Integrity should be at the heart of all council activity. When the public puts its trust in elected officials and those working for local government organisations are responsible for spending citizens’ taxes in an appropriate manner, it is essential that they uphold the highest standards of integrity at all times.
This means having frameworks in place to reduce instances of unethical behaviour and clear governance integrity procedures for dealing with any episodes of misconduct that do occur. In the 2024 Monitor Integriteit en Veiligheid, 37% of local government officers said they had witnessed, or thought they had witnessed, misconduct by colleagues. This demonstrates the importance of instilling integrity into the council’s everyday work.
The 2026 BZK budget shows that integrity and safety in local government remain a priority. Under the heading “Integer en weerbaar bestuur,” BZK says its 2026 focus is on decentralised resilience and safe council meetings, amongst other goals.
This article provides best practices for improving integrity in your council’s governance processes and how to create a robust audit trail.
Key takeaways
- Strong governance integrity starts with clear policies, transparent decision-making and consistent procedures that help councils earn and maintain public trust.
- Dutch law requires councils to adopt codes of conduct, publish outside roles and apply conflict of interest rules to strengthen accountability and reduce integrity risks.
- Regular training, induction, register reviews and integrity discussions help councils identify and address ethical risks before they become governance issues.
- Clear roles for mayors, council clerks, confidential advisors and independent investigators ensure that integrity concerns are handled fairly, consistently and transparently in your council.
- Documenting recusals, investigations and declarations through meeting records and a public portal creates a robust audit trail and makes council governance more accessible to citizens.
Governance integrity best practices for councils
Maintaining integrity in governance is essential. In some cases this is a legal requirement, but it is also an important starting point for all council work in order to promote transparency and accountability. Where you display integrity, you can build trusting and engaging relationships with residents. Here are some best practices for instilling integrity into local governance.
Maintain a code of conduct
Under the Municipalities Act, Dutch councils must adopt codes of conduct for:
- Council members under Article 15(3)
- Aldermen under Article 41c(2)
- The mayor under Article 69(2)
These codes of conduct should explain how office-holders handle interests, gifts, confidential information, outside roles and behaviour in office. Their purpose is to give everyone the same basis to work from and to ensure that everyone understands their duty to uphold high standards of service in their roles.
The Handbook on Integrity for Political Office Holders of Decentralised Authorities describes the codes as “living documents.” This means that it should continually update to face the challenges inherent in the governance landscape and be used to actively challenge colleagues on their actions if they fall below the required standards.
Review your codes at the start of each council term to ensure they remain relevant and fit for purpose to protect the organisation against integrity risks. Include them in the induction process for new councillors and check that your meeting procedures, registers and complaints process reflect the same rules.
Publish outside roles and relevant income
Following the entry into law of the first tranche of requirements under Wet bevorderen integriteit en functioneren decentraal bestuur, councillors, aldermen and mayors must be transparent about outside roles they hold.
They must publish details immediately after they take on a new role and in an electronic format that is available for public inspection. Full-time aldermen and mayors must also publish the income they receive from these roles, although councillors are not required to do so.
This helps residents see whether an office-holder has another role that could affect, or appear to affect, their judgement over council decisions. Your council should:
- Keep one central online register
- Update it as soon as roles change
- Make it easy to find from the council website
- Record who owns the update process.
There are rules around incompatible roles. The Municipalities Act prevents certain offices from being held at the same time, for example:
- A mayor cannot also be a councillor or an alderman in the same municipality.
- An alderman cannot simultaneously serve as a councillor. Once appointed as an alderman, they cease to be a member of the council.
- A councillor cannot simultaneously hold certain judicial or oversight positions that could compromise their independence, such as specified roles within the judiciary or the Public Prosecution Service.
In addition, the Act also restricts office holders from carrying out certain activities involving their municipality, for example:
- Entering into contracts with the municipality for personal benefit, such as purchasing municipal property, unless a statutory exception applies.
- Acting as a lawyer, advisor or representative for another person or organisation in disputes or transactions involving the municipality.
- Representing third parties in negotiations or contracts with the municipality, where their public office could give rise to an actual or perceived conflict of interest.
Apply conflict of interest rules consistently
If a council member has a personal interest in a matter, or where they are involved as a representative for an external body, they must step back from both the discussion and the vote. 2023’s Wet bevorderen integriteit en functioneren decentraal bestuur clarified Article 28 of the Municipalities Act and strengthened these rules.
The aim is not only to prevent actual bias, but also to protect public confidence in the decision. In practice, councils should:
- Ask for declarations of interest before relevant agenda items.
- Record non-participation clearly in the minutes.
- Avoid any informal exceptions. Be consistent.
- Seek advice early in the process if the position is unclear.
- Document the reason for the decision.
Treat the appearance of a conflict of interest seriously. This gives residents confidence in the process for handling them, whether they turn out to be legitimate conflicts or not.
