Cutting municipalities does cut costs   

By The Holland Times Friday 28 May 2010, 12:05

Reducing the number of municipalities does not save money. COLEO director and researcher, Maarten Allers reveals this in the economics journal ESB on Friday.

Some political parties have suggested cutting municipalities as a way to reign in the country's spending. Others suggest merging municipalities to save costs.

According to Allers, these strategies do not save money in the long-term. In fact, his data shows the expenses of municipalities that have merged in the past decade have actually increased. 

To save money, Allers suggests municipalities concentrate on changes within their offices, such as adjusting administrative and management processes for better coordination. 

COELO is the research centre that analyses the economies of local governments. It is affiliated with the University of Groningen.