How much do the High Councils and others cost government? Draft 2026 budget allocates XCG 12.2 million

GREAT BAY--Questions about the size of St. Maarten’s institutional structure and whether the country has the capacity to sustain it have been raised repeatedly over the past year, including by Maria van der Sluijs-Plantz, Chairwoman of the Evaluation Committee for the Mutual Arrangement for Cooperation on Reforms, and Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina.

During IPKO earlier this year, Van der Sluijs-Plantz said St. Maarten has developed an institutional structure modeled largely on systems used in the Netherlands and the former Netherlands Antilles, leaving a small country responsible for maintaining a comparatively extensive administrative framework.

Her observation, though not exclusively targeting the councils, was that the country has created numerous institutions and functions but does not always have sufficient human and institutional capacity to properly staff and operate them.

Prime Minister Mercelina raised a similar concern during the Governor’s Symposium in late 2025, questioning whether St. Maarten’s size and available capacity are properly matched with the number of institutions and administrative structures the country is required to maintain.

Those remarks have renewed a practical question: how much do the High Councils and other independent and special entities actually cost government?

The draft 2026 budget provides part of that answer.

The draft 2026 budget allocates approximately XCG 12.22 million to St. Maarten’s three High Councils of State and four separately listed special entities, including the Integrity Chamber, Social Economic Council and Security Service.

The three High Councils, the Council of Advice, General Audit Chamber and Ombudsman, together account for XCG 5.11 million in proposed spending for 2026, compared with approximately XCG 4.98 million in 2025. This represents a combined increase of about XCG 135,000, or 2.7 percent.

The Council of Advice is allocated XCG 1,823,634 for 2026, slightly below its 2025 budget of XCG 1,831,193. The decrease amounts to XCG 7,559, or 0.41 percent. While personnel costs increase slightly, material expenditure declines, contributing to the small overall reduction.

The General Audit Chamber receives the largest percentage increase among the three High Councils. Its proposed budget rises from XCG 1,604,459 in 2025 to XCG 1,727,849 in 2026, an increase of XCG 123,390, or 7.69 percent. Personnel costs account for most of the increase, rising from XCG 863,459 to XCG 993,849. The 2026 allocation also includes XCG 350,000 for accountants and advisory costs and XCG 30,000 for travel.

The Ombudsman is allocated XCG 1,559,076, compared with XCG 1,539,642 in 2025. This represents an increase of XCG 19,434, or 1.26 percent. Personnel costs rise by approximately XCG 43,000, while material expenditure declines by nearly XCG 24,000. The Ombudsman’s travel allocation remains unchanged at XCG 70,000.

The budget places the High Councils under Chapter 1 together with Parliament and its supporting administration. The overall Chapter 1 ordinary-service budget totals XCG 21.68 million for 2026, up approximately 2 percent from XCG 21.24 million in 2025.

Separate from the High Councils, the draft budget contains a chapter for Special Entities, which has a combined 2026 allocation of XCG 7,111,534. This is down from XCG 8,824,118 in 2025, a reduction of approximately XCG 1.71 million or 19.41 percent.

Among these entities is the Integrity Chamber, which is allocated XCG 2,390,569 for 2026, down from XCG 2,497,170 in 2025. The decrease amounts to XCG 106,601, or 4.27 percent.

Unlike the High Councils, the national budget does not break the Integrity Chamber allocation into salaries, rent, travel and other operational costs. Instead, the full XCG 2.39 million is recorded as a transfer to the Chamber.

The Social Economic Council, SER, receives a proposed XCG 1,425,582 in 2026, up from XCG 1,357,501 in 2025. The XCG 68,081 increase represents growth of approximately 5 percent and is largely reflected in higher personnel costs.

The budget also provides XCG 300,000 for the Council of State, compared with XCG 200,000 in 2025, representing an increase of XCG 100,000 or 50 percent. The full allocation is listed as a transfer.

The largest reduction among the Special Entities is recorded for the Security Service, whose budget falls from XCG 4,769,446 in 2025 to XCG 2,995,383 in 2026. This represents a reduction of approximately XCG 1.77 million, or 37.2 percent.

The decline is driven by lower personnel spending and a significant reduction in transfers. Personnel costs fall from approximately XCG 3.23 million to XCG 2.75 million, while transfers drop from approximately XCG 1.54 million to XCG 250,000.

‍