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- Manfred becht
Weighty problem: new fire engine costs a lot of money – and is completely useless
the city of eschborn orders a fire truck with a big weight problem. Now it will be known how much money was burned in the purchase.
Eschborn – 240.000 euro it cost the eschborn taxpayers for the city to order a fire truck that they can’t use and therefore had to return it at a discount of this amount. This figure is taken from the final report submitted by the file inspection committee to the city councillors on the failed car purchase.
The report was presented at the city council meeting. The written version, so it is needed, is not published. However, it did not escape the attentive listener that the politicians relied too much on the administration and the fire department.
Eschborn: a scandal in the town hall – new fire truck weighs 17 instead of 16 tons
Fire trucks are not bought off the shelf, but are assembled exactly according to the specifications of the customer. This time, it was to be a telescopic aerial rescue vehicle with similar tasks to the previously discarded turntable ladder. the fire department came up with all kinds of ideas; the result was a vehicle with a total weight of more than 17 tons. However, these vehicles are "only" allowed 16 tons in weight: the car was not put into service. How could it come to this?
The purchase was decided by the magistrate. The decision was made because the magistrate was not aware of the weight excess, of "incorrect information" was the talk of the file inspection committee. The draft resolution had been prepared in the city hall, with the participation of the then city fire inspector. He knew about the weight problem, it says.
Eschborn: new fire truck – money played "no role
Because there has been a letter from the main-taunus-kreis, which pointed out the problem, with reference to an information of the country. Not only the city fire inspector, but also the committee of fire chiefs knew about it. It is unclear why the magistrate only became aware of the letter from the district administration after the decision to purchase had been made. Between the lines is the suspicion that the letter may have been deliberately withheld. This could not be clarified. The city fire inspector at the time declined to comment to this newspaper, and strictly speaking, as a city employee, he is not allowed to comment publicly.
In any case, according to the file inspection committee, the fire chiefs’ committee agreed, arguing that it could still be used, for example for operations such as hanging up Christmas lights. In the event of an emergency, a lighter vehicle has to be called in from the neighborhood. "The impression is that the oversized vehicle should be procured at all costs", according to committee chairman fritz kruger. "Economic considerations did not play a role."
Who bears the responsibility for the messed-up fire truck purchase in eschborn??
The political responsibility for the administrative action, however, lies with the magistrate. Mayor mathias geiger (FDP) had signed the document that led to the purchase of the project. At the time, he was only the deputy fire chief, geiger told this newspaper months ago. As such, he could not familiarize himself with all the details of a technical proposal, but had to rely on the administration. The honorary departments, including the responsibility for the fire department, had not yet been reassigned at the time after the municipal elections in 2016.
Before and after, karlheinz gritsch (CDU) was the fire department’s head of department. It is unclear why he did not intervene, says the report, which was written by the members of the file inspection committee. "At the time, it was presented as if this was not the big problem", said gritsch now in response to a question. He had acted to the best of his knowledge and belief at the time. "The city fire inspector advises the politicians, and you have to be able to rely on something for a change."
Is the affair over?? The magistrate could examine consequences under service law and liability claims, the final report says. This does not seem completely out of the question. "That is in the room", according to gritsch. Whether the magistrate might even be obliged to recover the money? No matter how many millions you have in reserves, the principle of sound financial management also applies to rich municipalities.
By manfred becht
The new emergency center is scheduled for completion in 2020. fire department and workers’ Samaritan association move into the 25 million euro building complex in eschborn.