A council meeting in Tervuren descended into chaos when Mayor Thomas Geyns and opposition councillor Serge Liesenborghs erupted into a shouted exchange, forcing the council chair Mario Van Rossum to suspend proceedings.
The confrontation began with a dispute over new Diftar waste-collection charges and whether households could end up paying double, triple or even quadruple under the updated system. The argument quickly escalated far beyond rubbish fees.
Belgium’s third-youngest mayor, 29-year-old Geyns is known for his occasional sharp tone, once even hitting local media with accusations against former finance alderman Van Rossum of lies and urging his resignation. Now Geyns accuses Tervuren Unie and Volt of spreading “dishonest” figures to alarm residents over the cost of weighed residual waste.
“I once had to swallow claims from your group that I had business interests in blocking an urban-planning regulation because I was supposedly a property lawyer,” Geyns told town councilors.
“That is not true. Stop with the false accusations,” Liesenborghs shot back.
The pair continued the loud exchange across the room until council chair Van Rossum (Voor Tervuren, CD&V) ordered a five-minute suspension. If a complaint were made by either party, Van Rossum, a councillor since 1994, would chair a meeting of the municipality’s ethics committee.
Side jobs under the spotlight
The bust-up also reignited a debate over outside employment held by the mayor and alderpersons. The mayor himself receives €109,000 a year for running Tervuren. Yet despite a pledge to be a full-time mayor, Geyns continues to work as a lawyer specialising in urban and environmental planning. Geyns also oversees urban planning alongside other mayoral duties.
Spending on town political officeholders in 2024 totalled €604,699 for the mayor, six alderpersons and other elected officials with another €244,645 for meeting costs, councillor attendance fees, admin pensions, and other. Personnel expenditure in total accounted for around 53% of Tervuren’s €66m operating budget in 2024.
Belgian and Flemish rules allow Tervuren’s mayor and alderpersons — who earn up to €59,882 — to hold paid private jobs during the day. Complaints about their conduct or potential conflicts of interest are, in principle, examined by the council’s ethics committee, chaired by Van Rossum. And if a matter escalates, it is passed to the governor of Flemish Brabant, Jan Spooren (N-VA), for further action. Van Rossum also works by day as one of Spooren’s advisers.
Spooren, who served as Tervuren’s mayor until 2020, is married to Annemie Spaas, the alderwoman responsible for Flemish Character, education, equality and more.
