Archive post: »The municipality exceeds the limits of the law to favor certain interests« · 2024-02-04

• Jacob Fabritius de Tengnagel — Mentioned in a historical text version
• Jørgen Mads Clausen — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Peter Hansen — Mentioned in the current archived text
• Thea Elmtrup Augustenborg — Mentioned in a historical text version

Source title: Kommunen overskrider lovens grænser for at favorisere visse interesser

Text version dated 4 Feb 2024

Kommunen overskrider lovens grænser for at favorisere visse interesser Den tavshed, der præger de lokale medier, politikere og forvaltning, er bemærkelsesværdig. Denne tavshed afslører imidlertid omfanget af de sager, der bliver holdt ude af offentlighedens øje. For et glimt ind i en verden, hvor en af Danmarks mest velhavende fonde, i samarbejde med en af landets største pensionskasser og en gruppe velstående individer fra Sønderborg, opfører sig som om de står over loven og ønsker at holde borgerne uvidende om deres handlinger, skal vi takke Peter Hansen for at kaste lys over denne ellers skjulte sfære.

Når der anmodes om aktindsigt hos Sønderborg Kommune, synes de at gøre alt for at skjule informationer, de mener ikke kan tåle offentlighedens skær. Kommunen argumenterer ofte for, at en nabo ikke bør have interesse i visse sager, og at det ligger i kommunens interesse at beskytte bestemte virksomheder. På trods af besparelseskrav for at balancere budgettet, ser det ikke ud til, at disse krav gælder for juridiske omkostninger, især når det kommer til at godkende udgifter for visse "venner" af kommunen.

Det virker som om, kommunens juridiske budget er ubegrænset, brugt blandt andet på at ansætte eksterne advokater til at finde smuthuller i lovgivningen, ofte uden resultat. Forsøg på at få aktindsigt i disse advokatregninger møder dog en mur af tavshed. Generelt synes kommunens jurister at argumentere for, at dansk lovgivning ikke finder anvendelse i Sønderborg, hvor man fortolker loven på en helt anden måde.

Disse fortolkninger fører til langvarige korrespondancer, der spilder ressourcer og borgernes penge, for til sidst at ende som klagesager hos Ankestyrelsen. Kommunen er klar over, at deres grundløse argumenter falder til jorden, når Ankestyrelsen undersøger sagen, hvorefter styrelsen ofte pålægger kommunen at udlevere det efterspurgte materiale. Når Ankestyrelsen træffer en afgørelse, fremlægger kommunen ofte kun et begrænset antal dokumenter, og det hænder, at de påstår, at visse dokumenter er gået tabt i det elektroniske arkiv, eller at de stillede spørgsmål er for komplekse til, at forvaltningen kan besvare dem.

Et eksempel på et sådant spørgsmål er antallet af parkeringspladser, Sønderborg Kommune har krævet, at Hotel Alsik skal etablere – et spørgsmål, forvaltningen angiveligt finder for komplekst. Denne sag understreger, at problemet ikke kun er begrænset til Peter Hansens venners byggetilladelser; det antyder en langt dybere og mere systemisk problematik. Peter Hansen, på trods af tidligere konkurser og omfattende støtte fra diverse hold, herunder erhvervsklubber, medier og Danfoss' ejer, Jørn Mads Clausen, understreger omfanget af de udfordringer, Sønderborg står overfor.

For dem, der ønsker at forstå kampen mod aktindsigt yderligere, henvises til den nævnte hjemmeside, som giver et indblik i, hvad der potentielt bliver holdt skjult i Sønderborg, og rejser spørgsmålet om, hvem der egentlig holder tilsyn med disse sager. https://site.dybbolbanke.dk/kommunen-n%C3%A6gter-aktindsigt-men-s%C3%A5-kom-ankestyrelsen-p%C3%A5-banen Foto: Sønderborg Kommune

This is an automatic reading translation. The source’s allegations and assessments have not been independently confirmed through translation. Check wording, qualifications and meaning against the preserved Danish original. Some retained numbers may use Danish separators: a dot for thousands and a comma for decimals. Check amounts against the Danish original.

The municipality exceeds the limits of the law to favor certain interests
Photo: Sønderborg Kommune

The silence that characterizes the local media, politicians and administration is remarkable. This silence, however, reveals the extent of the cases being kept out of the public eye. For a glimpse into a world where one of Denmark's wealthiest foundations, in collaboration with one of the country's largest pension funds and a group of wealthy individuals from Sønderborg, behave as if they are above the law and want to keep citizens ignorant of their actions, we must thank Peter Hansen for shedding light on this otherwise hidden sphere.

When access to documents is requested at Sønderborg Kommune, they seem to do everything to hide information they believe cannot stand the glare of the public eye. The municipality often argues that a neighbor should not have an interest in certain cases and that it is in the municipality's interest to protect certain companies.

Peter Hansen

Despite demands for savings to balance the budget, it does not appear that these demands apply to legal costs, especially when it comes to approving expenses for certain "friends" of the municipality. It seems as if the municipality's legal budget is unlimited, spent among other things on hiring external lawyers to find loopholes in the legislation, often to no avail. However, attempts to gain access to these legal bills are met with a wall of silence.

In general, the municipality's lawyers seem to argue that Danish legislation does not apply in Sønderborg, where the law is interpreted in a completely different way. These interpretations lead to lengthy correspondences that waste resources and citizens' money, eventually ending up as complaints at Ankestyrelsen. The municipality is aware that their baseless arguments fall to the ground when Ankestyrelsen investigates the case, after which the agency often orders the municipality to hand over the requested material.

When Ankestyrelsen makes a decision, the municipality often presents only a limited number of documents, and it happens that they claim that certain documents have been lost in the electronic archive, or that the questions asked are too complex for the administration to answer. An example of such an issue is the number of parking spaces Sønderborg Kommune has required Hotel Alsik to establish – an issue management reportedly finds too complex. This case highlights that the problem is not just limited to the building permits of Peter Hansen's friends;  it suggests a much deeper and more systemic problem.

Peter Hansen, despite previous bankruptcies and extensive support from various teams, including business clubs, media and Danfoss's owner, Jørn Mads Clausen, underlines the extent of the challenges Sønderborg faces. For those who wish to further understand the fight against whistleblowing, refer to the aforementioned website, which provides an insight into what is potentially being kept hidden in Sønderborg, and raises the question of who is actually overseeing these matters:

The municipality refuses access to documents - but then Ankestyrelsen came on the sceneFrom: Jacob Fabritius de Tengnagel Sent: 16. January 2023 10:04 To: 'Thea Elmtrup Augustenborg' <thau@sonderborg.dk> Subject: SV: Decision on document access

Hi Thea
I tried to call you on Friday with no success. I have a clarifying question about the decision Sønderborg Kommune has