Thursday, 19 December 2013 - 13:11
A'dam alderman blamed for €185 mil. error
It was a first for the Amsterdam alderman for Finance, Pieter Hilhorst (PvdA), to be confronted with his past as a columnist in the City Council. 'He should not ask questions as if he is still a columnist, he needs to give answers,' scolded CDA-council member Lex van Drooge.The opposition in the Amsterdam Council did not appreciate Hilhorst not giving a clear answer to the question how it happened the Amsterdam Tax department paid out 186 million euros extra to minima, Wednesday.
Nearly ten thousand households received a hundred times the annual contribution for housing expenses in their account, last week. The amounts varied from 11,750 to 34,250 euros. The council called an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss the error.
Tweede_kamer
Sisyfus
Wikimedia commons The fact that Hilhorst can still not pinpoint the cause of the error six days after the incident, poses an even bigger problem, according to the opposition. A preliminary investigation showed that a combination of technical and human failure enabled the enormous sum to pass unhindered. There was a hiccup in the computer, causing the period to move over two spaces to the right, resulting in payouts of a hundredfold. Three officials were monitoring the process, but did not pick up any irregularities. 'If we had paid for the renovations of the City Museum in full, we would have transferred a smaller amount,' said Roderic Evans-Knaup of Red Amsterdam. Knaup. Former Volkskrant columnist Hilhorst succeeded Lodewijk Asscher last year as alderman for Finances, when Asscher became Deputy Prime Minister. The opposition finds it alarming that nothing has been done with signals from accountants that the work of the Amsterdam Tax department is below standard. The mistake only came to light when minima started calling and asking if "this Christmas gratuity" was really the intention. Hilhorst commissioned an external investigation. Van Drooge could not imagine 'a greater admission of failure.' 'We are talking about the regular payments. Is it such a mess that the councilor needs an external investigator?' asked Laurens Ivens (SP). The payments were administratively reversed and parked in a trust account. 180 million is sure to be deposited back into the account of Amsterdam. The city is still hunting the remaining millions. Some people took out the money, spent it or transferred it to a different account. By making house calls Amsterdam is trying to recover the money. In one case, someone handed Hilhorst 9,000 euros cash. 'We will act decisively against those who knowingly have funneled money to another account. Those will have to deal with a debt collector.' The individual who took the opportunity to have necessary work done on their teeth and visited a dentist for 500 euro may expect more leniency. The opposition front tore apart last night after three and a half hours of debating. A vote of no confidence was only supported by the SP and the CDA. D66 did not support the vote, though the explanation of opposition leader John Paternotte must have felt like a stab to Hilhorst: 'We regret the councilor lacks the knowledge to readily answer questions.' The democrats choose to keep their powder dry until the external investigation is completed.
Sisyfus
Wikimedia commons The fact that Hilhorst can still not pinpoint the cause of the error six days after the incident, poses an even bigger problem, according to the opposition. A preliminary investigation showed that a combination of technical and human failure enabled the enormous sum to pass unhindered. There was a hiccup in the computer, causing the period to move over two spaces to the right, resulting in payouts of a hundredfold. Three officials were monitoring the process, but did not pick up any irregularities. 'If we had paid for the renovations of the City Museum in full, we would have transferred a smaller amount,' said Roderic Evans-Knaup of Red Amsterdam. Knaup. Former Volkskrant columnist Hilhorst succeeded Lodewijk Asscher last year as alderman for Finances, when Asscher became Deputy Prime Minister. The opposition finds it alarming that nothing has been done with signals from accountants that the work of the Amsterdam Tax department is below standard. The mistake only came to light when minima started calling and asking if "this Christmas gratuity" was really the intention. Hilhorst commissioned an external investigation. Van Drooge could not imagine 'a greater admission of failure.' 'We are talking about the regular payments. Is it such a mess that the councilor needs an external investigator?' asked Laurens Ivens (SP). The payments were administratively reversed and parked in a trust account. 180 million is sure to be deposited back into the account of Amsterdam. The city is still hunting the remaining millions. Some people took out the money, spent it or transferred it to a different account. By making house calls Amsterdam is trying to recover the money. In one case, someone handed Hilhorst 9,000 euros cash. 'We will act decisively against those who knowingly have funneled money to another account. Those will have to deal with a debt collector.' The individual who took the opportunity to have necessary work done on their teeth and visited a dentist for 500 euro may expect more leniency. The opposition front tore apart last night after three and a half hours of debating. A vote of no confidence was only supported by the SP and the CDA. D66 did not support the vote, though the explanation of opposition leader John Paternotte must have felt like a stab to Hilhorst: 'We regret the councilor lacks the knowledge to readily answer questions.' The democrats choose to keep their powder dry until the external investigation is completed.