Survey finds improvements at councils

According to the report, the city of Herzliya was considered particularly noteworthy.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY
A survey by international accounting firm Dun and Bradstreet has found significantly improved financial situations at the 50 biggest local councils in Israel, reports www.local.co.il. The survey found that the 50 councils had moved from a total budget deficit to a total budget surplus of some NIS 26.6 million. According to the report, the city of Herzliya was considered particularly noteworthy. Ranked 12th in size, it came in with the second-largest budget surplus in 2006, NIS 15.6 million. The report said the city had total earnings of NIS 797.7 million, and municipal employees earned an average salary of NIS 140,000 per year. The company also examined unemployment rates around the country, and pointed out Kfar Saba, Ra'anana, Hod Hasharon and Ramat Hasharon as having particularly low unemployment rates, with Ramat Hasharon having the lowest unemployment rate of any city.