The Jerusalem City Council approved the 2005 budget submitted
by Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupoliansky. The budget contains happy
tidings: an increase of NIS 9 million ($2 million) in funding
for chareidi education and an increase of NIS 1 million
($440,000) in funding for Torah culture.
Surprisingly, several opposition members from Nir Barkat's
Yerushalayim Tatzliach and Meretz split and, unlike in
previous years, those parties did not vote unanimously
against the budget. Although Barkat did vote against the
budget, approximately half the members of his party announced
that they saw many positive aspects in the budget and
therefore abstained from voting, which drew fury and created
confusion within the opposition. Meanwhile the coalition
voted unanimously in favor of the budget Rabbi Lupoliansky
presented.
The municipality budget for 2005 comes to NIS 2.7 billion
($620 million). Mayor Lupoliansky instructed the municipal
staff to place greater emphasis on cleaning services for the
streets, and also to make cutbacks in personnel and to reduce
the salaries of ranking officials.
The cuts are part of a comprehensive strategic plan to
eliminate overlap and alter the organizational structure. A
recovery program was also signed in the framework of the
plan. All of these changes will help balance the 2006 budget.
The plan also allows for structural changes at the
municipality and a shift to directors who will oversee a
number of departments and municipal units with tangential
areas of service, and a reduction in the load placed on the
municipal board. These changes are intended to improve
operations and services provided for city residents.
Implementing the program, which involves the elimination of
450 jobs, will generate a savings of NIS 23 million ($5
million) in salaries after discharge benefits are paid.
Municipality figures stress that despite the Finance
Ministry's decision to cancel the Growth Encouragement cut of
June 2005, the municipality has committed to continue the 3-5
percent reduction in high-end salaries through the end of
2006.
It was also decided to cut overtime hours for all
municipality employees by 25 percent, which translates into a
savings of up to NIS 4,000 ($915) per month for high-ranking
officials. The salary savings will be channeled toward
improving municipal services and quality of life in the
city.
During a City Council meeting, Mayor Rabbi Lupoliansky said
that the budget resembles a balance: removing some of the
weight of the apparatus and salaries allows greater emphasis
to be placed on municipal services and cleanliness in
accordance with residents' demands. "This year the budget
framework will be preserved, but large funding emphasis will
be placed on reinforcing the issue of services and the level
of cleaning and maintenance, which is an outcome, among other
things, of the comprehensive strategic plan with
organizational change at its center, canceling overlap in the
apparatus, increasing income through sponsorship of various
events and reducing the apparatus and the salaries of ranking
officials," said Rabbi Lupoliansky.
