 per cent from the previous year.

The county authorities’ gross operating expenditure on transport affairs increased considerably in 2012 due to the administrational reforms. Gross operating expenditure for transport affairs increased from about 20 per cent in 2009 to about 27.7 per cent in 2012. Expenditures for administration, management and joint expenditure, business activities and other service areas declined slightly, whereas the other areas increased slightly.

Net operating surplus for the county municipalities’ consolidated accounts decreases

The net operating surplus for the consolidated accounts was about NOK 3.3 billion in 2012 compared to about NOK 3.5 billion in 2011. This is a decrease of about NOK 200 million.

The gross operating surplus for the county municipalities’ consolidated accounts increased by about NOK 435 million from the previous year. The gross operating expenditure amounted to about NOK 61.3 billion, whereas the gross operating revenue amounted to about NOK 63.9 billion.

The administrational reforms have also influenced the investment levels in the county municipalities’ consolidated accounts. The gross investment expenditure was almost NOK 12.8 billion in 2012 compared to NOK 12.4 billion in 2011. The consolidated units’ share of the county municipalities’ gross investment expenditure amounted to approximately NOK 359 million in 2012 compared to NOK 307 million in 2011.