Municipal politics in the Netherlands is an important aspect of the

politics of the Netherlands The politics of the Netherlands take place within the framework of a Parliamentary system, parliamentary representative democracy, a constitutional monarchy, and a Decentralization, decentralised unitary state.''Civil service systems in Weste ...

. The

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

is the lowest level of government, but this does not reflect the importance that the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

governments play in Dutch political life. There are a total of 345

municipalities in the Netherlands As of 24 March 2022, there are 344 municipalities ( nl, gemeenten) and three special municipalities () in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the ...

Municipal politics

In municipal politics there are three functions: the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

, the

municipal council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

and the

Aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

. Together they share legislative power. The mayor chairs both the municipal council and the council of mayor and aldermen. The council of mayor and aldermen exercise the executive power of the municipal government. The relationship between the aldermen and the municipal council is officially dualistic. That is, they have separate responsibilities. Additionally many larger municipalities have ''Gemeentelijke Rekenkamer'' (Municipal Chamber of Audit) which oversees the finances of the municipality. Moreover, the two largest municipalities,

and

, have previously been further divided in boroughs called

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

Mayor

The mayor (''burgemeester'') chairs both the council of mayor and aldermen and the

. He is a member of the council of mayor and aldermen and has his own portfolios, often including safety and public order. He also has a representative role, as the head of the municipal government. He is appointed by the national government for a renewable six-year term. When a vacancy occurs the municipal council and King's Commissioner express their preferences to the

Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations The Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations ( nl, Minister van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties) is the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and a member of the Cabinet and the Council of Ministers. The in ...

. The Minister generally follows the preferences of the municipal council. Almost all mayors are member of a national political party, but they are expected to exercise their office in a non partisan fashion.

Municipal council

The municipal council (''Gemeenteraad'', GR) is the elected assembly of the municipality. Its main role is laying down the guidelines for the policy of the council of mayor and aldermen and exercising oversight over the implementation of policy by the council of mayor and aldermen. The municipal council is elected every four years by the general populace. In many municipalities all major

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...

contest in the election in addition to local parties. In most major, urban, municipalities all major parties are represented in the municipal council, while in smaller, rural, municipalities only the largest parties and a local party have seats in the municipal council. All citizens and foreigners who live in the Netherlands for at least four years in a municipality have the right to vote and almost all citizens can be elected, ministers and state secretaries in the national government are barred from standing in elections as well as mayors and civil servants employed by the municipality. The number of members of municipal council depends on the number of inhabitants. After the elections the parties in the states elect the aldermen. The municipal council is supported by its own civil service headed by the raadsgriffier. Municipal councillors are not paid as full-time politicians: instead most of them have day jobs. Like most legislatures, the members of municipal councils work in both

political groups A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

and policy area related committees. The mayor chairs the meetings of the municipal council.

Aldermen

The Aldermen (''Wethouders'') together with the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

form the ''College van Burgemeester and Wethouders'' (Council of Mayor and Aldermen, B&W). This is the executive council of the municipalities, which implements policy. The members of the Council of Mayor and Aldermen all have their own portfolio on which they prepare, coordinate and plan policy and legislation for the municipal council and implement legislation. The College van B&W have the duty to inform the municipal council on all aspects of their policy. The College van B&W functions a collegial body and most decisions are taken by consensus. An alderman will lose his position if the municipal council adopts a motion of no-confidence against him. Aldermen are elected by the

. They cannot be member of the municipal council, although often aldermen used to be members of the municipal council. The aldermen can be appointed in two ways. Either as program council ("programcollege") or a mirror council ("afspiegelingscollege"). A program council is based on a political program negotiated by a group of parties which has a majority in the municipal council, while a mirror council represents all (major) parties represents in the municipal legislature. Until 1970 all municipalities were mirror municipalities, since then and especially after the dualisation of municipal politics most council of aldermen and mayor have become programmatic. Those executives often include two or more parties with ideological links. The local executive of

in the years 2002 until 2006 for example included the

Christian Democratic Appeal The Christian Democratic Appeal ( nl, Christen-Democratisch Appèl, ; CDA) is a Christian-democratic political party in the Netherlands. It was originally formed in 1977 from a confederation of the Catholic People's Party, the Anti-Revolutionary ...

, the

People's Party for Freedom and Democracy The People's Party for Freedom and Democracy ( nl, Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie ; VVD) is a conservative-liberal Andeweg, R. and G. Irwin ''Politics and Governance in the Netherlands'', Basingstoke (Palgrave) p.49 political party in ...

and the locally based Livable Rotterdam. The Labour Party, the second largest party of Rotterdam, was kept out of the executive because of ideological conflicts with Leefbaar Rotterdam. The same happened in city of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

, where a left wing executive was appointed on 26 April 2006. It consists of the Labour Party, the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

and

GroenLinks GroenLinks (, ) is a green political party in the Netherlands. It was formed on 1 March 1989 from the merger of four left-wing parties: the Communist Party of the Netherlands, the Pacifist Socialist Party, the Political Party of Radicals and t ...

. Some municipal councils allow parties to have dual councillors, politicians who are not elected into the municipal council but are allowed to speak in committees.

Dualism

In 2002 the municipalities were drastically reformed. Before then all aldermen remained member of the municipal council. The municipal council had all the competences in a municipality and it delegated competences to the council of aldermen and mayor. The council of aldermen and mayor de facto functioned as the executive council of the municipality, but de jure they were little more than a powerful committee. In 2002 the responsibilities of municipal council and council of aldermen and mayor were clearly delineated and aldermen were barred from being member of the municipal council. The relationship between the B&W and

and is officially dualistic, that is they have separated responsibilities.

Municipal competences

Dutch municipalities do not have a delineated set of competences. In most competences the municipalities have an executive function, executing policy which is made at the national or provincial level. Legally municipalities have an "open household" which means that it can take on any competence it wishes as long as it does not violate national policy or break constitutional bounds. The municipality competences, often shared with national and provincial government include: *

Land management Land management is the process of managing the use and development (in both urban and rural settings, but it is mostly managed in Urban places.) of land resources. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agricul ...

, specifically local zoning laws *urban development *

transport Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land (rail and road), water, cable, pipeline, an ...

and local

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

*social affairs,

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...

and welfare *economy and the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

Finances

The municipalities get most of their finances from the national government. Partially through the municipal fund in which the national government puts part of its tax income. This money is divided evenly over the municipalities, which can spend it as they see fit. Moreover, municipalities receive earmarked budgets from the national government, with which the municipality can take care of specific competences such as social security. Municipalities can also levy their own taxes. The most well known is the ''onroerendzaakbelasting'', a tax on home and building ownership. They also tax tourists and people who own dogs. Municipalities also receive administrative payments from citizens who need particular services such as environment permits.

Civil Service

All twelve provinces have their own civil service. The head of the provincial civil service is the municipal secretary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Municipal Politics In The Netherlands Politics of the Netherlands * Local government in the Netherlands