Aalst increase playground fee from €8 to €12, 50% rise

Editorial Team
Credit: Kirrebisj Playground on Facebook

Aalst (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Aalst plans to increase playground fees from €8 to €12 (50%) to pay monitors better and keep services good. Alderman Bart Van den Neste supports this, offering financial aid for families in need. Opposition member Sam Van de Putte is concerned it may make childcare less affordable.

The Aalst city council plans to vote on a proposal to increase the daily fee for playground activities from 8 euros to 12 euros. This is a 50% rise. Authorities mentioned that the goal is to solve problems, keep young playground monitors and ensure the services are good. Nearby towns pay their monitors more money. Because of this, many young people in Aalst choose to work in those towns or take better-paying holiday jobs. 

The city believes that raising the fees will help them pay better wages, so skilled monitors will stay in Aalst’s programs. They mentioned that if they do not make this change, the playground services might lose their staff, which could lower the quality of the experience for the children.

Will Aalst’s playground fee increase from €8 to €12 affect accessibility for families?

According to authorities, the city will still help families who need money even after the fee increases. They will keep the opportunity rate, which gives lower fees to those facing financial problems. They mentioned that all children can use the playground services, no matter how much money their families have.

According to Alderman for Youth Bart Van den Neste, the change is important because parents in nearby towns already pay more for similar activities. The city wants to balance keeping costs low for families in need and paying fair wages to playground monitors. This way, they hope to keep the playground programs strong while ensuring everyone can use them.

“To keep monitors, we want to compensate them better and we ask them for an animator’s certificate” 

Bart Van den Neste

Alderman Bart Van den Neste highlights that families can get extra help from the government to lessen the impact of the fee increase for playground activities. The Flemish government gives a flat-rate payment to support these programs. Some families may also receive partial refunds from their health insurance, depending on their plans.

He mentioned that parents can also claim a tax break for childcare costs, which can lower their overall expenses. These steps aim to make the new fee of 12 euros per day easier to manage and keep the playground program running. The alderman believes that these extra resources, along with the opportunity rate for families in need, will help keep the program available for everyone while ensuring monitors are paid fairly.

“After the rate increase, Aalst will cost twice as much as other city centres”

Sam Van de Putte, Forward

The opposition party Vooruit, represented by Sam Van de Putte, has criticized the planned fee increase. He believes the city should focus on making childcare affordable and accessible for all families. Van de Putte said that a city like Aalst should work on programs that help parents instead of making changes that might leave some families out.

Sam Van de Puttealso noted that the opportunity rate, which helps low-income families, is already higher in Aalst than in other cities. He asked the city council to look at how other towns manage to provide similar services with less money and lower fees. He is concerned that the fee increase could make some parents think twice about signing their kids up for playground programs, which could affect their accessibility and inclusivity.

“A city like Aalst should invest in accessible and affordable childcare, and not in measures that create barriers,” says Sam Van de Putte.

Sam Van de Putte from the opposition party Vooruit has raised concerns about the pay for playground monitors in Aalst. He noted that the city used to pay a fixed rate but changed it to a volunteer allowance. Now, he believes they need to reconsider this decision. 

Van de Putte emphasized that young people should be paid fairly for their work, especially since they often work long hours. He said parents and children should not suffer because of pay issues. The Flemish Playground Service will hold a meeting soon to discuss ways to motivate young people to become playground monitors.

According to Van de Putte,

“I was an animator on a playground myself, that was a fixed rate at the time. Aalst decided a few years ago to lower that to a volunteer allowance.”

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