Control own operating resources
The city first looked at what it can do itself. For example, public green spaces are designed to be more maintenance-friendly. In addition, staffing is constantly under critical scrutiny. The current workforce will not be affected. So no naked redundancies, but it is being investigated whether or not to replace employees after departure or retirement. New hires and replacements will also only take place if this proves to be really necessary.
Maintenance of quality services
Retaining high-quality basic services and assistance is paramount in the reduction of operating resources. For example, the opening hours of the De Kersecorf service center remain unchanged, and have even been expanded recently. What will change? Based on visitor numbers, it was decided that the AC Auris reception and express desk will no longer be open on Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons from 1 January. From now on, the museums will close to the public on Mondays (for the IFFM, this is only in the period from 16/11 to 31/03). This is on the agenda of the next meeting of AGB Museums. The Cultural Center Het Perron is also looking to apply a Monday closure.
Ypres continues to invest responsibly
The City of Ypres continues to develop and innovate, taking into account new and changing social challenges. A number of projects are being carried out according to plan, such as the restoration of the Lakenhallen, the construction of the new swimming pool, the new Dikkebus meeting center, the skate park and the passage through the borough of Boezinge. In anticipation of the fall in high inflation prices, we are postponing a number of investments: the reconstruction of Plumerlaan and Maloulaan.
Additional energy-saving measures
Investment is also necessary to save more energy. The city has already put a lot of effort into energy-saving measures and is continuing that line. The public lighting will be further adapted to LEDs and, according to the winter plan, will be temporarily extinguished in the evening and at night. There will be accelerated relighting in public buildings such as the library, the Academy, the Fenix … Solar panels will be installed where possible. The city also continues to invest in making its patrimony more sustainable.
City taxes remain the same
The two main taxes – the additional municipal tax on personal income tax and the municipal surcharge on property tax – will not be affected. A number of rates for services are indexed or introduced. For example, project developers will have to pay an urban development cost for major urban projects with a spatial, social or economic impact that generate additional tasks for the city, such as increasing the burden on the public domain, mobility, etc.
The indexation of fees and taxes does not happen automatically within the city operations, which means that some amounts are no longer current. So it’s not about excessive increases. Which rates are rising? Among other things, the cost of sewer connection and individual treatment of waste water, paid parking at lunchtime, tariff for door-to-door residual waste collection and recycling park, registration fee for the Academy. The rates of the urban playground operation and of the sports center remain the same. For Ypres associations, the rates for the use of urban infrastructure remain the same. In addition, associations with their own infrastructure or with their own energy costs will receive extra financial support this year.