Municipality of Pittem: “No merger with Meulebeke or Tielt”

“Municipality of Pittem takes a decision: merger between Pittem, Meulebeke and Tielt will not happen.” The municipality itself made this known in a press release.

“The merger plans of Wingene and Ruiselede and the messages from the Flemish Government prompted Pittem and the other neighboring municipalities to consult to see if there was also a closer cooperation here. The local government of Pittem took the plunge and did not merge.”

LITERALLY: This is how Pittem communicates

This is the literal text from the press release sent by Pittem:

The municipal council will send a residents’ letter to all residents of Pittem and Egem this week.

“Pittem is very close to our hearts. And never, ever, has it been the intention to just give away our individuality. That is why, in order to make a well-considered decision, we have taken the initiative to have a management strength analysis done. Colleagues from the neighboring municipalities have also joined in,” says mayor Denis Fraeyman.

“The (social) media wrote with a very smooth pen, messages of all kinds were suggested and the merger story took on a life of its own. However, anyone who looks back from the first communication until now will agree that we have always made it clear that a decision on whether or not to merge would only be made after the results of the administrative strength analysis were known,” the full alderman said.

Administrative strength analysis results

The results of the administrative strength analysis were explained to the administration, municipal staff and citizens.

Mayor Denis Fraeyman explains: “We got a very good picture of our municipality: the future possibilities, but also the shortages and the challenges we face; the pros and cons of extensive cooperation or a merger. Fusion was a possibility. Anyone who was present at the information evening can testify that there were some opportunities in this story. However, there are also many uncertainties. We had to deal with that.

We have weighed and weighed, lain awake, pondered and judged that there are too few guarantees for Pittem and Egem, that there is still too little support in our municipality. We have also calculated and counted and dare to say that we still see opportunities to invest further in our municipality in the future. Though it won’t be easy. But let that be precisely our task, to look for solutions even when the going gets tough.

The discussions with colleagues from Meulebeke and Tielt have always been constructive. We are convinced that this will also be the case in the future. Because working with neighboring municipalities is extremely important, with or without a merger. We sincerely believe that the decision not to merge now is a good one. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is actually just as far-reaching a decision as the decision to merge. So work on the shelf. But work that we are very happy to take to heart”.

On behalf of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen