“Spring has begun”. This is how Alderman Marcel Oosterveer describes the financial situation of the city of Eindhoven, after years of deep malaise.
These are optimistic words, at the presentation of the framework note. It states the direction of the city for years to come. But, Oosterveen also warns, “it takes more than one swallow to make a summer. The finances are now on order, but the base is still fragile”.
Over the past year, the Municipality saved about 45 million euros. There was a reduction on the expenditure in health care to the elderly and young people, and the Municipality has spent less on hiring external staff. There are also one-off windfalls. Extra funds came from The Hague, among other things, to replenish the deficits in youth health care. Furthermore, land sales brought in more money.
There have been significant deficits in the Municipality budget for years. Time and time again an appeal was made to the reserve jars of the city. Now the backup budget is almost at a ‘desired and responsible’ level, there is some air to breathe again. The City Council is thinking about additional investments again.
What exactly that is going to be, will become clear later. However, Oosterveen mentions a number of topics. “Our level of facilities is quite deteriorated. We are going to look at it now. We are going to invest in sports facilities and build new schools. We also want to use the extra money to improve the services provided by the Municipality”.
Before the summer, the City Council is focusing on the framework note.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by: Bob
