Herzliya comptroller criticizes financial management

Comptroller Dr. Natan Lavi said the city had taken out some NIS 80 million in loans from banks but had not repaid many of them.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
The Herzliya city comptroller has found a number of serious defects in the city's financial management, particularly in its legal department, reports www.local.co.il. In a report released last week, comptroller Dr. Natan Lavi said the city had taken out some NIS 80 million in loans from banks but had not repaid many of them, and said that the Legal Department was not managing its budget properly. According to the report, Lavi focused on four areas that had come under criticism in previous comptroller's reports. He pointed to the Legal Department in particular, saying that as well as employing its own legal adviser, the city was using the services of 12 private legal firms and there was no control over the amount of money flowing through the Legal Department. Mayor Yael German responded to the report by saying she expected the comptroller to act "fairly, objectively and according to regulations" by presenting his findings and recommendations to the relevant departments and enabling them to react before issuing a final report. But Lavi said this was a "clear attempt" by the authorities to contain and limit the criticisms.