Mayors in Southeast Brabant region sound alarm over finances

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21 mayors in the Southeast Brabant region are sounding the alarm about the size of the Municipal Fund. The livability and vitality of our municipalities is under pressure. For the most part, municipalities depend on the national government for their income, which makes less and less money available for this purpose. The mayors of the 21 municipalities in the Southeast Brabant region sent a fire letter about this to the ministers of Finance and the Interior & Kingdom Relations on Monday, June 22.

Municipal Fund

The Rijksoverheid annually puts a portion of tax revenues into the Municipal Fund. Municipalities receive money from it to carry out their duties. In recent years, municipalities have seen a growth in structural responsibilities without an increase in the general allowance in the Municipal Fund. Therefore, municipalities are called upon to look at how the Municipal Fund can be structurally balanced for the complex and challenging tasks of municipalities.

Fire Letter

Currently, the Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) is discussing with ministers a new way of distributing the Gemeentefonds. Through the Gemeentefonds, the total pot of money for municipalities is distributed among all 355 municipalities in the Netherlands. In a joint letter, the 21 mayors call on the ministers to look not only at the distribution, but also at the level of the total amount in the Gemeentefonds: "Many facilities in our municipalities are under heavy pressure, think of libraries, theaters, museums and swimming pools. Not to mention the delayed necessary investments in public spaces or the preservation of our social real estate," the call in the fire letter states. "The meat is now really off our bones. We are tapping into our reserve positions, have increased local charges and are mindful of using our resources efficiently and effectively."

The mayors' call stems from concerns about the vitality and livability in their municipalities when facilities are lost. In addition, the proposed redistribution of the Municipalities Fund is also to the disadvantage of smaller and medium-sized municipalities. In recent years, many additional tasks have been transferred to municipalities, but without corresponding financial resources. Municipalities have really run out of financial resources.

Broad lobbying

With this alarm bell the mayors join numerous other parties. Similarly, 21 Utrecht mayors have sent a letter to the state about their financial problems. By communicating their concerns loud and clear, the urgency is indicated and the broad lobby of the VNG but also various other bodies such as IPO (Interprovincial Consultation), G5 (including Eindhoven), G40 and P10 supported.