Maale Adumim, which most resident would agree has an outstanding standard of living, is raising its city rates by approximately 6%. This after many years of having very subsidised rates compared to other cities, in particular Jerusalem.
Despite the relatively low rates, Maale Adumim is a very well kept city and consistently wins awards for being so.
However, Maale Adumim is no longer the small settlement it started out as. There are almost 50,000 residents and an infrastructure that (whether cleaning, roads or education) must be maintained while costs only increase.
The city's budget is made up, in no small part, by rates and building fees, the former, untill now being subsidised by the government.
It is reasonable that at some stage, the government would require that the city become more self sufficient, which means an increase in rates.
Of course this decision has caused a minor furore with the loudest wailing coming from the city representatives of the section of Israeli society that would spend all their time in Kolelim if they could and would turn Maale Adumim into a welfare city like Beit Shemesh, Betar and Modiin Elite.
The city should not succumb to pressure and apply the rate increase as soon as possible.
As an aside, the issue of people dividing up their houses into apartments came up this week. My future neighbor (we are building on two adjacent plots), who's father bought him the plot of land so that he would live in Maale Adumim even though he would rather live in the Tel Aviv area, let slip that he was intending to divide a whole floor into two apartments, because otherwise he couldn't afford his rates.
I very politely suggested that maybe he consider building a smaller house, and then let him know (because its better to be up front and honest about these things), that the day he starts dividing up his house, will be the day that he (and the city) gets as huge a civil suit as the courts will allow, for depreciating the value of my house and the street. That is why the city, when giving building permits, have a form that the owners have to sign, indemnifying the city from suits filed in civil court.
In a conversation with a city employee on this issue, I was informed that the city's power to sue people who illegally divide up their apartments is much less than that of a citizen. This seems to be accurate and to anyone who suffers from excess noise, lack of parking and overloaded infrastructure, may I suggest that being "a good neighbor" and suffering in silence (there are a lot of you) is tantamount to being a sucker of the first order.
I did explain to my rather shocked future neighbor what my reasoning was, however I don't think we are on the same page.
Friday, December 4, 2009
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