Financial irregularities in Lorentzweiler’s municipal management account, as well as an unlawfully concluded supplementary insurance policy for municipal staff and aldermen, prompted an intervention from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Following Tuesday’s municipal council meeting, the opposition criticised the lack of answers from the mayor, noting that only one of the two issues was addressed.
Issues surrounding the management account were quickly set aside at the meeting, although the opposition had submitted a large number of questions to the mayor, which were also on the agenda. Mayor Marguy Kirsch-Hirtt of Är Leit explained that these would be answered in writing, as they concerned civil servants who had worked or are working for the municipality: “We are in an ongoing procedure, and the presumption of innocence always applies – to civil servants and to everyone. We respect that and do not wish to comment further.”
For Christian Social People’s Party (CSV) MP Alain Wahl, the decision to provide written answers amounts to little more than buying time.
“We are talking about public funds here, so this should be discussed in public. It is a shame that this is not being done here. We will wait for the written answers and review them. If we still have questions, we will raise them at the next municipal council meeting.”
Among other things, the questions also concerned a video published on Instagram by the Second Alderman after RTL reported on irregularities in the municipality. Joëlle Schmit of the Democratic Party (DP) described the video as a glorification of violence and said she hopes it can be discussed at the next municipal council meeting.
Regarding the irregularities in the Médicis file on the supplementary Foyer insurance the mayor confirmed: “All the amounts that former and current members of the municipal council received for that insurance have been repaid to the last penny.”
Municipal employees will not be required to repay their contributions to Foyer. This was welcomed by Carole Ney of the Greens.
“I don’t think the employees asked for this. The municipal council proposed it, and to us it seems as a matter of course that they should not have to repay the money.”
However, the opposition does not relent on its criticism of how long the matter was allowed to drag on, arguing that mistakes were not acknowledged early on and that action has only now been taken under pressure. The mayor, meanwhile, said they had not been given the opportunity to clarify the matter earlier and had simply been waiting for the necessary reassurances before confirming that the money would be repaid.
