The surplus comes mainly from cuts that the municipality has chosen together with the council in recent years and from extra money from central government, which leaves the budget for 2026 and 2027 structurally balanced. The council to be elected in March 2026 and the new municipal executive will have to find a solution for the deficit in 2028 and 2029.
When the executive presented the budget on Wednesday 1 October, alderman Kiena ten Brink (finance) said it had been no easy task to make it balance.
“We are leaving behind a balanced budget, but at the same time we are honest that a deficit remains in the run-up to 2029. That calls for new choices from the next council and the next executive,” said Ten Brink.
The budget contains few new plans, because of the cuts and to leave room for the new council. The council did change the budget with four amendments, on a quality boost for cycle paths, the ice and inline skating rink in Gieten, taking part in a citizens’ panel and a volunteers’ fund.
The council also backed seven motions. They concern an end to ‘messing about in the ground’, the mental resilience of young people, Repair Cafés, sustainability in the broad sense, a study into a multi-purpose centre in Gasselte, making house sharing possible sooner, and wood burning.
The tax proposals for 2026 also had the support of the whole council. They cover property tax, the waste charge, the sewerage charge and municipal fees, among other things, as well as the tourist tax for 2027.