More than half of Brussels municipalities do not yet have a complete budget

The city of Brussels still does not have a complete budget for 2022 and is forced to work with provisional appropriations. The city council even asked for a postponement of the budget until 30 June. “This is unprecedented,” says Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre. “In the meantime, ten Brussels municipalities are under the financial supervision of the Region. But the competent minister Clerfayt stands there and looks at it.”

As long as there is no new budget, there can in fact be no new policy. What’s more, the longer this situation lasts, the more difficult it becomes to invest and rectify the situation. The people of Brussels are the ones who suffer in the end,” notes Mathias Vanden Borre.

No investments possible

A municipality that does not submit its budget on time is forced to work with provisional twelfths, whereby the municipality can only spend one-twelfth of last year’s budget each month and cannot incur any investment costs. “More than half, namely 10 of the 19 Brussels municipalities, do not yet have a complete budget for 2022. Three of them – Brussels City, Sint-Joost-ten-Node and Watermael-Boitsfort – will not even submit a complete budget to their municipal councils in the first half of the year. Of the nine municipalities that do already have a budget, only three submitted it on time. This is not good governance,” says a disappointed Mathias Vanden Borre. 

Brussels residents impoverished

Numerous municipalities have run up a deficit, and in a number of municipalities, the deficit is structural. “Ten Brussels municipalities are even under the financial guardianship of the Region and are subject to strict compliance with a financial recovery plan. Nevertheless, they are unable to get their budgets in order. The municipalities cannot manage the costs. The people of Brussels are getting poorer and now the consequences are also being felt by local authorities that cannot get their accounts in order. And the Region, the supervisory authority? It stands there and looks at it. I will question the competent Minister Clerfayt about this,” Mathias Vanden Borre concludes.