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Jerusalem: Urban Characteristics and Major Trends in the City's Development
Part II: ECONOMIC AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
H. The Municipal Budget
H1. Expenses
The 1995 budget of the Municipality of Jerusalem was NIS 1,319,089,000. The Joint Budget passed for 1996 came to NIS 1,412,145,000:
General Management: NIS 204,891,000,000
Local Services: NIS 390,199,000,000
State Services: NIS 777,354,000,000
Institutions: NIS 39,701,000,000.
An analysis of the budget of the Municipality of Jerusalem as compared to the municipal budgets of major cities - Tel Aviv and Haifa - shows the enormous discrepancy in the expenditure per resident between Jerusalem and those other cities. The low expenditure per resident in Jerusalem is apparent in practically every venue.
Table 14: Budgetary Expenditure per Resident
| |
Jerusalem |
Tel-Aviv |
Haifa |
| Number of Residents |
591,400 |
355,900 |
252,300 |
| Municipal Area (in dunams) |
123,000 |
51,000 |
59,000 |
| Total Budget 1995 (NIS millions) |
1,596.3 |
2,320.0 |
1,015.5 |
| Local Services Budget (NIS millions) |
371.3 |
684.4 |
242.3 |
State Services (NIS millions NIS)
From this: Education Budget (NIS millions) |
753.2
378.9 |
911.6
461.8 |
334.1
146.3 |
Expenses per Resident (NIS)
Local Services per Resident (NIS)
Expenses for State Services per Resident (NIS) |
2,699.0
627.8
1,273.6 |
6,518.7
1,923.0
2,561.4 |
4,025
960.4
1,324.2 |
Source: The Department of Budgets, The Treasury, Municipality of Jerusalem
Table 15 : Budgetary Expenditure per Student in the Education System
| |
Jerusalem |
Tel-Aviv |
Haifa |
| Number of Students in the Education System, 1994 |
155,000 |
57,000 |
58,000 |
| Education Budget, 1995 (NIS millions) |
378.9 |
461.8 |
146.3 |
| Education Budget - Income (NIS millions) |
213.8 |
172.1 |
97.4 |
| Expenses per Student (NIS) |
2,444 |
8,101 |
2,522 |
| Income per Student (NIS) |
1,379 |
3,019 |
1,679 |
Source: The Department for Budgets, The Treasury, Municipality of Jerusalem
H2. Income
Municipal taxes are the Municipality's main source of income. In 1995 these taxes funded about 44% of the city's activities, while in Tel Aviv they fiinded 63% and in Haifa, 53%.
In 1995 the city's total income from municipal taxes was NIS 587 million; the expected income in 1996 is NIS 637 million. An analysis of data gamered from municipal taxes indicates that:
- 148,520 residential units are charged with municipal taxes;
- 25,334 non-residential units are charged with municipal taxes - of them, 60% are offices and businesses
- About 16% (4,131 units) of the non-residential units charged with municipal taxes are institutions receiving discounts of up to 75%. These include religious and educational institutions and diplomatic representatives;
- About 43% (64,263 units) of residential units charged with municipal taxes enjoy large discounts or even exemptions due to demographic and economic factors such as age, family situation, size of family, level of income, etc.
The Municipality's relatively low level of income results from the economic and business structure of the city and the demographic and socioeconomic structure of the population. Because of this low level of income, the level of expenses per resident is low, the budget has little flexibility, and external sources of funding (including government aid, loans, and grants) are necessary. Yet despite the Municipality's low income, the city encounters many additional expenses as the capital of the State of Israel.
The Municipality has therefore determined that in the course of the coming year it will expand the base of its budgetary income, thereby increasing the level of expenses per resident and improving the quality of services provided.
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