A location of the Mutsaers Foundation is located in the former Plinthos brick factory in Sweikhuizen. — © Annemiek Mommers
The South Limburg municipalities refuse to pay for the rescue plan of the ailing youth care institution Mutsaersstichting. According to their own estimate, the municipalities would have to contribute approximately 3.8 million euros. They refuse this for reasons of principle.
Of the more than 900 clients of the Mutsaersstichting, which has its head office in Venlo, roughly a third come from the south of the province. The majority come from North and Central Limburg and Brabant. The Mutsaers Foundation is in dire financial straits. To keep the youth care institution afloat and breathe again, at least 11.4 million euros will be needed over the next two years. A ‘penny fund’ of 2.5 million euros must also be filled to absorb any setbacks.
Also read: New storm cloud for troubled Mutsaers Foundation: was there self-enrichment by former employees?
Cough up
Hubert Mackus, youth care councilor of Maastricht. — © Luc Lodder
The municipalities in South Limburg have had enough. A few months ago they had to cough up 8 million to save the Xonar, which was also in need. “As municipalities, we are responsible for the continuity of youth care, but that is different from always using public money to solve financial bottlenecks at individual providers,” says Maastricht councilor Hubert Mackus (CDA), spokesperson for the youth care region of South Limburg. “Look at the Mutsaers Foundation. It has grown and grown and is now even in the whole of Brabant. Youth care providers have the freedom to make their own decisions. As municipalities we have little influence on this, but if the decisions turn out wrong, they will contact us and we will have to pay. That is a flaw in the system.”
By refusing to contribute to the rescue plan, South Limburg accepts the risk that the government will still force payment through a so-called ‘substitution’. “That’ll have to do. In any case, we want to make it clear that things cannot continue like this.”
Chopping in sand
In North and Central Limburg, the municipal councils will ask their councils to help pay. South Limburg is now digging in its heels “on principled grounds”. The municipalities in that part of the province have informed the government of this. They want to be released from their obligation to pay and also ask for a guarantee that North and Central Limburg will not be further affected in that case. In that sense, municipalities throughout the province are working together, says Mackus. This is also confirmed by the spokesperson of his Venlo colleague Frans Schatorjé (EenLokaal). The municipalities are also in discussions with the government about the formation of a task force that will examine the specific position of youth care in Limburg. “Due to our location, we can hardly exchange youth care with other regions,” Mackus explains.
