The number of issues passing through the system is approximately 800 per year, of which some 75 are handled by the local council. Meetings of the local council are typically held bimonthly, and some 5 to 15 issues are handled at each meeting. Meetings of the different committees are held throughout the year according to a fixed schedule. In conjunction with council and committee meetings, the political parties often have internal sessions. In Salangen, the parties have introduced a Politicians' Day in conjunction with meetings of the different political committees, thereby assembling all politicians in the one place once a month.
All parties are thus able to hold their internal meetings in joint facilities.
This creates an environment for cross-party informal talks and meetings. A typical flow for issues is illustrated. In principle, an issue may be initiated by any political, administrative body, or person in Salangen. The informal structure, the additional element which makes the system work, is in principle defined by the way information flows through the political system. Figure 2 indicates the formal information flow.