Weekly Update 30

March 21, 2025

Hello, everyone.

Summary

First item: Yesterday we received the council’s budget for 2025, which will be put to a vote on April 1. We need to sit down and study it in depth, but one thing stands out—an annual budget increase of 1.24 million NIS (approximately 930,000 NIS for nine months) to fund the two new deputy mayors—to the best of our knowledge, Zila Reshef at 100% full-time (after she declared during the election that she would not sit with Eli “we don’t share the same set of values” “I will not sit on the same side of the table with Eli Abutbul”) and Meir Vanunu on a 60% basis. These are the two most unnecessary positions, whose sole purpose is to buy a coalition with money.

Second topic: Introduction to the council committees

Third topic: The fight to continue organic waste separation in the community

First topic: Yesterday we received the council budget that will be put to a vote on April 1. We need to sit down and study it in depth, but one thing stands out—an annual budget increase of 1.24 million NIS to fund the two new deputy mayors: Zila Reshef in a full-time position (after she declared during the election “I will not sit on the same side of the table with Eli Abutbul” because they “do not share the same set of values”) and Meir Vanunu at 60% capacity. These are the two most unnecessary positions, whose sole purpose is to buy a coalition with money. In my estimation, one is for his actions before the election, and the other is for her actions after the election.

I have no doubt that the council head will “justify” the urgent need for two deputies by saying there is a lot of work and he needs the help of these two in managing the council, which has many needs. I ask you not to buy into this argument because the council head manages everything alone; every issue, big or small, goes through him and is approved only by him. So he has no real need for “help,” but he does have a real need to buy a coalition with money.

Second issue: Local authority committees

The Local Authorities Law mandates a number of mandatory committees. Committees that must exist in every municipality are appointed by the council plenary. In addition to these, the council plenary may also establish and define optional committees.

The council plenary convenes only once a month and cannot delve deeply into every issue. That is the purpose of the committees—to examine matters in depth together with the council’s professional staff, who also sit on the committee.

For some committees, such as the one I chair, the committee’s success in advancing policy and change depends on the head of the local authority. Only he has the power to promote and budget for the actions the committee recommends.

On the council’s website, you can find a list of all the committees, their chairs, and their members.

https://www.zy1882.co.il/Branches/Branch.aspx?nodeId=1277&branchId=1665

Let’s start with the committees required by law:

Committee Name	Who chairs it and from which party
Executive Committee	Not known to exist – not elected by the Council plenary
Security and Emergency Management Committee	Eli Abutbul, Council Chair
Environmental Committee	Limor Zar Gutman, For the Sake of the Moshava
Road Safety Committee	Not known to exist—not elected by the Council Plenary
Audit Committee	Dudi Rosenzwig, New Contract
Discounts Committee	Natanel Goldberg, new contract
Committee for Combating Drug Abuse and Eradicating Violence	Eli Abutbul, Council Chair
General Property Tax Appeals Committee	Attorney Hagai Marom (external paid professional representative)
Committee for Immigrant Absorption	Odelia Kadmi, The Jewish Home
Tender Committee	Yigal Hakar, New Contract
Procurement and Inventory Committee	Professional Committee for Treasury Management
Subsidies Committee	Council Employees
Commemoration Committee	Tzachi Baruch, A Memory in the Heart
Land and Building Allocation Committee – *A very important committee to which I will dedicate a separate newsletter.	A committee composed solely of council employees: Secretary, Treasurer, Legal Advisor, Engineer, Property Manager
Site Preservation Committee	Eli Abutbul – Council Head

One of the most important mandatory committees—the Planning and Construction Committee—does not exist in Zichron Yaakov because we belong to the Samaria Regional Planning and Construction Committee. This is a committee that brings together several communities, and we have two representatives on it.

Optional committees. There is no legal limit on the number of optional committees that can be established.

