April 24, 2026
Hello, everyone.
This is a brief update, so there is no summary
As you know, a regular council meeting is held on the first Tuesday of every month. However, there is no such meeting this month, and the next meeting is scheduled for May 12 (due to Lag B’Omer, the meeting has been moved by one week). Therefore, there are no plenary decisions or activities I can report to you about.
I can report, however, that this coming Monday, April 27, at 6:00 PM, there will be a meeting regarding the council’s budget for 2026. As I’ve already written here, this budget was supposed to be approved by the end of 2025 so that we could start January 1 under a new budget. That didn’t happen, and we’ve reached the end of April. Throughout this entire period, the council has been operating on 1/12 of last year’s budget.
Since we received the draft budget a few days ago, I’ve been spending long hours reviewing every line item, comparing it to previous budgets. I have many comments, and I hope for a substantive discussion. Even though the council chair has a coalition of 10 members who always support every proposal he makes—this budget is still a different story. The budget is the beating heart of the community. It reflects the council’s priorities—what we invest in and what we don’t. It determines the services you, the residents, will receive throughout the year. It is a central part of our work as council members, and I take this role seriously.
For example, I noticed that a letter from the council treasurer stating that the budget is balanced and prepared in accordance with regulations was not attached to the budget. This is not a technical letter but one required by law, as it is a legally binding statement by the council treasurer regarding the budget’s content.
Yesterday, I contacted the council secretary to ask why the letter had not been included. Within an hour, this letter was distributed to all council members as required by law. This is the diligence that guides me in my role, where the law is always paramount.
The draft budget cannot be published to the general public. However, I would be happy to receive your questions and suggestions; please write to me about what you feel is important to include in the budget. This will allow me to serve you faithfully at Monday’s meeting.
You are invited to attend the meeting or watch it live on the Council’s YouTube channel—https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCroNWtlM8YInsjPf3Tv_uXQ/live
I hope the camera won’t focus solely on the Council Chair again, but will operate automatically so that it pans to each speaker. We live in a democracy where every elected official has an equal voice—literally.
We are at the end of the national holidays, and this is the time to thank the community center staff and council employees for their advance preparations and excellent execution of the national holiday events, even under changing circumstances. Thank you for organizing the memorial evenings on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day and Memorial Day at the Artilleryman’s House and at the cemetery in the morning.
Thank you for the impressive and successful Independence Day event that brought joy to the many residents who attended. We have a country that we all love and are happy to celebrate its 78th anniversary.
Yours,
Limor Zar Gutman