Amsterdam’s municipal debt is projected to rise above €10 billion in the coming years. The city’s budget includes spending cuts, including cuts to its own staff, intended to keep debt from exceeding that level. The city council is due to discuss the financial plans again in early November.

The municipality has an arrangement with the Bank Nederlandse Gemeenten under which debt should not exceed €10 billion because of concentration risk. The reports do not identify clear consequences if the threshold is reached, though provincial supervision is described as a worst-case possibility. Experts cited in the report said borrowing can also finance assets and local social infrastructure, but warned that rising interest costs could grow from 1% of the budget previously to more than 3.5% in coming years, limiting money available for other spending.