Bnei Brak Municipality Faces Scrutiny Over Funds for Demolished Building
Translated & summarized from Vesty by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Bnei Brak approved funds for a demolished building's elevator.
- An official alerted the Interior Ministry to the questionable spending.
- The municipality faces a significant financial deficit.
- An investigation into the city's finances is underway.
- Funds were approved despite warnings about the building's status.
The Bnei Brak Municipality has approved approximately 570,000 shekels for the installation of an elevator and acoustic adaptations for hearing-impaired individuals in a building slated for demolition. Shlomo Elboim, chairman of the municipal control commission, alerted the Interior Ministry to the expenditure, requesting an investigation that could lead to the recovery of funds from the mayor, municipal treasurer, and council members who voted for the allocation. Elboim stated that the city council repeatedly approved these expenses despite his warnings about the building's condition, calling it a "repeated and systematic practice."
Initial funding for the elevator was approved in June 2025, totaling 411,820 shekels, with the Ministry of Education contributing the majority. In September 2025, an additional 40,000 shekels were approved for acoustic and sensory adaptations, with the Ministry of Education again providing most of the funds. By December 2025, the municipality requested another 118,000 shekels for the elevator, bringing its total to 530,000 shekels, and the combined project cost to 570,000 shekels.
Elboim's appeal to the Interior Ministry came just three days after the ministry imposed strict financial limitations on Bnei Brak due to a significant deficit. The municipality's accumulated deficit reached about 130 million shekels by mid-2026. The ministry is also considering appointing an external financial supervisor for the city. While the funds for the elevator and adaptations were approved before the recent restrictions, they were allocated during a period of growing deficit.
The Interior Ministry confirmed it is investigating the Bnei Brak municipality's financial activities broadly, not just this specific case. The municipality did not provide a comment. The ministry had previously announced a freeze on individual employment contracts and salary increases for Bnei Brak and required approval for project budgets only if deemed essential, a category the accessibility funds were placed under.
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