In recent years, municipalities have been faced with more and more complex tasks. That is why they have started working together more and more – whether out of necessity or not. Smaller municipalities with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants are relatively often involved in partnerships, according to figures from the Council for Public Administration. For example, they share the fire department or one garbage collection service.
An important joint scheme is Werk en Inkomen Lekstroom (WIL), where residents can go for guidance towards work, debt counseling and benefits. The municipalities of Houten, Lopik and Nieuwegein are also affiliated with WIL.