Wytse Bouma - Presentation Budget Monitoring Emmerhout

STUDY GROUP BUDGET MONITORING EMMERHOUT Interna'onal visit Deepening Democracy / Oxfam Novib / Emo've Saturday, October 3d, 2015, Community Enterprise Op Eigen Houtje.

Speech by Mr. Wytse Bouma, Secretary residents plaJorm Wijkbelangen Emmerhout.

I am going to tell you something about the process of budget monitoring here in Emmerhout. Over a year ago the municipality of Emmen started a pilot on budget control. In the first place they only wanted to start in one of its villages (Nieuw-Dordrecht, a small village close to Emmen). As soon as we noCced this, we asked and advocated for our parCcipaCon in the project. To make a long story short: in the end the allowed us to parCcipate. But it took some effort to reach this stage.

Civil servants were quite scepCc, about budget monitoring in general and about our parCcipaCon, at first. But it has to be said: they have revised their opinion, and gradually became more enthusiasCc. IniCally we limited ourselves to a few policy fields (maintenance grey and green, parCcipaCon, care (social support and social services)). It was the civil servants’ job to figure out what part of the total funding issued by the municipality on these policies, was spent in our neighbourhood Emmerhout.

Now this is clear for the menConed policies and now it is up to us to indicate how we want the money is to be spent. What are our ambiCons and our dreams?

PracCcally we stand at the start of this project. Next to the small group of enthusiasCc public servant we have to create a broader support within the town hall. And although the moQo of the municipality is: More by the community, a different government, the town hall has struggles with leRng go and giving trust.

A secCon about budget monitoring has been included in the framework memorandum of 2016. That is a good start. Now it is the case to convince the poliCcal parCes in the council of the importance of budget monitoring.

Beside of that we need to create support within our neighbourhood. Now there is a small group of enthusiast who deal with it. But when the real decision has to be made, it is important to involve more residents.

We have wriQen about the pilot in our neighbourhood magazine Wijkberichten Emmerhout we asked for responds as well. Nonetheless we did not receive any yet. In the discussions we have later on, it will be, as for me, an important topic: how do we make the circle bigger.