100-Day Review

In a new municipal executive, it’s important that everyone first gets settled and gets to know each other’s leadership styles. After all, governing is something we do together. Our municipal executive consists of two experienced and two new aldermen. From the perspective of both experience and new insights, this can complement each other nicely. Together, we’re going to make sure we form a strong team. Of course, something like that doesn’t happen on its own. We’re going to invest time and energy into it. Together, we’ll decide what kind of council we want to be. We’ll work on our challenges as a team, and I’ll always emphasize that principle.

That is why it is important for the aldermen to be familiar with each other’s portfolios. Politics is about making choices, and that can only work well when you take a holistic view of issues as a team. Good personal relationships add value in this regard and are important for bridging any differences of opinion. I look back on the past 100 days with great satisfaction. The support of our civil servants was especially valuable during this phase.

The visit was a good opportunity to showcase what we in Central Limburg have to offer, but also to directly bring our concerns and opportunities to the forefront. After all, we are building a future-proof municipality, where we continue to invest in quality of life and collaboration. This is how we’re working together to make life in Leudal wonderful.

“It feels like the first hundred days have flown by,” Alderman Backus replies when asked. “The relationships and cooperation within the council are good. We may have different backgrounds, but our parties have more in common than differences. Together, we can accomplish more than we can alone.”

As the party’s lead candidate, an exploratory committee member, and coalition negotiator, the run-up to the inauguration was a hectic time for me—and on top of that, I was teaching in secondary school right up until summer break. Things didn’t really calm down after the municipal council was sworn in. A long vacation—which educators look forward to—wasn’t in the cards for me this year. During that time, I partly filled in for our mayor. I also used that time to read up on and familiarize myself with the areas where I still needed to catch up. When I first became a “ Alderman ,” everything about the position was new to me. Now I know what’s expected of me, and that makes for a very different start.

I’m a lawyer by training and don’t have a specific background in accounting. With an eye toward the budget we had to prepare, I therefore devoted a great deal of energy to municipal finances. As the municipal executive, we want a stable budget in which revenues are balanced with expenditures. In pursuing all our goals, we will also explicitly take into account the tax burden on our residents. That wasn’t always the case in the past. “So be it—let’s scale back our ambitions a bit,” says the “ Alderman ”; after all, it all has to remain affordable.

"Absolutely," says Alderman Backus with conviction. "We've had a budget surplus for several years in a row, and we're returning a portion of that to our residents. We agreed to that in our coalition agreement, and that's exactly what we're going to do!"

“It’s quite a shame,” notes Leudal’s youngest council Alderman . “I always enjoyed working on those issues. When I start something, I like to see it through to the end, but in politics that’s not always possible.” However, I’m also very satisfied with the policy areas of Economy and Public Space, which are new to me. I had to hear from someone else that we, as the municipal executive, have already been in office for a hundred days. I hadn’t realized that.

In the first few months after taking office, I deliberately invested a lot of time in the topic of the economy. That is truly a priority for me. Leudal is home to an enormous variety of businesses, such as a bronze foundry, which I recently visited. I’ve made a point of visiting a number of businesses in Leudal recently to get to know them and gain a better understanding of what’s going on and how we can support these entrepreneurs by addressing the conditions that affect their operations. This includes reducing the regulatory burden, but also making room on the power grid. The latter, of course, is a very timely issue right now.

That covers everything related to electricity. In any case, we'll have to get our power grid in order.

We have all made a strong start in implementing our coalition plan. The problems with the power grid, the municipal budget, the cost of waste management, the management of public spaces in Leudal, and, not to mention, the affordability of youth care are examples of complex issues that require a great deal of attention. In any case, this municipal executive has more than enough ambition to tackle them!

“The role of Alderman is new to me. In this position as a member of the executive board, you really do look at issues from a different perspective and with different responsibilities. Of course, I was aware of that, but now I’ve actually experienced it firsthand, and I don’t regret my decision to take on this new role—absolutely not,” he asserts firmly. “I’m really enjoying it!”

We’re getting to know each other better and better, giving each other the freedom we need, and helping each other whenever we can. We get along well, and as a faculty, we’re a team.

"There needs to be significant construction in Leudal because there is a housing shortage," says Francot. In addition, this contributes to the quality of life in the town centers. Building according to demand will be a challenge. Can we, as a municipality, achieve what we want? Grid congestion, nitrogen-related issues, spraying zones, odor contours, and the number of homes the province has authorized us to build are factors that could thwart our plans. Hopefully, we’ll be given the time and leeway to carry out what’s necessary, and in particular, the problem of grid congestion will be resolved quickly and effectively. The challenges are significant, which is why we’ll be working hard on them in the coming period.

We’re going to restart our lobbying efforts to make the station a reality. An additional station between Roermond and Weert would certainly be an asset to the entire region, according to Alderman Peter Francot, who looks back with satisfaction on his first 100 days as mayor of Leudal ( Alderman ).