Budget 2020

Budget 2020: With appropriate optimism and healthy realism

In the program budget 2020 of the municipality of Wassenaar, the municipal executive committee (B&W) shows what we want to achieve in the coming period, what we will do for it and what it may cost. The budget is in line with our coalition agreement 'Wassenaar: Independent and Responsible' and is structurally balanced.

Administratively and financially, we will stay the course in which we work together sustainably as a council, municipal council, the civil service and society so that we future-proof our beautiful and especially ordinary village.

Crown-appointed mayor

With the appointment of the crown-appointed mayor, Leendert de Lange, the "college team" is once again complete and the City Council and College of Mayor and Aldermen can continue to work on sustainably strengthening the "realization power" of the municipality in order to achieve our statutory tasks, social tasks and administrative ambitions. Under the programmatic umbrella of Wassenaar 2030, the most important substantive tasks are addressed in cohesion. This fulfills the council decision 'strengthen realization power municipality of Wassenaar' of June 18, 2019.

In 2020, we are laying the foundation of Wassenaar 2030

The national weekly Elsevier magazine shows again this year that we are tightly at the top of the Dutch top of best places to live. This is good news for everyone who lives, works, undertakes, recreates or stores in our beautiful village. But it is also of great importance for, for example, the international city of The Hague, the knowledge workers at the science park in Leiden and the desired top business climate in the Rotterdam - The Hague Metropolitan Region (MRDH). The objective is to cash in on Wassenaar's strong starting position as a municipality within a region where it is pleasant and safe to live for all people, thanks to the availability of sufficient suitable housing, green space, high-quality facilities, accessibility, stable and accessible government and good services for all residents.

It is an attractive story that encourages cooperation, because partners in the region experience the value of Wassenaar and want to cherish it. A story that lets all our residents feel that the municipality, as the first government, is there for them. So that they confirm that attention is paid to the uniqueness of the village. And this with appreciation for the power of society and room for bottom-up initiatives.

From a distance, Wassenaar can be referred to socio-geographically as a 'Frozen town'; lots of green, dune area and beach but limited in (major) development opportunities. This fact, despite the influx and outflow of many 'internationals' makes 'cashing in' on our vital population a challenge. After all, we want to keep a healthy mix of elderly, young and families in our village. How can we entice the various (young and entrepreneurial) generations, who also see opportunities elsewhere, to stay here and be active in society? The 2030 Agenda therefore offers opportunities to keep Wassenaar vital as a community.

Space to breathe, biodiversity, greenery and clean water, are important values. Wassenaar's dune area is extensive and has the greatest biodiversity in the Netherlands. Thanks to the preservation in tact of large parts of the landscape, estates and dune area, combined with its location by the sea, between The Hague, Leiden and Schiphol Airport, it makes Wassenaar an attractive and safe place to live.

This attractiveness also applies to "expats" or "internationals" as we call them these days. Wassenaar offers a broad pallet of international education such as the Indonesian School, the American School (ASH) and the Rijnlands Lyceum. The presence of the American Embassy, the forty ambassadors residing in our safe and green village therefore has a great attraction for international companies and institutions seeking a -temporary- 'home' for their employees.  

In the Wassenaar 2030 program, the college of b&w, together with the city council and our residents, will engage in a dialogue to arrive at a future vision for 2030.

Board of Mayor and Aldermen on the program 'Wassenaar 2030': "We are working together to create a safe, green and international village, which is on the move, building a solid foundation, which is sustainable and future-proof, where we think in terms of possibilities and everyone participates."

Safe, green and international village

1. We are working towards a safe and green village
2. As for our Wassenaarders, we offer to our internationals "a home away from home.
3. Our partners in the region know where we stand and how we can strengthen each other.

A village on the move

1. We are working to create a more bicycle-safe and easily accessible village with a thriving economy.
2. We make the village, dunes and beach a beautiful place for residents and tourist visitors to recreate and stay.
3. Where clean air and quality of living and life are paramount.

Building a solid foundation

1. We ensure a sound municipal household book focused on future tasks.
2. Municipal property development contributes to Wassenaar's investment agenda toward 2030.
3. We process our waste in a sustainable, service-oriented and service-oriented manner.

Thinking in possibilities

1. We carry Health for our monuments, such as Raadhuis De Paauw.
2. Where it is important that citizens, businesses and civil society organizations can influence the environmental vision. The Omgevingswet encourages early participation in order to get interests, opinions and creativity on the table in good time. Therefore, the Omgevingswet and the Environment Decree include rules on participation.
3. And we will build appropriately and add housing in infill locations for our youth, families and seniors.

Sustainable and future-proof

1. We contribute to the national climate agreement with the local energy strategy. At the climate tables we discuss the mutual reinforcement of projects to reduce CO2 emissions. For the development of the transition vision heat we go into the neighborhoods.
2. The volunteer efforts of so many residents is one of the qualities of Wassenaar. We enjoy working with them.
3. We want everyone to develop to their maximum potential.

Everyone is participating!

