Annual Report 2020 Court of Auditors

Before you is the Annual Report 2020 of the joint Court of Audit municipality of Laarbeek and the municipality of Gemert - Bakel. With this report, the Court fulfills the legal obligation to prepare an annual report on activities in 2020. In this reporting year, the work focused mainly on the Regional study on the functioning of Omgevingsdienst Zuidoost-Brabant, the drafting of the research protocol and the choice of future research topics. In addition, a change occurred in the composition of the Court.

The Court expresses its thanks for the support received from the Registry and the professional cooperation of the civil service of both municipalities. Worth mentioning is the constructive discussion with the Regiegroep. For questions or an explanation regarding this annual report, please contact the President of the Court.

March 2021

Mr. F. van Vugt (chairman) Mr. J. Sanders (member) Mr. R. Malag (member)

The Court of Auditors Gemert-Bakel - Laarbeek had the following composition as of January 1, 2020:

• Mr. J. Verhoeven (chairman)
• Mr. J. Sanders (member)
• Mr. R. Malag (member)

In December 2019, Mr. Verhoeven indicated that he would be terminating his work for the Court as of April 1, 2020. In mid-February, the Direction Group started the recruitment of a new Chair. The appointment advisory committee consisted of a delegation from the direction group. The clerk of the municipality of Laarbeek and both sitting members participated in the interviews and had an advisory role. The response to the advertisement was high both quantitatively and qualitatively.

The Appointment Advisory Committee was unanimous in its decision and nominated Mr. F. van Vugt as the President of the Court. Both municipal councils accepted the nomination. Mr. Van Vugt was appointed in the Laarbeek municipal council meeting on March 19, 2020 and on the same evening in the Gemert - Bakel municipal council meeting.

The composition of the Court as of December 31, 2020:

• Mr. F. van Vugt (chairman)
• Mr. J. Sanders (member)
• Mr. R. Malag (member)

In 2020, the Court was officially supported by Ms. H. van der Heijden (secretary and deputy registrar of the municipality of Gemert-Bakel). At the end of 2020, it was announced that Ms. H. van der Heijden was continuing her career in another municipality.

In 2020, the Court was provided technical and advisory support by Mr. R. van Heijnsbergen, Registrar of the Municipality of Laarbeek. The support and advice received has been of added value to the Court of Auditors. The Court experiences the cooperation as constructive and positive. The Court thanks Mr. Verhoeven for his contribution and connecting work and we look back on a pleasant cooperation. The Court is grateful to Ms. Van der Heijden for her supportive work for the Court and we wish her success in her new working environment.

The Court of Auditors is an independent body whose duties and powers are described in the Municipalities Act and the Regulation Municipal Court of Auditors Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek 2015 and Covenant Joint Court of Auditors Municipalities of Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek adopted by the municipal councils. There are also rules of procedure.

The Court conducts research into the effects of municipal policy and the efficiency and effectiveness of municipal policy, municipal management and organization, the legality of municipal management, as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions whose activities are wholly or substantially funded by the municipality.

There is a Regiegroep for the Court. The Regiegroep is an inter-municipal advisory body consisting of at least two members from each council of the municipalities, supported by one of the council clerks. The Regiegroep acts as a sounding board and contact body for the Court on behalf of the municipal councils. In 2020, the regiegroep included Mr. J. Gruijters (chairman), Ms. D. Methorst - van Kessel, Mr. R. van den Berkmortel and Mr. S. Janszen. The direction group was supported by Mr. R. van Heijnsbergen.

The City Council may ask the Court of Auditors to investigate through the direction group, with the Court being independent in its final choice of subject matter. Every year it draws up a research plan and annual report.

The results, conclusions and recommendations of investigations conducted are recorded in a draft report. This draft report is successively submitted to the officials and administrators involved in the investigation. They are given the opportunity to respond to it. After the responses have been processed, the Court of Audit presents the report to the City Council.

The Court is positive about the cooperation and mutual relationships between the Regiegroep and Court. We hope that this synergy will continue in the coming years.

Meetings in 2020

During the 2020 reporting year, physical meetings were limited. Many contact moments took place by telephone or digitally. During the reporting year, the Court had 24 contact moments for its own meetings, meetings with the steering committee and meetings with third parties in connection with the implementation of the investigations. There were also individual contact moments between the members themselves and between the chairman and the board, the registrar, civil servants and third parties.

Research presented

Regional investigation into functioning of Omgevingsdienst Zuidoost-Brabant (ODZOB)

The Courts of Audit of Best, Eindhoven, Geldrop-Mierlo, Gemert- Bakel, Laarbeek, Nuenen c.s., Son en Breugel, Veldhoven and Waalre jointly investigated the Omgevingsdienst Zuidoost Brabant. ODZOB, as a joint arrangement, has the task of ensuring a safe and healthy physical living environment together with its chain partners, the 21 regional municipalities and the province of North Brabant. The purpose of the study is to provide the city council with insight into the effectiveness and efficiency of ODZOB, the management and governance, future tasks and directions for improvement, among other things. This research was launched in the 4th quarter of 2019 and interviews among officials and administrators and council members took place. The research results were presented on May 28 in the General Affairs Committee of the municipality of Laarbeek and on June 17 in the Space and Mobility Committee of the municipality of Gemert - Bakel. For these presentations, the Court had invited Mr. M. Baart of the research firm Twynstra Gudde to explain the report. Both municipal councils (Laarbeek on June 25 and Gemert -Bakel on July 9) adopted the recommendations. The costs, except for the presentations in the municipal council, of this research were borne by the municipality of Eindhoven.

