Governor Berx rules that the higher pay for Somers' secretary at the Mechelen police cannot stand
The provincial governor has asked the Rivierenland police zone to correct the situation; the mayor says he will follow her advice.
Antwerp provincial governor Cathy Berx has declared unlawful the temporary promotion of the personal secretary of Mechelen mayor Bart Somers. De Morgen reported the decision and VRT NWS confirmed it on Tuesday. Somers had previously maintained there was nothing unlawful about the arrangement. In her written decision Berx states that the conditions for the higher post were not met; for instance, the woman was not registered in the police personnel information system. She reached that conclusion after questioning the mayor and taking advice from the federal police.
The secretary has worked for Somers for some 25 years and originally came from the Mechelen police. When Somers stepped down as a Flemish minister in 2023 and returned to Mechelen city hall, she went back on the police payroll, but at a lower salary. According to Somers, she was doing level B work while graded at level C. The chief of the Rivierenland police zone decided to appoint her temporarily to a higher post, with the approval of the police board. Emails that De Morgen reviewed earlier showed, according to RTV, that Somers pressed for a quick solution; he denies having exerted pressure.
Berx has asked the police zone to correct the situation and keep her informed. A spokesperson for Somers said the governor's advice would be followed. How exactly that will happen is not yet clear.