Mayor Eric van Oosterhout has apologized to the Emmer council for the higher costs for King’s Day. Last week it was announced that the royal celebration would be 800,000 euros higher than originally estimated. That amount could possibly increase. A large number of factions have been unpleasantly surprised.
“A huge mistake,” is how group chairman Leo Hoogenberg of Wakker Emmen describes the higher costs. “This is very difficult to explain to our residents. Moreover, our backs are against the wall, because we are already too far into this process to say no.”
Wakker Emmen especially criticizes the fact that they were asked about the costs last month. “We did not receive any signal at the time that this would be higher. Didn’t the mayor know at the time that this would be higher? And why were we not informed at the time? All in all, this gives us an unpleasant feeling.” Hoogenberg was bothered by the lack of openness. “A reproach to the mayor.”
The higher price tag is also a problem for the PvdA. “Have we been so naive that we have not been able to make a good estimate? Rotterdam was on the hook for four million and we are now for one and a half million,” said party leader Anita Louwes. According to her, the municipality was faced with a fait accompli. “And we pay a high moral price if we put an end to the party. We cannot do that in good decency.”
The PVV goes so far as to put its hand on the royal family itself through a motion. “If we rent a room for a party, we have to pay for it ourselves,” says Tommy Post.
Not everyone thinks this way. Other parties such as CDA and VVD have no objection to the Orange Festival. According to liberal leader Patrick de Jonge, the king’s visit gives Emmen a great opportunity to promote itself. In short, worth celebrating.
Van Oosterhout immediately withdrew after all the reactions from the council. “It didn’t go well and I’m sorry about that. You say you didn’t feel involved enough. My apologies. I should have done that, in addition to informing you more.”
As far as costs are concerned, the municipality is now providing eight hundred thousand euros from the reserve and five thousand euros from the events budget. The province will contribute the remainder: one million euros. Initially, one and a half million euros were assumed. According to Van Oosterhout, there have been discussions with the municipalities of Amersfoort and Rotterdam, which have allocated 800,000 and four million euros respectively for previous editions of King’s Day.
The municipality did not want to be as generous as Rotterdam. “Amersfoort seemed like a good example to us, but it took place a number of years ago. The difference between organizing events then and now is a world of difference, says Van Oosterhout. Especially when it comes to costs. Emmen has a professional production agency hired.
Because the municipality can do a lot, but an event on this scale really requires extra help, says the mayor. But the prices then and now are significantly different, Emmen discovered. “The difference between our quotation and that of Amersfoort was no less than forty percent.” There was then an attempt to reduce costs where possible.
That turned out to be quite a challenge. “Because you don’t want a glorified fair, but you also don’t want a financial outlier like Rotterdam. And Van Oosterhout said he should have sounded the alarm to the council earlier. After which he apologized again.
“Around the budget meeting we didn’t know where we stood yet. Quotations were out and nothing was known about the program yet.” When Van Oosterhout finally saw the final cost, he immediately expressed his concerns in consultations with the NOS, the police and the Royal Family. But according to him, the current amount offers a ‘nice program without luxury frills’.
In the current scenario, there is no shortcut to an even larger budget, he said. An uncertain factor is still the security costs. The higher the threat level, the higher the post. And that is currently already at a strong level, according to Van Oosterhout. But the municipality was able to negotiate a good deal on those costs. “If the level and therefore the costs increase further, this will end up on the plate of the national police. And not on Emmen.”
After the mayor’s explanation, Wakker Emmen requested a suspension. After half an hour the meeting continued, with Hoogenberg indicating that his group will vote in favor of the King’s Day budget. “We appreciate the apology and assume this is a one-off.” Most groups’ concerns had been allayed. Only the PVV and GroenLinks voted against.