1. We include.
2. We care for our young and old.
3. We help those who need support and promote sports and exercise for a vital population.

Visibly investing in the quality of our village

Also in 2020, the municipal government is visibly investing in maintaining the quality of our beautiful village. In the center of Wassenaar, in consultation with store owners, property owners and local residents, work is being done to improve the image quality of 'de Winkelhaak' (van Hogendorpstraat - Luifelbaan - Langstraat). To this end, the municipality is making approximately €350,000 available. Furthermore, technical safety measures worth approximately €300,000 will be taken to ensure that the beautiful corn mill 'Windlust', dating from 1668, remains accessible for visits and use in the future. Following on from the regional traffic control installations that have been converted to intelligent traffic control installations (iVRIs) over the past year, the two local traffic control installations on van Zuylen Nijeveltstraat will be converted to iVRIs. This will cost approximately €105,000. The data exchange made possible by this will contribute to making Wassenaar more accessible.

In the Groot Deijleroord neighborhood, the construction of a contemporary and multifunctional gymnasium will begin on Burmanlaan in 2020. During the day, the children of groups 1 through 8 of the St. Jozefschool and the Nutsschool can take their gym classes here. In the evenings and weekends, the hall is suitable for smaller dance and fitness groups, for example. An amount of up to €1,586,000 has been reserved for the construction of the gymnasium. We are creating a sustainable space for our (grand)children for the next 40 years.

A beautiful and even safer beach for and from Wassenaar will be hard at work in 2020. The well-known beach post of the Wassenaar Rescue Brigade will be completely renovated so that our rescue professionals will be well accommodated for the future in order to perform their important safety tasks. A sum of approximately €540,000 will be made available for this purpose. The entrance from the beach to the parking lot will also be revitalized for approximately €50,000. In this way, 'De Wassenaarse Slag' will remain a high-quality -high-attractive family beach with international recognition thanks to the annual assessment by 'Quality Coast' with the Blue Flag predicate.

In and around the Port area, due attention is being paid to overdue and necessary maintenance. For example, work will begin on restoring the quays along the Haven Canal. An amount of approximately €2,000,000 has been budgeted for this. There is overdue maintenance at the municipal office on Johan de Wittstraat. The 'brutalist' looking building from the last century is by today's (climate) standards, inside very outdated and the workspaces of employees must therefore be adapted to the requirements of our time. This will allow the building to serve as office space for at least another ten years. To make a start on the sober and efficient refurbishment of the building, approximately €1,000,000 will be invested in it in 2020. Furthermore, safer cycling on De Starrenburglaan where infrastructural measures will be taken at a cost of approximately €100,000.

In Oostdorp on the Dr. Mansveltkade, preparations will be made in 2020 for the construction of a new multifunctional sports hall for Wassenaar. This new sports hall will thus replace the two old and depreciated sports halls. Discussions between the sports hall committee, the sports association De Kieviten and the municipality have led to a joint commitment, enthusiasm and support for the new plans. To this end, a letter of intent was signed which will be converted into a contract. The city council has approved the necessary budget of €7,400,000 to make the construction possible.

Inclusive for all the vulnerable

Our efforts and investments in the social domain are perhaps 'less' visible, but certainly no less valuable. Under the heading of 'living at home longer', we are committed with involved organizations as '1 against loneliness' and are further developing the 'inclusion agenda'. The inclusive society is there for everyone, so that all vulnerable people with or without disabilities can participate in society. In 2020, an integral implementation plan will be developed with the aim, to shape the local agenda for the inclusive society. With this we will initiate the gradual realization of the general accessibility of social, facilities in the social domain. Where possible, we will make connections with areas outside the social domain, such as housing, accessible environment, debt management, environment, culture and economy.

Introduction of Omgevingswet

With the advent of the Omgevingswet the College of B&W will have more powers in the implementation of policy and the City Council will be more explicitly in charge of outlining and overseeing the policy process. This change makes it possible, for example, to issue an environmental permit within eight weeks. To this end, the Council and the Municipal Executive will have to direct only the main lines and mandate as much as possible, so that a quick consideration can take place. The council fulfills its framing role primarily by defining the playing field within which initiatives can and may be developed. This determines what is and is not allowed and how the game (participation and weighing) takes place. Initiators, stakeholders and municipal organization then give substance to the further weighing of interests through, for example, participation. This also means that in 2020 the Municipal Executive and the council will enter into dialogue with each other about: 'What does issuing a permit within eight weeks mean, what dilemmas and choices lie ahead and what consequences does each choice have?'

Local Energy Strategy

The local energy strategy requires everyone in Wassenaar to contribute. Fortunately, many residents also want to make that contribution. The effect will be visible through renovations, more solar panels and more electric cars and bicycles on the streets.

