Beersheba Mayor clamps down on city employees

Police have been conducting an investigation of the city's engineering department, and have questioned and arrested a number of employees.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Beersheba Mayor Rubik Danilovitch has taken the unusual step of suspending 10 municipal employees who have been questioned by police over various allegations, reports www.mynet.co.il. An unidentified source in the city said the mayor had decided to exert a "heavy hand" over the employees, some of whom were said to have taken advantage of their jobs for private gain. According to the report, police have been conducting an investigation of the city's engineering department for the past six months, and have questioned and arrested a number of employees. Now the mayor has taken the "non-routine" step of suspending them until their future at city hall is decided. A source said that aside from taking advantage of their jobs for private gain, their contribution to the workplace was "very low to negligible." "The mayor has decided to treat these workers with a heavy hand and with determination," the source said. "The purpose of municipal workers is to service the public and not to be a burden on the public coffer." The report said that by law the workers were entitled to a hearing before their future was decided, and that they would be required to answer the complaints of management.