City Council

City Council website

Follow council meetings online

Kerkrade City Council consists of 29 members. All members are members of a political party, They are directly elected by the residents of Kerkrade. A representation of the people, in other words. Just like the House of Representatives.

For the City Council seat distribution, please check the City Council website. There you can also see exactly who is on the council.

The council determines the main lines of policy in Kerkrade and monitors the college. In various council committees, council decisions are prepared in terms of content; in council meetings, discussions take place and decisions are made. The council adopts rules of procedure for its meetings .

You can also attend all public meetings in the public gallery or follow them via the Internet.

You can view the council and committee meetings of the municipality of Kerkrade both live and in retrospect via the municipal council website

The members of the municipal council usually perform their duties in addition to their regular work. They receive financial compensation, which depends on the number of inhabitants of the municipality.

The city council has an official advisor: the council clerk. His name is Didier Franssen. The council clerk is responsible for the organization around the city council. For this purpose, the clerk has a council registry at his disposal.

The president of the council is Mayor Dassen-Housen. She is supported in this role by the council clerk.

Roles of the council

The council has three main roles:

  • The council acts on behalf of the people (representation of the people);
  • The council provides frameworks (indicates what Kerkrade residents want in a particular area);
  • The council monitors policies implemented by the college using council instruments.

Powers of the council

  • The power to make ordinances. These are municipal rules that all citizens must abide by.
  • The power to adopt the budget and financial statements and set the level of municipal rates and taxes. For rates, consider, for example, the level of parking fees. Taxes include dog taxes and property taxes.

Instruments of the council

To fulfill its role as controller, the council has the following tools at its disposal:

  • The right of initiative. A council member can bring a proposal of his own to the council.
  • The right of amendment. A council member can ask to amend items.
  • The right of information. A council member may ask both oral and written questions.
  • The right of interpellation. A council member may ask the council to hold a debate with the college on an issue that is not on the council agenda or has been discussed in committee.
  • The right of inquiry. The council can conduct a thorough investigation on a particular subject (right of inquiry).

Further, any council member may make a motion. A motion is a brief statement on an issue expressing an opinion, wish, request or command.

Council Committees

Council work by no means always consists of attending council meetings. Much of the preparatory work is done in council committees.

Council committees advise the City Council based on the Municipal Law They are established by the City Council. The council also adopts rules of procedure for council committee meetings. On average, committees meet as often as the full City Council.

Court of Auditors Kerkrade

In order to best carry out its monitoring task, the municipal council has had a Court of Auditors since the council meeting of October 2022.

The task of the Kerkrade Court of Auditors is to investigate whether the municipal government implements the agreed policies lawfully (i.e. in accordance with applicable laws and regulations), efficiently (i.e. at the lowest possible cost) and effectively (i.e. with the desired effect).

Municipal Clerk’s Office

The Municipal Council has its own (small) civil service organization: the Municipal Clerk's Office. In fact, unlike the rest of the civil service organization, the Municipal Clerk’s Office s Office falls directly under the City Council and not the City Clerk as head of the organization. The employees of the Municipal Clerk’s Office s Office are also appointed by the City Council.

The purpose of the Municipal Clerk’s Office s Office is to support the council in all its duties and to promote the council's dual mode of operation.