Utrecht is the first major city in the Netherlands to announce that it will elect its next mayor via a referendum. The city council decided on Thursday that a referendum will be held on October 10 to appoint a successor to Annie Brouwer-Korf. She steps down at the end of this year. Dutch mayors are traditionally crown appointees.

Utrecht will first carry out a survey to find out what qualities the public feel their mayor should have. Then a job profile will be drawn up and interviews held. A list of final candidates for the referendum will then be decided upon by a special committee.
The council has allocated a budget of €800,000 to fund the referendum.