TERVUREN – N-VA has succeeded in dampening, to €73mn, mayor Thomas Geyns‘ €100mn original investment plan. Geyn’s original plans even talked of a children’s farm and a €2.5 million museum to honor the town’s unique history. Mayor Thomas Geyns still pledges to pull off the €73mn spend without hiking taxes. More details are scheduled to be unveiled at 19:00 on Thursday 22 May at the town hall.
“Tervuren is a financially healthy town,” Geyns (OpenVLD, Voor Tervuren) wrote into his electoral program. Tervuren’s youngest mayor ever, a Flemish liberal went on to secure the €100,000-a-year mayorship in a tight race. Geyns edged out his coalition partner’s top candidate Flemish Catholic Kristina Eyskens (CD&V, Voor Tervuren) by 50 votes. Together, their alliance clinched four of six €60,000-a-year alderperson posts. That forges the strong base to push forward spending.
To execute his €73 million electoral plan, Voor Tervuren joined forces with the Flemish nationalists (N-VA). With N-VA fiscal discipline thanks to their former mayors Marc Charlier and Jan Spooren—now governor of Vlaams-Brabant—consolidated debt per capita dropped from €2,275 in 2020 to €1,809 by 2023. Maintaining fiscal discipline will be tough without the N-VA holding the mayorship. Charlier is now only one of two Flemish nationalist alderpersons, alongside governor Spooren’s wife, Annemie Spaas, responsible for Flemish identity, education, youth and equality.
Got it, spend it …
Tervuren’s financial health owes much to its robust tax base. The commune rakes in €668 per resident in annual income tax—nearly €200 above the Flemish average. While property tax rates sit 31% below Flanders’ norm, high Tervuren house prices pad municipal coffers. Those taxes are boosted by a significant 44% non-Belgian population that luckily draws less on council spending, notably for social, education and cultural spending.
Not all of the €73 million will hit the budget at once, with the spend spread over a dozen years. The final plans will be revealed on the evening of Thursday 22 May at town hall. Staggering expenses and construction woes, town hall aims to keep taxpayers content. But some expensive projects in the original plans are already taking clearer shape. Highlights in the original plans include:
- Diependal Sports Complex and Nettenberg Youth Facilities: A €20 million overhaul featuring a new sports hall, swimming pool, gym, youth zones, fitness areas, and a cafeteria.
- Moorsel Primary and Nursery School: A €10 million project slated for construction by 2028, with hopes of recouping 70% through external funding.
- Zoniën Care Center and Service Flats: €10 million in upgrades to enhance eldercare infrastructure.
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Smaller initiatives in Geyns’ original plans rounded out the tab: €1 million for the Markt renovation, €8.5 million for community halls in Vossem, Duisburg, and Moorsel, and €4 million to plug gaps in foot- and bicycle paths along Leuvensteenweg (N3). And a new €2.5 million museum, in 2026, would bring Tervuren’s unique history and Flemish identity to life.
Geyns wants Tervuren to eye government grants, potentially hiring a full-time staffer to chase subsidies. Yet, the €73 million price tag doesn’t tell the full story. Belgian architects typically claim 8-12% of project costs—adding, for instance, €1.2 million to Moorsel’s school alone.
The unforeseen, too, may step in once again to sap town coffers. Opened last year, the new football stadium Berg van Termunt cost over €3 million, over double first projected prices. Inflation, volatile material prices, and other nasty surprises, will no doubt try to sully the final €73 million invoice.
More details are scheduled to be unveiled at 19:00 on Thursday 22 May at the town hall.
Auteur: Dafydd ab Iago. © Artikel en foto’s zijn gelicentieerd © 2024 voor Tervuren+ onder de Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International licentie.
