“The budgets of the Frisian municipalities are structurally balanced for the coming year,” said Deputy Eke Folkerts. This is the main conclusion based on the budgets adopted by the municipal councils in November. Therefore, all municipalities fall under regular repressive supervision and the budgets have been acknowledged.
Despite the positive outlook for 2026, there are concerns for the future. The financing method has been changed by the national government. This caused a significant decrease in the general grant from the government to the municipalities. For a long time, this seemed to lead to financial problems for municipalities in 2026. Hence, 2026 was also called the ‘ravine year’. For 2026 and 2027, the government ultimately provided extra funds. Additionally, some municipalities have started to cut costs. As a result, all Frisian municipalities have a balanced budget for 2026. The ‘ravine year’ has been postponed to 2028. In almost all Frisian municipalities, the balance in 2028 is significantly lower than in 2027. More than half of the Frisian municipalities even present a deficit in 2028.
The province continues to work together with the municipalities to secure more funds from the national government to cover the ravine years.