Screen and induct new office holders
Since 1 January 2023, new aldermen must provide a Verklaring Omtrent het Gedrag (VOG) before appointment. Without it, you cannot appoint that candidate. This certificate of conduct provides one route for screening new starters.
The second tranche of requirements under Wet bevorderen integriteit en functioneren decentraal bestuur will introduce a mandatory integrity risk analysis for prospective administrators too.
In reality, most municipalities already have this process in place to identify matters such as outside positions and financial interests. The new law will clarify which sources you use to carry out these searches and how the council should handle the candidate’s personal data.
The way you introduce new appointments to their roles at the council is also important. A good induction should cover:
- The code of conduct
- Conflicts of interest
- Confidentiality
- Use of council information
- Meeting conduct
- Information security
- Reporting routes for concerns
Make integrity a regular agenda item
Integrity risks do not stand still. Throughout a term, they can change as members take on additional outside roles, the council has to make procurement decisions, disputes arise and any number of other issues arise.
This is why you need to build integrity into your governance cycle and include discussions about it in your meeting agendas on a regular basis.
In addition, run:
- Regular tabletop exercises to finesse the process of handling non-compliant behaviour
- Annual checks on the outside interest register to ensure it is up-to-date and complete
- Refresher training to ensure everyone understand their responsibilities
- Self-assessments to test the cover of your integrity efforts.
Who does what? Integrity roles in and around the council
| Role | Who | When to involve them | Typical action |
| Mayor | The mayor has a statutory responsibility under the Municipalities Act to promote the integrity of the municipality’s governance. | When there are concerns about ethical standards, conflicts of interest, integrity policies or suspected misconduct involving political office holders. | Promotes an ethical culture, raises integrity issues, oversees the municipality’s integrity framework and, where appropriate, initiates or commissions further action. |
| Council clerk | The independent advisor and procedural expert to the municipal council. | When councillors need advice on the code of conduct, declaring interests, outside roles, meeting procedures or how to respond to a potential integrity issue. | Explains the relevant rules and procedures, advises councillors on the appropriate process, supports the council in applying its integrity framework and, where necessary, directs members to the appropriate person or formal procedure. |
| Confidential advisor | An appointed internal or external advisor who provides a safe and confidential point of contact. | When an office holder wants to discuss an integrity concern, dilemma or suspected misconduct before deciding whether to make a formal report. | Listens, provides impartial advice, explains available options and supports the individual without automatically triggering a formal investigation. |
| External support | Independent investigators or specialist organisations, such as the Support Centre for Integrity Investigations of Political Office Holders. | When allegations are serious, complex, politically sensitive or require an independent investigation. | Conducts or supports independent integrity investigations, provides specialist expertise and helps ensure investigations are impartial and legally robust. |
Where an investigation identifies serious misconduct by a political office holder, it is ultimately for the municipal council to decide whether political consequences are appropriate, which may include a motion of no confidence.
How to document integrity decisions
As well as carrying out council work with integrity, it is important to document the steps you took. This is a permanent, public record of your governance practices, acting to reassure the public and as an audit trail to show you adhered to the proper procedures. Here are some best practices:
- Record recusals and abstentions in the minutes. Clearly note who withdrew from a discussion or vote, which agenda item it related to and the reason for doing so.
- Follow a consistent process for suspected violations. Keep a clear record of the actions taken, key decisions made and the outcomes to ensure transparency in the investigations process. In the most serious cases, an integrity investigation may lead to political consequences, including a motion of no confidence by the council. Keeping a clear record of allegations, investigations, findings and decisions helps demonstrate that any action taken was based on a fair and transparent process.
- Publish declarations in a central public location. Make registers of interests, gifts and outside roles easy for councillors, journalists and residents to access.
- Report on integrity each year. Summarise the integrity activities you undertook, the training you ran, details of any incidents and improvements you made as a result to demonstrate accountability and build public confidence.
Improve accountability with iBabs Public Portal
A public portal provides a single place to publish meeting records, voting results, registers and other governance information, making it easier for citizens to see how their council is operating.
FAQ
Does the mere appearance of a conflict of interest require a council member to step aside?
The appearance alone can damage trust, so it is worth having that member recuse themself from the discussion. The best practice is to err on the side of caution.
Can a council member vote on a matter in which they have a personal interest?
No. They should declare the interest and abstain from both the deliberation and voting on that item.
Who investigates a suspected integrity violation by a council member?
Typically initial conversations via the council clerk and mayor, with independent external investigation and the national support centre for serious cases.
Conclusion
Governance integrity is essential for building trust with your electorate. By producing a comprehensive code of conduct and documenting your efforts to prevent conflicts of interest, you can show the public how you build a framework in which members are encouraged to act ethically at all times. The best way to communicate this is through your public portal, which provides a central, easy-to-access record of your decisions and other governance activities.
Keep a clear, public record with iBabs Publish
iBabs Publish links directly to the iBabs meeting platform, allowing you to publish agendas, minutes and decisions in a simple workflow and in a manner that is clear for external stakeholders to read and understand.