Strengthening civil service organization

Together with the municipality of Voorschoten, Wassenaar will go through a process with the official work organization Duivenvoorde (WODV) in fiscal year 2020 to optimize the cooperation and organizational model. The introduction of the Compulsory Mental Health Care Act will be used by the municipality to increasingly establish a link between Health and safety in order to stay ahead of crisis situations as much as possible. In order to continue building our joint civil service organization in a future-oriented manner, where professionalism, expertise and the development and retention of talent are paramount. From the area knowledge and involvement, the focus is on the best possible execution of 'executive tasks'; both in the social and physical domain. Strategic dossiers and complex tasks are tackled programmatically. Dedicated employees work together with experts in the village and actively seek partners in the region.  

The college of B&W presents a structurally balanced multi-year budget in which all current expenses are covered from the current budget
The financeability of (new) municipal tasks remains a challenge. Throughout the Netherlands, municipalities receive an additional amount of money from the State to carry out their statutory tasks. Part of that money comes from the Municipal Fund. The total size of that fund is linked to the expenditures of the Rijksoverheid, according to the 'staircase up, staircase down' principle. That is, if "net central government spending" grows, municipalities also have more to spend. If the Rijksoverheid spends less in a given year than expected, the municipalities' budgets shrink accordingly.

It is also not always possible to financially fit in tasks that the state has transferred to municipalities, such as youth care. Since 2014, spending on the social domain has increased from 27.9% to 34.7% of total municipal spending. In absolute numbers, this represents an increase of over €6 million during this period. The additional payment from the municipal fund for the social domain has increased by €5 million in this period and has only partially compensated for this higher expenditure. It also sometimes abolishes the levying of specific taxes that benefited the municipal budget, such as the precario on pipelines, which reduces the structural revenue for the municipality of Wassenaar from 2022 by approximately € 1.8 million.

De verwachting is verder dat de herijking van het gemeentefonds in 2021 met name voor kleinere gemeenten (< 27.000 inwoners) mogelijk aanzienlijke negatieve financiële gevolgen hebben. De precieze omvang hiervan valt nu nog niet in te schatten. De impact hiervan zal in de kadernota 2022 worden verwerkt.

Resilience of Wassenaar is excellent

Resilience consists of the relationship between the resistance capacity (the resources and possibilities that the municipality has or can dispose of to cover unbudgeted costs) and all risks for which no measures have been taken and which can be of material significance in relation to the financial position. The council has decided on a minimum ratio of 2.0, this national standard represents an "excellent resistance capacity.

For Wassenaar, the actual ratio is 18. With this, the equity position can be described as excellent.

Financial investment room without having to borrow

The municipal budget should remain future-proof. Wassenaar has no outstanding loans and wants to keep it that way. However, we are constantly looking at the available financial space to both carry out tasks and invest in our beautiful village.

The College of B&W ensures a structurally balanced budget along the following three lines:

1. Cuts. In total, it is proposed to make cuts of up to approximately €700,000 in 2023. This consists of a combination of more realistic budget estimates, a single adjustment to the investment program, and real cuts in spatial development and governance. To allow for a broader discussion, an overview of possible alternative cuts is also included in the appendix.
2. Better utilization of the value of assets. This involves an adjustment to the residual value system that will also allow annual operations to be reduced by an amount close to €700,000 in 2023. At its core, this adjustment concerns a realistic method of depreciation, since assets such as housing and transport equipment normally retain a residual value.
3. Revenue-raising measures (approximately €900,000). A comprehensive investment program has been established in the framework memorandum. With this we as a government continue to invest in our municipality and further improvement of facilities. The investment program includes the construction of a sports hall and a gymnasium, an integral housing plan for education (IHP), the improvement of the center of Wassenaar, keeping the image-defining village mill in order and the placement of a new and sustainable command post for the Wassenaar rescue team. It is realistic to ask for a contribution from residents for these purposes. It is therefore proposed to increase the OZB by 10% from 2022. By the way, the purchasing power effects of this increase will be limited, because the abolition of the precario tax will be returned to the inhabitants from 2022. See also the calculation examples below.

Calculation example I
Kees lives in a house with a WOZ (Real Estate Value Act) value of € 500,000 in 2019. The WOZ value forms the basis for the assessment of property taxes (OZB). If the OZB revenue is increased by 10%, Kees, assuming the value remains the same, will pay approximately € 50,- extra OZB the following year.

Example II
If Kees lived in a house with a WOZ value of € 750,000, he would pay approximately € 75 additional OZB. The abolition in 2022 of the precario tax on cables and pipes reduces annual revenues for the municipality by € 1.8 million. The utility companies Dunea and Alliander can therefore no longer pass on the precario for the year 2022 to Wassenaar residents. As an example, assuming 12 thousand Wassenaar households, this converted to the precario tax amounts to approximately € 150 per household.

With appropriate optimism and healthy realism, the college presents the 2020 Budget

To be able to fulfill our specific Wassenaar ambitions and keep the facilities for all our residents up to standard, we cannot escape asking for a higher contribution. Given the CBS figures, our residents are doing well financially on average. Certainly in comparison with national figures. Nevertheless, it is of course important that we also take into account many of our residents who are less fortunate financially. Because together, young and old, we bear responsibility for the future of our beautiful village.

View the entire budget online.