How does the city council work?

This article focuses on the city council and offers tips on how to influence local policy. Every municipality in the Netherlands has a city council, which consists of people elected by citizens during municipal elections. It is an important body in municipal politics because it determines what needs to be done. At the same time, it oversees the day-to-day administration—the mayor and aldermen. If you believe something should change, for example in the cultural sector, the city council can play an important role. That’s why it’s helpful to get to know a few city council members and involve them in issues that are important to you or your organization. This is a good way to influence cultural policy.

What is the city council?

The municipal council can be seen as the “head of the municipality.” This body consists of council members who are elected by the residents. Virtually every council member represents a political party. The number of council members varies by municipality and depends on the population. The smallest municipality in the Netherlands has 9 council members, and the largest has 45.

The Responsibilities of the City Council

The city council has three main responsibilities:

• First and foremost, council members serve as representatives of the people. This means they put forward proposals for changes or new policies. In doing so, they draw in part on input from residents and organizations in the municipality. It’s quite a challenging task because almost all proposals have both supporters and opponents.
• They also establish the framework for what needs to be done or changed within the municipality and how this should be carried out. If a plan that fits within this framework receives majority support in the municipal council, the mayor and aldermen set to work to implement it.
• This leads to the third responsibility of the city council: to verify that the plans are actually being implemented and that this is done within the established parameters.

City Council Meetings

A council meeting (usually open to the public) is held about once a month. The mayor, who is not a member of the city council, presides over the meeting. This is when the most important decisions are made, and council members are the only ones allowed to vote on the plans and decisions on the agenda. If letters or reports are submitted by citizens or organizations, they are addressed under the “incoming correspondence” section. Each political group (usually a group of council members from a political party) within the city council is allocated a predetermined speaking time. They can then express their opinion on the topic and either support a proposal with arguments or reject it. When voting on a topic—and thus reaching a decision—the majority rule applies.

Committees

In addition to the city council, there are also committees that address specific topics. Each council member generally serves on several committees at the same time. These committees meet about every other week.

Influencing the City Council

If you notice that the political policies in your municipality are heading in a direction you don’t agree with, there are ways to influence the decision-making process. Since the municipal council proposes and votes on policy changes, it is an important body to influence. Especially when it comes to new policies, the council can advocate for your interests if you’re unable to reach an agreement with the municipal officials. Still, it’s advisable to first try going through the officials and, if that doesn’t work, to contact the alderman directly. Take a good look at who you’re already in contact with and don’t just bypass someone. That’s the most professional way to proceed. If you really can’t make any headway, you can try taking it to the council. In any case, it’s always good to know people within the municipal organization—both civil servants and elected officials. Carefully consider what’s the most effective approach for you or your organization. You can simply ask someone at the municipality for advice. Present your issue and seek guidance on the best course of action. Established organizations generally find it somewhat easier to approach an alderman than individuals do. If you join forces with others—whether or not you’re part of an organization—you’re generally in a stronger position. If you’re unsure which alderman is best suited to address your specific question (for example, the alderman for culture or the alderman for economic affairs), you can simply ask. Incidentally, many substantive emails sent to aldermen are actually answered by civil servants.

Submit or present topics to the council

As a citizen or organization, you can propose items for the city council’s agenda or speak during a council meeting. In most cases, you should contact the city clerk for this. The city clerk is the first point of contact for the council. You can also send an email to all council members at once or to all party representatives. To do this, address your email to raadsleden@arnhem.nl or gemeenteraad@nijmegen.nl. A party representative may attend all committee meetings on behalf of their party. He or she is not elected by the people and does not have the right to vote, but can still exert influence. How you can propose topics or speak before the council varies by municipality. You can find this information on the municipality’s website. For the municipalities of Arnhem and Nijmegen, please refer to the webpages below:

• Arnhem
• Nijmegen
  

Would you like to know which council member you can contact regarding your specific issue? You can find the list of council members and their portfolios in Arnhem here, and the list of council members and their portfolios in Nijmegen here.

Tips to Help You Lobby and Maintain the Right Connections

Below is a list of all kinds of helpful tips that can assist you in lobbying and maintaining contacts with people within the municipal organization. This can help you increase your influence on (cultural) policy.

• Make sure you time it right. Often, that’s sooner than you think. If an issue is already on the city council’s agenda, you’re usually already too late.
• Invest in your relationships with people within the civil service and in politics. Make sure you know people and have a point of contact. It’s also about meeting people—make sure they recognize you, invite them, or meet them at events.
• Show what you do and invite people to join in. Show, don’t tell! That’s when it really comes to life, because then others can get a feel for it, too.
• Explain what the issue is and make it seem a little bigger or more dramatic. Use arguments to clearly demonstrate the importance of your idea or your organization to society.
• Sometimes it’s helpful to join forces with other foundations or organizations, provided their interests don’t conflict.
• Understand what council members, political parties, and aldermen consider important. Some have a better grasp of the social value of, for example, culture, while others tend to think more from an economic perspective.
• Also, pay close attention to how people communicate. Some people like to call, while others prefer WhatsApp or email. You can just ask them.
• Email political parties to ask how you can get involved, stay informed, and so on.
• Keep people informed on a regular basis. The frequency, of course, depends on the subject and the decision-making process involved.
• If you decide to contact the council, please send an email through the council system so that it also appears in the council members' inboxes. You can find the correct email address using the links in the previous paragraph.
• You can also use the media to bring a topic to a wider audience. That might also generate some external pressure. Keep in mind, however, that this could ruin your relationship with the relevant people within the municipal organization.

Interesting link

This link will take you to an interesting article featuring several video lectures on lobbying for issues in the cultural sector.

Disclaimer

This article was developed in part with input from the events titled “Talk with the Council.” Over the past year, Cultuur Academy various sessions in Arnhem and Nijmegen to which various council members, party supporters, and other individuals from municipal organizations were invited. Attendees were able to ask questions directly to gain a better understanding of how the city council and related bodies operate.

If, from your expertise, you yourself have knowledge that would fit this topic, or if you see opportunities to improve this text, we look forward to receiving your message at info@cultuuracademy.nl.