What Gemeente Houten does

Gemeente Houten is a Dutch municipal government entity (gemeente) headquartered in Houten, Utrecht province, serving a population of over 50,000 residents across the city of Houten and three small villages ('t Goy, Schalkwijk, Tull en 't Waal). The municipality delivers the full statutory range of Dutch municipal services, including civil affairs, spatial planning, permits and enforcement (VTH), waste management and environmental services, infrastructure management, and social-domain execution (Wmo and Jeugdwet). It is governed by an elected municipal council and a board of mayor and aldermen, and is led operationally by the municipal secretariat with two directors covering Business Operations and the Physical Living Environment. The organization employs approximately 350-443 staff organized across 13 teams, with key functions in Spatial Development (~40 staff), Spatial Projects (~20), GAB (~45), VTH (~40), and Information (30+).

The municipality's technology stack is Microsoft-centric, built on Microsoft Fabric and Power BI for data analytics and Microsoft Teams for collaboration. Its most distinctive technical asset is the Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom (RBL) data platform, a shared infrastructure with four partner municipalities (Vijfheerenlanden, IJsselstein, Nieuwegein, Lopik) that delivers dashboards, policy analytics, and data-driven decision support for the Social Domain. Operations are anchored at the municipal office (Onderdoor 25), supported by the municipal yard (Gemeentewerf) and environmental station (Milieustraat).

Gemeente Houten does not generate commercial revenue; it is funded through Dutch municipal fiscal mechanisms — the WOZ property tax, gemeentelijke belastingen (municipal taxes), and central government allocations (algemene uitkering) — supplemented by service fees and inter-municipal cost-sharing through the RBL. Personnel costs are governed by the Cao Gemeenten collective labour agreement (scales 5 to 13, €2,472-€7,837 gross monthly), with a 17.05% Individual Choice Budget (IKB), ABP pension, NS Business Card, and structured professional development via the Houten Academie. Its strategic priorities center on a 4,750-home municipal expansion target by 2040, implementation of the national dispersal law (spreidingswet) for newcomers in partnership with COA, and consolidation of the regional data platform as the analytical backbone for inter-municipal social-domain governance.

Name

Gemeente Houten

Legal name

Gemeente Houten

Website

https://werkenbijhouten.nl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Gemeente Houten is a Dutch municipal government serving 50,000+ residents in Houten, Utrecht, delivering statutory municipal services including spatial planning, social domain (Wmo/Jeugdwet), waste management, and permits, and operating the shared Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom data platform with four partner municipalities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houten

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Municipal Government Funding: As a Dutch municipality, Gemeente Houten operates on government funding derived from municipal taxes (gemeentelijke belastingen), property taxes (WOZ), and central government allocations. Revenue is not generated through commercial means but through public funding mechanisms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gemeente Houten is a Dutch municipality that delivers public administration and municipal services to more than 50,000 residents, including spatial planning, environmental management, waste collection, permits and enforcement, social domain services (Wmo and Jeugdwet), infrastructure management, and civil affairs. It also operates the Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom (RBL), a collaborative data platform shared with four partner municipalities to support data-driven execution of social domain tasks.

Product overview

Gemeente Houten operates a unified municipal government service platform alongside a dedicated recruitment portal (Werken bij Gemeente Houten). The municipality provides comprehensive public services to over 50,000 residents, including spatial planning, environmental management, waste collection, permits, social services, and infrastructure. The careers portal integrates with the Emply applicant tracking system and features a regional data platform (Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom) for inter-municipal data collaboration. Employee development is supported through the Houten Academie, an internal training and workshop program. The organization comprises approximately 350 employees across 12-13 teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gemeente Houten Municipal Services
• Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom (RBL)
• Houten Academie
• Werken bij Gemeente Houten Recruitment Portal
• Milieustraat and Gemeentewerf Physical Service Points

Quantifiable outcome

• Employee retention and satisfaction - employees describe the organization as a 'warm bath' and appreciate the personal atmosphere
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom (RBL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Collaborative partnership of five municipalities (Vijfheerenlanden, IJsselstein, Nieuwegein, Houten, and Lopik) supporting social domain execution (Wmo and Jeugdwet), administrative services, data analytics, and policy development. The RBL operates a shared data platform and delivers analyses and dashboards to support municipal governance.
• Sociale Teams en Zorgorganisaties (Social Teams and Care Organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2024Partnership with social teams and healthcare organizations supporting the execution of Wmo and Jeugdwet services for municipalities in the Lekstroom region.
• COA (Centraal Orgaan opvang Asielzoekers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration with the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers for the implementation of the dispersal law (spreidingswet) regarding housing and integration of newcomers.
• Omgevingsdienst Utrecht (ODU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the Environmental Service Utrecht for environmental expertise and regulatory oversight. The Adviseur Ruimtelijke Ordening Milieu also replaces the Regievoerder of ODU during absences.
• Werk en Inkomen LekstroomminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partnership for citizens needing work and income support services, connected through the municipal information center.
• BghU (Belastingsamenwerking Gouwe-IJssel)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the tax authority that performs tax tasks for Houten and other organizations.
• ABP PensioenfondscoreOthersMunicipal pension provider offering excellent pension build-up including additional coverage for death and disability.
• CZ, Menzis, IZA (Health Insurers)minorOthersCollective discount arrangements on supplementary health insurance policies through three major Dutch health insurers.
• Cao Gemeenten (Collective Labour Agreement)coreOthersNational collective labour agreement for Dutch municipalities, negotiated between VNG, FNV, and CNV, governing employment conditions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Gemeente Soest: Similar-sized Utrecht-region municipality with comparable housing growth dynamics and Cao Gemeenten salary structure, providing a like-for-like operational peer.
• Gemeente Zeist: Mid-sized Utrecht-region municipality of comparable population (~65,000) offering a similar mix of municipal services, spatial planning, and social domain programmes — a strong structural peer.
• Gemeente Utrechtse Heuvelrug: Comparable Utrecht-region municipality in size and service scope, with overlapping social domain, environmental management, and spatial planning responsibilities.
• Gemeente Lopik: Smaller rural-adjacent Utrecht municipality and the fifth RBL member; shares data platform and social domain back office with Houten, providing a directly comparable operational peer.
• Gemeente Vijfheerenlanden: Fifth member of the RBL collaboration; comparable in municipal scope and shares data platform infrastructure with Houten, making it a directly comparable inter-municipal partner.
• Gemeente Nieuwegein: Neighbouring municipality in the Utrecht region and a co-member of the Regionale Backoffice Lekstroom, making it a directly comparable municipal peer in scale, services, and regional collaboration model.
• Gemeente IJsselstein: Smaller Utrecht-region municipality also part of the RBL partnership, with a comparable municipal service mix and joint social domain data platform — a direct operational peer.

Regional players

• Omgevingsdienst regio Utrecht (ODU): Regional environmental service provider that delivers environmental permits and oversight on behalf of Houten and surrounding municipalities; directly comparable for the environmental and permitting function.
• Werk en Inkomen Lekstroom: Regional inter-municipal partnership for work and income support serving Houten and Lekstroom municipalities; directly comparable for shared social-domain service delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Provincie Utrecht: Provincial government layer that regulates, funds, and partners with Gemeente Houten. Comparable as a public administration peer operating at a broader geographic scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gemeente-houten

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gemeente Houten