How the City of Utrecht achieved major budget savings through innovative service reviewsIntroductionWhen the coalition government took office in the City of Utrecht in 2010 it was faced with central government-imposed austerity. The cabinet eventually agreed a durable budget reduction of €55m from 2014 onwards - this corresponds to 10% cut of the discretionary budget every year. During a period of six months, 11 service reviews were carried out, inspired by new ideas stimulated by benchmarking against the ‘best in class’ in the Netherlands. Although the process was highly political, complex and brought together multiple interests, it resulted in 32 reform proposals with €66 m estimated budget savings. |
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Dr. Jaring Hiemstra Tom Overmans This case study was written by Tom Overmans of the University of Utrecht in April 2015. |