Abstract

The city of Bruges went through an amalgamation operation already in 1971. The number of personnel increased considerably, though there was no question of a surplus. This increase is only partially to be ascribed to the amalgamation. The integration of the personnel from the formel municipalities proceeded quite well, although the coordination had to be improved on some points. On the political level, all of the former municipalities are represented with a predominance of the outskirts. For the provision of services, a decentralised approach was chosen. Except for centralisation of the Registry for Births, Deaths, and Marriages, the ordinary administrative services were decentralised to the former municipal halls. The financial capacity increased steadily, which was necessary to cover the greater financial needs, which can be reduced to the supplementary expenses resulting from the amalgamation, which brought with it an expansion of the task package. On the level of the input and participation facilities, functional and territorial advisory councils were created, which function quite satisfactorily. Neighbourhood meetings are organised on the occasion of large projects. Globally, the Bruges amalgamation succeeded. A more flexible supervisory authority would be able to give more efficiency and effectiveness to the policy.