The Arnona Law was approved today (Monday) by the Finance Committee, and even before that, the mayors were divided - in favor of the law and against it. Aliza Bloch, mayor of Beit Shemesh, supports the Arnona fund, but on the other hand, Liat Shohat, mayor of Or Yehuda, presents a counterposition.
Bloch: "This is distributive justice"
Beit Shemesh is expected to house tens of thousands of housing units in the coming months. With the entry of every new resident who comes to the city, he is transferred to my responsibility as head of the municipality. It is my duty to clean the street for him, to take care of the classroom for his children, to make sure that he can leave the city and enter it by public transportation, and to ensure an optimal and comprehensive package of services for him.
The current reality is that there is no synchronization within the system of central government. There are solutions that the state provides to the resident, including housing, but all other issues are placed before the head of the authority. The Arnona Fund funds have the power to slightly ease the difficulty of synchronizing these content worlds in order to provide proper service to all residents of the city.
Beit Shemesh, Photo: Dudi Vaknin
It is important to understand that while for us every shekel is significant, the fund does not free the mayors from hard work in order to strengthen components of resilience in the communities. Our Economic Development Department at the municipality, together with the municipal treasurer and me, meet weekly with entrepreneurs and giant companies in the Israeli economy in order to bring them to operate in the city, from purchasing land for employment and industry to relocating their center of activity to the city.
One of the heads of the largest companies in the economy told me at the inauguration ceremony of a huge logistics center he opened in the city, that he felt in the process that if a door closed for us, I entered through the window. I replied that it was a huge compliment, and I thank him for that. I really think it is our duty to do everything possible to strengthen the resilience of our authorities. It doesn't happen overnight. This is a process, and the Arnona fund is designed precisely for this purpose.
Aliza Bloch, Photo: Naama Stern
In the old city of Beit Shemesh there are neighborhoods in need of evacuation-reconstruction and National Outline Plan 38, the city is second to Jerusalem in terms of immigrant absorption, the city's municipal employment administration promotes training and employment courses for all residents, we invest tens of millions in infrastructure renewal, and every year we build hundreds of classrooms. These are just some of the processes taking place in Beit Shemesh in recent years. They could not exist without our efforts in economic development. Any resource that is a reinforcement and acceleration of these processes is welcome as far as I am concerned.
It is important to understand that approval of the Arnona Fund is not set in stone. We can examine its effects in a few years, understand what we did right and where we need to improve. It is possible to examine how the authorities utilized the funds in their municipal activities, and then draw conclusions.
Distributive justice is not an empty slogan. Distributive justice is a deep understanding that not all local authorities are in the same place, and that society's resilience is determined by its ability to create partnerships that benefit everyone.
Shohat: "They could put their hand in their pocket"
We are told that the Arnona Fund is the key to solving the housing crisis, and it is the one that will help reduce the cost of living. The truth is that this is not even the beginning of a solution. In practice, no mayor will build new housing units that will cause him to lose money. The incentives for the construction of housing units are far from enough, and the Arnona Fund will certainly not provide a response.
Or Yehuda, which I head, is a Likud city. A city with a diverse population and socioeconomic cross-section is not among the highest in the Ono Valley. A city with complexities that needed thorough and multi-systemic treatment to exploit its potential.
Liat Shohat, Photo: Ami Shumen
In 2017, I signed an umbrella agreement with the Israeli government headed by Netanyahu. In the agreement, which is welcome for us, we agreed that the municipality under my leadership would build thousands of housing units, which are so important to the state, and that we would win in return for promoting commercial and employment areas.
The umbrella agreement is a turning point for the city. Through the housing units we promoted, we received a budget to upgrade veteran infrastructure, while improving the basket of services provided to residents. Today we are in the midst of a process, in which the city is becoming the leading city in investment per resident in every parameter.
You could say that in those days I actually went under the stretcher, because it was a national need. Now the state is telling my residents - forget what we agreed then, there are new rules, you will build - and others will accept. Moreover, she tells the residents that the taxes you pay are not enough, and along the way you will be deprived of the services you receive in welfare, culture and leisure – despite her commitment to the agreement signed between us.
Or Yehuda Municipality Building (Archive), photo: Yossi Hai Hanukkah
NIS 73 million – this is the amount Or Yehuda will have to pay to other cities by 2030. A city like Or Yehuda, which must invest much more than other cities in areas such as education and welfare, will have to make do with little and give its residents much less. To this I cannot agree.
Our residents understand very well that the government could have put its hand in its own pocket – after all, it is a national mission to encourage construction. Instead, the state puts its hand in their pockets, leaving them with the problem of the housing crisis.
This is a risky move. The Likud was and will always remain the most important social party in Israel, but this government, elected under the banners of concern and compassion, must find other solutions.
I expect elected officials to understand the harm inherent in this tax and to look for a different direction. I ask from the bottom of my heart that first of all, this bad law be removed from the Arrangements Law in favor of a thorough and orderly discussion. There are many ways to do distributive justice, this is not the way.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us