The municipality of Aa en Hunze ended 2024 with a positive result of €8.2 million. This is in the annual accounts that the mayor and aldermen have presented to the council.
Just over €4 million of this goes into the unallocated general reserve, the municipality’s financial buffer.
The surplus is due, among other things, to higher income from fees for environmental permits, reserved budgets that were released and lower costs for housing Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers. There were also setbacks: the cost of waste processing rose, and lower interest rates meant that higher pension provisions were needed for (former) office holders.
Alderman Kiena ten Brink (finance) says: “A healthy financial starting position is essential, because our municipality also has challenges ahead.” She is referring to 2026, the so-called ravijnjaar or ‘cliff-edge year’, when central government funding for municipalities falls sharply. Aa en Hunze expects a deficit of €1.4 million that year.
To keep the budget structurally in balance, the municipality is looking with the council at what steps are needed. That could mean adding as few new activities as possible and making choices in social services, where costs are expected to rise because of the ageing population and higher spending on youth care.
The council will discuss the annual accounts on 26 June.
Economy
