Uster Municipal Council Establishes Investigative Commission into City Police Scandal
The Uster Municipal Council has established a Parliamentary Investigative Commission into the police scandal with 31 votes. The background involves an accounting scandal concerning at least 774,000 Swiss francs.
Uster establishes investigative commission into police scandal – 31 votes in favour
By a vote of 31 to zero with four abstentions, the Uster Municipal Council decided on Wednesday evening to establish a Parliamentary Investigative Commission (PIC) into the city police scandal, as reported by 20 Minuten.
The trigger is an accounting scandal at the city police: for at least 774,000 Swiss francs – including for protective equipment, a BMW SUV and mobile road barriers – invoices were split up without the authorisation of political superiors over many years, thereby concealing them. In March, police commander Andreas Baumgartner had to step down as a result of the scandal.
The municipal council's executive board now has six months to draw up a proposal for the PIC ready for decision, as reported by the "Zürcher Oberländer". The application had been submitted by the SVP/EDU parliamentary group. Their spokesperson Daniel Schnyder justified the urgency by stating that a PIC would have a "stabilising effect on a shaken community" and restore lost confidence.
In a press release from the SVP Uster, it is stated that the executive board must draw up "a concrete proposal with investigative mandate, composition, presidency and budget". The PIC is not yet definitively established with today's decision.
In the council debate, there was largely cross-party agreement: the SP, FDP/Centre and GLP also spoke out in favour of a PIC, though with different emphasis. The SP cautioned that the investigation should not be a "vote of no confidence" against the city council and advocated waiting for the report from the Financial Audit Commission (KÖS) beforehand to avoid duplication. The FDP/Centre pointed to open questions regarding political responsibility and to the fact that the KÖS is only able to operate in a restricted capacity due to two absences.
Only the Greens spoke out against the necessity of a PIC – they had confidence in the ongoing work of the KÖS and wanted to wait for its results first.
Source: 20 Minuten