Weekly Update 01

8/16/24

Hello, everyone.

Knowledge is power

Knowledge creates transparency.

And that is the purpose of the regular updates I will send you about once a week regarding what is happening in the council and the work of the “Lema’an HaMoshava” party. You are not required to reply to the email—just read and gain knowledge. And of course, you are welcome to send any questions or suggestions to this email. I am always happy to benefit from the wisdom of the crowd.

It’s important for me to note that I couldn’t do my job as a council member without knowing that you—caring people who listen and take an interest in what’s happening—are right there with me in the front row. The mailing list currently has 300 people and will continue to grow thanks to you—please refer others who are interested in receiving the weekly updates to me.

Council Composition:

The council has 15 members, currently divided as follows:

A coalition of 6 members who act as a single bloc, always supporting Abutbul and rarely speaking during meetings:

3 from the Abutbul faction (Abutbul, Dganit Azoulay, Roni Kingstein)

2 from the ultra-Orthodox faction (Aryeh Polak, David Barans)

1 from Meir Vanunu.

An opposition consisting of 8 members – 3 from our party (Avigail Dolev, Ilan Amrani, and me)

3 from the Hoze Hadash party (Yigal Hakar, Netanel Goldberg, Dudi Rosenzwig)

2 from the “Zichron BaLev” party (Tzila Reshef, Tzachi Baruch)

Not officially affiliated with any group – 1 member of the HaBayit HaYehudi (Attorney Odelya Kadmi). This party votes on a case-by-case basis.

The opposition acts in unison; there are discussions and meetings. Thus, there are votes in which we all vote together (as in the budget matter I will detail shortly). However, there are split votes, as was the case in this week’s session (which I will write about in my next email).

Meeting on the 2024 Budget Surplus:

On 7/24/24, the plenary convened to vote on the 2024 budget. I remind you that due to the war, the elections were postponed, so the council operated under the 2023 budget on a 1/12 allocation basis. Thus, in practice, the discussion was about the budget for the remaining months until the end of 2024.

We could have refused to approve the budget, but that would have paralyzed the Council’s work and harmed the residents. That is not our way. For us, the residents are at the center, while ensuring proper administration and integrity. Therefore, the opposition acted in unison; in the many meetings we held, we decided—not to harm the employees’ portion, which constitutes the lion’s share of the budget. But we did bring about a fundamental change in the budget.

The budget presented to us was clearly anti-social. It drastically eliminated the community activities that had been a hallmark of the town during Ziv Deshe’s term. We have restored all of these community activities (again, through the end of 2024), including:

• Recreational activities for youth during summer vacation at community centers
• Increasing the budget for cat neutering.
• The senior citizens’ class will not be closed
• The council will continue to subsidize the Culture Department
• Continued funding for the Discount Committee at the Community Center
• Increase the budget for the community workshop
• Increase the budget for the Art Center
• We have increased the budget for workshops for reserve soldiers
• A tribute event for the security, medical, and rescue forces during Operation Iron Swords

To reinstate these activities, we were required to make budget cuts. Through joint preparatory work with the opposition, we identified areas to cut without harming residents. During the meeting itself, all votes were unanimous.

Attached are the meeting minutes, where you can read the details.

Yours,

Limor Zar-Gutman