Zoetermeer invests and stands for choices
The Zoetermeer City Council has presented the Program Budget for 2027. Alderman Jordy Boerboom (Finance) highlights the next steps this will enable Zoetermeer to take. “For 2027, we are presenting a structurally balanced budget that provides room for the ambitions outlined in the coalition agreement and the priorities that matter to our residents: new housing, quality amenities, and a green and safe city. Meanwhile, work is underway on the Executive Program (CUP)—a sort of roadmap in which the plans and ambitions from the coalition agreement are further elaborated.”
The budget allocates funds to improve public spaces, build housing, and invest in places where people can meet and look out for one another. The Program Budget announces that in 2027, the municipal executive, together with the city council, intends to discuss various scenarios to keep the city’s finances healthy in the long term. In doing so, they will carefully examine possible measures and their effects on Zoetermeer and the Zoetermeerders.
Financially, the municipality of Zoetermeer is in a solid position, but the room to maneuver is shrinking, the municipal executive warns. “To some extent, we can draw on funds from our general reserve. This way, we won’t have to burden our residents with higher housing costs.” At the same time, we must ensure that deficits do not grow further in the years to come. As municipalities take on more and more responsibilities, it is absolutely essential that funding from the national government increases at the same rate. For example, when it comes to youth care, we must keep costs manageable while ensuring that society can continue to count on us.”
The Zoetermeer City Council will meet on Thursday, November 5, to discuss the Program Budget. The budget is published on the Zoetermeer Budget Portal | Zoetermeer Budget Portal | Zoetermeer.