May 2021
The “Administrative Affairs” Committee, an active committee!
Since the start of the legislature, significant progress has been made in a number of important areas, under the impetus of the “Administrative Affairs” commission, in which three members of the PK-KU faction are active (Dorothée Cardon, Carel Edwards, Vinciane De Meutter-Cardinael).
These include :
– A new Complaints and Notifications Regulation.
– A code of ethics for municipal representatives.
– Revision of the internal rules of procedure for local councils and CPAS.
A Code of Ethics, governing the expected individual and collective behavior of elected representatives and their fractions was approved in early 2021. This is the first time that the municipality of Kraainem has acquired
of such a document, which should have existed many years ago. Among other things, this code incorporates a number of concepts already provided for by law. For example, it prohibits any form of corruption or conflict of interest, any intervention by an agent in the files of private individuals, lies and misleading information, and defamation. Pro Kraainem / Kraainem Unie advocated sanctions to encourage compliance with the code (remarks to the offender, apologies from the offender). The DéFI-MR faction opposed both the communal council and the CPAS council. As the majorities in the two bodies are reversed, the result is a code in which some articles differ.
The latest development from the “Administrative Affairs” committee is the regulation of complaints and notifications from citizens to the commune. A notification may concern a one-off or structural problem, a dangerous situation or other important information to be communicated to communal services. A complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction with the quality of service expected from the municipal administration. For both complaints and notifications, citizens must now receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 48 hours and a substantive response within 20 days (complaints to be lodged no later than 2 years after the event). This regulation has just been approved by the Communal Council and the CPAS Council (March 28 and April 1) and came into force upon publication on April 12, 2021.
At the end of 2019, the internal rules governing the operation oflocalcouncils and the CPAS were revised to make them more effective and lay the foundations for greater citizen participation. It gives pride of place to the “democratic debate” aspect of local councils/CPASs via councillors’ oral questions. These usually concern subjects of collective interest to citizens (e.g. the Kraainem metro station parking lot, the container park, safety), whereas the items on the council’s agenda tend to be of a legal or administrative nature. Kraainem-Unie has always wanted to make the local councils/CPAS attractive and interesting for citizens to listen to.
More good news for citizens:
– Better follow-up for requests submitted by citizens to local councils/CPAS.
– Citizens can now ask questions at the end of a commission meeting.