Herzliya budget faces steep cuts

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
Herzliya is cutting its 2009 budget to NIS 617 million, significantly lower than the NIS 669 million budget it had in 2008, reports www.local.co.il. The steep 7.7 percent cut stems from expected drops in tax revenues, especially from businesses hit hard by the current economic downturn. According to the report, the city is planning the minimized budget this year largely because of two main factors: the amount of property tax paid by businesses is expected to fall significantly, with many businesses closing down or reducing operations during the economic crisis; and the amount of revenue collected from water payments is expected to fall following the transfer of the management of the water tax system to the Ta'agid Hamayim company. The report said the city will budget NIS 172.7 million for education, NIS 59 million for welfare, and NIS 56.6 million for culture, youth and sport. The city's extraordinary budget will be slashed from NIS 261 million last year to NIS 128 million this year.