Education Committee	The Council Head established an Education Council, which he chairs.
Transportation Committee	Avigayil Dolev, “Lema’an HaMoshava” party
Public Place Names Committee	Tzila Reshef, Zichron Lev
Honorary Citizen Committee	Ilan Amrani, Lema’an HaMoshava Party

The committee chair is its key figure; the committee must convene once a quarter. However, the chair may convene it at any time. The chair sets the committee’s agenda and thus influences what will be discussed. The chair is expected to prepare background materials and invite experts to the committee. The chair manages and guides the meeting.

As chair of the Environmental Quality Committee, I ensured that several residents knowledgeable about environmental issues serve as permanent observers on the committee. Although by law only permanent committee members have the right to vote, I make sure to conduct the meetings so that everyone participates, contributes, and reaches agreements. Ms. Talia Tavor, Head of the Council’s Environmental Quality and Sustainability Department, serves as a permanent member of my committee. The committee works in close collaboration with her.

My committee also holds joint meetings with the council chair on topics he can advance—such as urban heat mitigation through shading, green building, and more. This is a major and important project; I hope we succeed, and then I’ll be able to write about it.

The committee chair is responsible for the proper management and publication of the meeting minutes. You can find the minutes of the Environmental Quality Committee at the following link.

https://www.zy1882.co.il/FileDownloads/?nodeId=1602

My committee leads us to the third topic of this newsletter: the cessation of organic waste separation in Zichron Yaakov

The Environmental Quality Committee was called to an emergency meeting this week devoted entirely to this issue. The committee’s deliberations allowed us to obtain all the details available at the time of the discussion, hold a comprehensive debate on the matter, and understand that there are many considerations involved.

The issue of organic waste separation in Israel began in 2011 under Environment Minister Ardan, who invested in and promoted the initiative. The then-mayor, Eli Abutbul, secured a budget from the Ministry of the Environment primarily for the purchase of brown bins and added Zichron Yaakov to the list of recycling communities. An agreement was also signed with the Beit El community to establish a site for organic waste recycling and a site for garden waste recycling. It took several years for the Beit El community to establish the recycling site, but it accepts only clean garden waste. Consequently, the council is forced to pay for the transportation of the organic waste collected to the site in the Emek Hefer Industrial Zone.

Over the years, the State of Israel has not taken action to address this issue—the state has not established a single facility for treating organic waste, nor has it assisted the local authorities that have done so. The grim reality is that out of 30 local authorities that began the project, only 5 remain today: 4 of them are regional councils, and Zichron Yaakov is the only local authority in Israel that separates organic waste. And there are only two private recycling/treatment sites for organic waste, instead of the dozens of facilities the state was supposed to establish.

The amount of organic waste collected in Zichron Yaakov is less than expected—a few hundred tons per year—a fact that also drives up costs. Compared to the landfill costs for regular waste, the council will be required to allocate additional funds for organic waste in the coming year as well. I don’t know exactly what the difference is because the budget presented to us shows a single total amount for all waste.

The previous council head, Ziv Deshe, was willing to cover the difference in past years as part of the council budget, reflecting an environmental philosophy. The current council head apparently refuses. It must be remembered that the state is the one that neglected this area and left Zichron Yaakov to bear the costs alone. The current council head wants to continue the initiative that took shape during the previous term and implement the orange bins, which will soon be introduced to the town and will change the recycling sites throughout the town, potentially saving money that can be allocated to organic waste. Again, this needs to be clarified during the budget discussions.

Another point that came up in our comprehensive discussion is that there may be a positive change in this area over the coming year, as the Ministry of Environmental Protection is set to incentivize local authorities through calls for proposals that will bring in resources. So it may be worthwhile to continue until the end of 2025 and then make a decision. In the meantime, we should continue to “subsidize” the cost of organic waste separation because sustainability is not a luxury—it is our duty to future generations on this planet.

The budget meeting that will decide on this matter is scheduled for April 1. So we’ll know soon.