Last update - 00:00 10/03/2007
Comptroller asks municipalities to respond to Lebanon report
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
The State Comptroller's Office over the last few days asked local authorities in the North - including Kiryat Shmona, Safed and the Hatzor Haglilit local council - to comment on the Comptroller's report on the management of the home front during last summer's Lebanon war.
Kiryat Shmona municipal spokesman Doron Shenfar said the municipality had received a report on the conduct of the local authorities, including a detailed section on Kiryat Shmona. The Safed municipality said it had received a report in addition to questions regarding its preparations for the war.
The municipalities have been asked to respond within a month.
"It's good that there's a report, but it's important that they also suggest solutions, and for that, funds are needed," said a Kiryat Shmona municipal official. "To fix defects, you need money." The municipality has established a team to respond to the report and implement recommended solutions.
During the war, the local authorities were criticized for failing to adequately maintain bomb shelters and for their policies on the evacuation of residents. But residents of the North levied most of their criticism on the cabinet.
A municipality spokesperson said that over the past few years the municipality's annual budget has been cut from NIS 31 million to NIS 18 million. "Part of the budget is intended for security measures. This is absurd, if we once had 200 bomb shelters, today we 240, which we have to maintain with lesser budget. They tell us to keep going with less money, but this is impssible," the spokesperson said.