Abolishing the country’s 12 provincial and 431 local councils and establishing some 30 regional authorities instead will save money and improve efficiency, according to the local authorities’ association VNG.

Local government reform is likely to be central to the coalition formation talks after the June 9 election, with most parties calling for cuts in civil service numbers to help balance the books and changes in local responsibilities.
The VNG says there should be three layers of government: European, national and ‘decentral’.
At the moment, police and health authories cover different areas from local government, and local level services such as street cleaning are often undertaken in different regional alliances, VNG director Ralph Pans says in the Volkskrant.
The VNG is asking all local authorities to vote on its plans on June 9. How much support the proposal will win is unclear.
‘If you ask the turkey what it thinks about Christmas dinner, we all know the outcome,’ Almere mayor Annemarie Jorritsma told the paper.