Upcoming surveys

The Court has oriented itself to possible topics of research. The political groups were asked to participate in this process. We are delighted with the qualitatively good response from the groups, which serve as a basis for our considerations.

Municipality of Gemert - Bakel

The following topics were mentioned for the municipality of Gemert - Bakel:

• Process of decision-making pool
• Process of decision-making MFA De Mortel
• Grants professional organizations and institutions, NOT associations
• Tourism policy
• Collaborations
• Amenity level relative to surrounding municipalities and in relation to municipal charges

In its review of the issues, the Court reached the following conclusions in mid-2020:

• o Process of decision-making pool and decision-making MFA De Mortel:
  • as yet no topic for Court -investigation
• Grants professional organizations and institutions, NOT associations:
  • In itself a good research topic, provided that it focuses on the 11 professional institutions (that's where 80% of the grant volume goes). The focus would then be on the extent to which the subsidy policy is effective and efficient. This would also examine whether the council can fulfill its framework-setting and controlling role.
• Tourism Policy:
  • At this time, a study has little added value. Indeed, the Court doubts the timing of this study because new policies are now forthcoming and a process is currently underway to create a single platform.
• Partnerships:
  • Given Laarbeek's decision to examine the cooperation with Gemert- Bakel, the Court sees no role for an independent examination of the partnerships.
• Amenity Level:
  • The Court plans to start this topic in spring 2021, after the completion of the Citizen's Survey.

Conclusion:

The most eligible topic is the in-depth research on grants to professional institutions. The research is being done in-house. This study began in November. A survey on the facilities level will be launched in spring 2021.

Municipality of Laarbeek

The following issues were considered for the municipality of Laarbeek:

• Debt relief
• Starter Loans
• Security Policy
• Zero line facilities

In its review of the issues, the Court reached the following conclusions:

Preliminary conclusion:

In principle, debt relief would be an excellent topic, but the Court wanted to make a brief (pre-) analysis on whether the topic is appropriate now. The same goes for the topic of zero-tier facilities: here, some more explanation/information is needed first. The Court will complete this further analysis in early 2021, and then make a decision for either study.

The topic of security policy will be put on the Court's green list, and next year the Court will consider whether research is appropriate then. On the subject of start-up loans, the Court recommended that written questions be asked on the subject.

Topic for both municipalities

The political groups from both city councils did not indicate any themes that lend themselves to research for both municipalities together. Within the Regiegroep (steering committee), the Court of Audit has sounded out whether people would see added value if the Court of Audit were to commission population research into the opinions and wishes of residents regarding various policy areas, using the Waarstaatjegemeente.nl Citizen's Survey tool. The question of whether this would be an interesting option for both Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek municipalities elicited a positive response in the Regiegroep. As a result of this positive response, the Court of Audit decided to conduct this study.

This is a survey, with a standardized questionnaire, which is held periodically in many municipalities, and where the results can therefore be benchmarked. This survey will be conducted by an external agency, PON/Telos, Preparations for this were made at the end of 2020 (including a request for additional questions). In early 2021, the citizen survey will actually be conducted.

Other work

The Court found that it did not have a research protocol. In May, the research protocol was created and adopted by the Court of Auditors. This research protocol of the joint Court of Audit is based on the 'Regulation on the Court of Audit Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek - 2015', the Covenant Joint Court of Audit Municipalities Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek - 2015' and the 'Rules of Procedure Court of Audit Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek - 2017'.

Meaning research protocol

In the investigation protocol, the Court describes the guidelines it uses when conducting its investigations. The purpose of this protocol is to guarantee the quality of the Court's investigations and to ensure that the entire investigation process runs smoothly within the organization. In addition, with this protocol the Court wishes to provide insight into the working methods of the Court and thereby contribute to the transparent atmosphere in which the Court wishes to perform its duties.

This protocol is not a static document; the future development of local auditing may lead to revisions of this protocol in parts.

The Court performs its work within the budget made available for it by the council. In the covenant joint Court of Audit municipalities of Gemert-Bakel and Laarbeek it has been agreed that the participating municipalities make available an annual budget of € 1.00 per inhabitant. The implementation costs of the Court will be charged to this budget. The committee has an official secretary and carries out the investigations together with hired external experts. In short, this results in the following financial accountability.

The research expenses were largely incurred for studies in 2021. The members of the Court receive a monthly allowance for both courts of auditors, including expenses, of €200 for the chairman and €175 for the members. For in-house research, the hourly rate of € 55 per hour is used. The other costs relate to membership of the Dutch Association of Courts of Audit and Court Committees (NVRR), recruitment costs and representation costs. From the balance of 2020, an amount of €26,000 will be added to the 2021 budget in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 4 of the regulation -> maximum transfer = 50% of annual budget <-.