Turnhout (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Turnhout faces rising pension costs without federal aid, unlike Belgium’s 10 largest cities. Councilor Francis Stijnen urges a merger with Beerse, Oud-Turnhout, and Vosselaar to survive.
As VRT News reported, in Turnhout, city council member Francis Stijnen is worried about the city’s ability to pay pensions for its retired workers. He says the city might have to merge with nearby towns to handle the costs. This comes after the federal government decided to help only the 10 biggest cities in Belgium with their pension payments.
This has upset many mayors, among them those in Turnhout. Officials indicated that even if Turnhout is not one of the larger cities, it offers important services for the surrounding municipalities, such as a hospital and schools. However, Turnhout is paying for these services and additional pension costs alone. This is causing the city significant financial trouble.
What is Turnhout’s plan to tackle rising pension costs?
Francis Stijnen says Turnhout is being treated unfairly. The city is paying for more than it should, but it’s not getting the same help as larger cities. Pensions for retired workers are getting too expensive because of changes in population and rising prices. This could make it hard for the city to offer basic services.
Stijnen thinks merging with nearby towns could help by increasing the amount of taxes collected and making things run more efficiently. This might also help Turnhout get financial aid from the government. He warns that without these changes, Turnhout and other similar cities will struggle. Many cities in Flanders share this worry, fearing they won’t be able to handle pension costs unless the government changes its policies.
“The fact that Turnout did not merge with neighboring municipalities in 1976 is a historical mistake.”
Francis Stinen (N-VA CD&V), municipal councilor and former mayor and alderman for Finance.
Stijnen links Turnhout’s financial woes to a past policy choice. In 1976, many central Belgian cities merged with surrounding areas, boosting their population and financial resources. This consolidation enabled these cities to better fund essential services like hospitals and regional facilities. Turnhout, however, did not merge, remaining a smaller municipality.
Turnhout, despite its size, acts as a central actor in the region, resulting in considerable strain to Turnhout’s budget. Stijnen suggests that a cost-sharing merged agreement with neighbouring municipalities, Beerse, Oud-Turnhout, and Vosselaar, could allow Turnhout to balance its budget. However, he acknowledges that these towns lack the desire to merge, and only a mandatory decision from the Flemish government could make it happen.
“That’s why I’ve always been in favor of a merger,”
Says Stinen.
“We simply don’t have enough residents right now to cover the costs. There are partnerships with other municipalities, but they don’t generate any revenue.”
Stijnen also says a forced merger isn’t the only answer. If the government gave enough money, Turnhout might not need to merge. What happens next depends on the government’s pension plan. Meanwhile, things are getting tense in Turnhout’s politics.
The opposition party, Vlaams Belang, is attacking the city’s leaders. They say the current leaders made bad financial plans, hoping for money from the government that wasn’t sure to come. Vlaams Belang wants to see exactly how the city is planning its budget, worrying about relying on uncertain government help.
