During Etterbeek City Council meetings, Ecolo-Groen representatives regularly take the floor to analyse the decisions of the majority and advocate for a more sustainable, fair and supportive municipality. Here is our position on the 2026 municipal budget.

At the end of January, the Etterbeek City Council examined the 2026 municipal budget. Through the voice of our group leader Caroline Joway, Ecolo-Groen Etterbeek recalled the famous quote by former New York Governor Mario Cuomo:

“You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.”

But what does the Etterbeek prose look like today? And what does this budget tell us about the future of our municipality?

Several developments illustrate a worrying trend: decisions taken at the federal level increasingly weigh on local finances.

The arrival of the U.S. embassy in Etterbeek will deprive the municipality of about €4 million in revenue, because embassies are exempt from local taxation on commercial property. While a theoretical compensation exists via the Brussels Region, there is no guarantee that these funds will effectively return to the municipality.

Another major concern is the exclusion of certain unemployed people decided at federal level. Although a compensation fund has been announced for the Public Social Welfare Centres (CPAS), it may not be sufficient and is expected to decrease over time. Moreover, this compensation only covers the integration income, while CPAS support goes far beyond that: help with energy bills, rent assistance, school supplies and more.

In practice, this means that part of the social cost will inevitably fall on municipalities, and therefore on local residents.

The upcoming merger of Brussels police zones raises similar concerns. The current funding formula – the so-called KUL norm, based on demographic data from the 1990s – fails to reflect Brussels’ role as the capital of Belgium, the EU and NATO. As a result, police zones in Brussels remain structurally underfunded, and municipalities must cover the gap.

Faced with these pressures, the majority has decided to increase property tax by 17%. A slight reduction in personal income tax (3%) only partially offsets this increase. While the “BeHome” premium protects owner-occupiers, the measure risks being passed on to tenants in the long term — especially in a municipality where around 70% of residents are tenants.

At the same time, municipal services are being asked to cut their operating expenses by 20%, after previous reductions of 10%. Many municipal employees are already questioning how they will continue to provide the same services with far fewer resources.

Municipal investment is also falling sharply, from €11.5 million to €5.8 million, raising concerns about the long-term maintenance of infrastructure and public facilities.

Our conclusion is clear: residents will pay more taxes while municipal services operate with fewer resources.

For Ecolo-Groen Etterbeek, this is not a budget that protects residents, stimulates progress, or prepares the future. That is why we could not support it.