Minister of Finance Moshe Kahlon and new Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Leon have reached agreement on NIS 950 million in government support for the Jerusalem municipality's budget in 2019. The support includes an allocation for income generating projects, development of Jerusalem, and improvement of municipal services. The grant for 2019 is an increase from NIS 780 million in 2018. During his term in office, former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat demanded an increase in government aid and waged a personal struggle against Kahlon, including using municipal trucks to pile garbage at the entrance to the Ministry of Finance in Jerusalem.
Leon, Barkat's successor, who took office last month, thanked Kahlon warmly today, saying, "This amount ensures that the Jerusalem municipality will begin 2019 on the right foot with financial soundness for the capital, and will be able to expand services to Jerusalem residents during the year. I thank Minister Kahlon for his pleasant conduct, the way the talks were held, and how decisions were made. Jerusalem residents can breathe freely again; someone is taking care of them."
Kahlon said that he was "proud that the Ministry of Finance will give the most ever to the city of Jerusalem this year, in direct continuation of the trend in recent years. When people come to the Ministry of Finance on time, with a professional and business-like attitude, with an annotated list of requests, they get all the support that it's possible to give. I'm confident that in the coming years, we'll continue working in cooperation with Mayor Moshe Leon to strengthen Jerusalem, Israel's capital, and continue its growth for the coming generations."
Ministry of Finance budget director Shaul Meridor said, "The way the discussions were held this year, which constitutes a basis for trust and cooperation with the municipality, will change the trend in Jerusalem, so that the municipality will be able to provide better services to its residents by increasing its independent revenues in the coming years. In order to develop these independent revenues, the current amount already includes an allocation, and we set up a team aimed at developing income-generating projects for the municipality."
Under the agreement reached, the grant for 2019 is divided as follows: NIS 765 million for the city budget, a NIS 67 million development grant for Jerusalem, NIS 40 million for improving services to residents of the city, and NIS 78 million for projects generating independent income for the Jerusalem municipality. The projects to be carried out with this money will be determined jointly by the municipality and the Ministry of Finance. It was also agreed to set up a team with participation from the Ministry of Finance and the Jerusalem municipality for allocating these amounts.
The parties further agreed that they would discuss other measures during the year for increasing the municipality's independent revenues and raising the level of services in the city. The Ministry of Finance's announcement said that the 2018 allocation for Jerusalem had been increased by 20% for 2019, beyond a NIS 2.1 billion East Jerusalem development program approved six months ago.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 11, 2018
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