Hasselt's City Council has approved a €180-million loan enabling Jessa Hospital to keep paying staff pensions beyond 2031.
The decision came at the end of a heated debate lasting over an hour and a half, with the Workers Party (PVDA) and Groen eventually abstaining from the vote on the proposal.
The loan is expected to have long-term financial implications, spanning multiple legislative terms, for the city. As a result, the word “historic” was used repeatedly during the discussions to emphasise its significance.
A joint responsibility between city, hospital and CPAS
Several party leaders voiced concern over its potential impact on the city’s finances for decades to come.
Mayor Steven Vandeput (Nieuw-Vlaamse Alliantie (N-VA) defended the council's decision. “This is an important issue we had to resolve," he said. "It will indeed influence the city’s budget for years, but we have already taken measures in our multi-year plans, and more actions will follow.”
He emphasised that the loan was a joint responsibility between the city, its social welfare council (CPAS), and Jessa Hospital. “This is not about winners or losers," Vandeput said. "As the local administration, we are fulfilling our responsibility where others fell short.”
Existing allocation covering staff pensions set to run out in 2031
The Hasselt mayor clarified that the loan was not a blank cheque. However, he also said that, should the funding prove insufficient in the future, further consultations with all stakeholders would be held.
The funding, facilitated through the local social welfare council, is designed to cover pension payments starting in 2031 for permanent staff who joined Jessa Hospital during a merger in 2009 between the Virga Jessa and Salvator hospitals.
At the time of the merger, a €50-million allocation was provided to meet pension obligations for the employees of the two institutions, both of which were linked to the CPAS. However, that funding is set to run out in 2031.
Doctors to vote on €125-million ccondition
Addressing the pension gap was also one of the conditions set by the Flemish Infrastructure Fund for Personal Matters, VIPA, for agreeing to grant Jessa Hospital subsidies for the construction of a new facility at the Salvador site.
If all conditions are met, VIPA will allocate €14.6 million per year over the next 40 years.
Additionally, Jessa’s medical staff need to contribute €125 million to kickstart the construction.
The hospital’s doctors are scheduled to vote on their contribution on Wednesday.
Repayment period stretches from 2059 to 2099
The loan from Hasselt City needs to be repaid from 2059 to 2099, at an annual interest rate of 2%. By the end of this period, the new hospital building is expected to have been fully paid off.
Over the years, more than 30 different approaches to the pension problem were evaluated, but the Committee gave final approval to the €180-million-loan option last week.
“The other scenarios caused imbalances among the hospital's various stakeholders,” Vandeput explained.
