The parties in the Eindhoven city council do not yet agree on the desirability of a citizens’ council. According to some groups, D66 (democrats)’s initiative does not come at the right time.
In June, the municipal executive will discuss various ‘participation processes’ – initiatives in which the municipality tries to involve Eindhoven residents in different ways in the decision-making process.
The fact that coalition negotiations are still going on, makes a number of parties in the city council wonder about the timing of the proposal.
Nevertheless, there seems to be enough enthusiasm for the idea in the council, regardless of the timing and the actual implementation. There will be some adjustments made.
Recommendations
The PvdA (labor party) wants the appointment of an independent chairman to steer the citizens’ consultation in the right direction. The group also thinks it is necessary to consider how to deal with people who are included in the draw but do not want to participate. Finally, the municipal executive must justify why a recommendation from the citizens’ council is or is not converted into policy.
The Partij voor de Dieren (party for the animals) also has some comments. For instance, the group wants the citizens’ council to focus exclusively on complex issues. The group also wants agreements to be made about the extent to which the council must reach an agreement before it can issue a recommendation.
New coalition
Ultimately, the majority of the municipal council seems prepared to adopt the initiative after the evaluation of the current participation processes. GroenLinks (green left party) and PvdA (labor party) do not want to vote on the proposal until that evaluation has been completed. The CDA (Christian democrats) also seems to be of the same opinion.
D66 made the proposal for the citizens’ council after the turnout for the municipal elections was historically low.
Source: Studio040
Translated by: Bob
