Mayor Tsiki Avissar lost the majority in the council – is a management crisis expected in Kiryat Motzkin?

(live here) – The political upheaval in Kiryat Motzkin is reaching its peak: Council members Uri Sagi and Ofri Bettelman, who were part of Mayor Tsiki Avissar's faction, announced their resignation and joining the "United in Motzkin" faction led by Moshe Peretz from the opposition, and the faction now has 4 council members. Following the move, there has been a significant change in the balance of power in the council - the opposition has become the majority with 9 council members, compared to only 8 remaining in Avissar's coalition.

The political change presents the mayor with a significant administrative challenge, as he will now have to deal with a divided council – a situation that could make it difficult to make crucial decisions, pass budgets, and advance municipal initiatives. Will the municipality succeed in maintaining stability, or is Kiryat Motzkin facing a period of administrative paralysis?

At the same time, Eli Ben Hamo, who was number 3 on Gennady Dozortsev's list, "Motzkin Beitenu," joined the council last week. The council member who was number 2 in the faction, Semyon Miller, left, and Ben Hamo took his place. "The Motzkin Beitenu faction was in the coalition and will remain in the coalition," Ben Hamo said today, "The role of the Motzkin Beitenu party is to fight for the residents and give them a solution to any problem."

Withdrawing from the coalition: reasons and consequences

The main reason for Sagi and Bettelman's withdrawal from the coalition is the municipal budget for 2025, which was not passed at the last council meeting. Bettelman claimed that the budget does not provide a proper response to disadvantaged populations, especially single-parent families and families with children with special needs.

"As the representative of special families and single mothers, I acted according to my conscience," explained Bettelman. "The recent reforms and the approved budget are not beneficial to these populations, so I decided to join forces with other parties that will help advance the public good. Moshe Peretz, I and the other members of the opposition will do everything we can to improve the quality of life of special families and single mothers in the city."

Council member Uri Sagi: I entered politics out of a mission, but I quickly discovered a different reality

Council member Uri Sagi says that he was one of the founders of "New Spirit" in Motzkin out of a belief in change and improving the quality of life of residents. "I entered politics out of a mission, but I quickly discovered a different reality – power struggles, a lack of transparency, and conduct that did not seemingly put the public at the center. As chairman of the board of directors of the economic company, I sought to lead measures that would strengthen the city economically, but my proposals were repeatedly rejected for irrelevant considerations. Senior officials in the municipality and external consultants were given priority over elected officials, and the slander spread against me was not met with defense but with support for the spreaders. Attempts to oust me and prevent influence on key committees became routine. As a member of the Finance Committee, I demanded transparency in the budget but was refused. At the same time, I was asked to support a budget that included tax increases and fines – a direct harm to residents. I could not agree to this. Instead of bringing about change, the political system prevented real action. "Now I am choosing a new path with the "Motzkin United" faction with Attorney Moshe Peretz, Ofri Bettelman and Zablod Yaakov. My experience in industry, real estate and the capital market will allow me to act effectively for the benefit of the public. I am committed to transparency, integrity and an uncompromising fight for the residents of Kiryat Motzkin."

Adversarial council: a significant management challenge

An adversarial council is a situation in which the head of the local authority is elected from a particular list, but the majority of the council members do not belong to his coalition and even oppose his policies. In such a situation, the mayor is subject to a lot of pressure and needs to muster a majority to approve budgets, make decisions, and advance projects.

When there is deep political rivalry between the mayor and the council members, the result can be administrative gridlock, endless arguments, and repeated delays in municipal initiatives. Some cities that have previously encountered adversarial councils have faced serious difficulties in managing budgets, acute political tensions, and sometimes even the shutdown of essential municipal services.

The opposition demands an emergency meeting

Moshe Peretz, chairman of the "United in Motzkin" faction, which was joined by Sagi and Bettelman, explained that the opposition members asked the mayor to call an extraordinary meeting to discuss the budget, but were refused. According to him, the budget presented does not provide a sufficient response to the needs of the residents, and the opposition plans to propose significant changes, including canceling the salary of the deputy mayor, Gennady Dozortsev, in order to direct additional budgets for the benefit of the public.

"We are 10 council members who oppose the budget versus 7 who support it," Peretz said. "The mayor claims that there is no money in the coffers, but we want to see the full numbers and suggest ways to streamline. How can we approve a budget without getting clear answers to our questions? If the mayor is interested in cooperation, he must provide full transparency."

Peretz even wrote a letter to the district's supervisor at the Interior Ministry, Dror Soroka:

"On 11/02/2025, we addressed the mayor and the coordinator of council meetings, with a request to convene an extraordinary council meeting," he wrote, "in accordance with the provisions of the Municipalities Ordinance (new version) in Section 9 of the Second Supplement for Monday, 17/02/2025, but as of the date of writing these lines, the meeting had not been convened as requested and required by law... Therefore, we ask the Honorable Commissioner to order the convening of an extraordinary meeting at the earliest date permitted by law, no later than 72 hours from the receipt of this letter from us."

The municipality's response

The Kiryat Motzkin municipality rejects the opposition's claims and emphasizes that the 2025 budget was built from a comprehensive view of the residents' needs. According to the municipality, the budget places special emphasis on the areas of education, welfare, and infrastructure, and reflects the complex economic reality with which the municipality is dealing.

"The education budget has increased significantly and includes the construction of new classrooms at the Rivlin School, the opening of new educational institutions, free classes for first-grade students, and increased support for youth movements and sports," the municipality said.

In addition, the municipality emphasized that the budget includes significant investments in the city's infrastructure and appearance, including upgrading old neighborhoods, improving city parks, paving roads, and establishing new drainage systems to prevent winter flooding.

"Mayor Tsiki Avissar and the coalition members are confident that the budget will be approved," the municipality noted. "The mayor even instructed the municipality's CEO and the city treasurer to sit down with every council member who is interested, to clarify the details of the budget and ensure that all questions are answered."

Will the municipality succeed in dealing with a dominant opposition?

The retirement of Sagi and Bettelman and the fact that the opposition now holds a clear majority, place the municipality in a sensitive situation. If the mayor fails to reach an understanding with the council members who oppose him, there is a risk of administrative paralysis that will directly affect the residents of Kiryat Motzkin.

The main question is whether the mayor will choose the path of dialogue with the opposition and try to reach compromises that will enable the city to function, or whether the parties will try to impose their positions on each other - a situation that could lead to managerial uncertainty and the delay of vital projects.

In the meantime, the residents of Kiryat Motzkin will have to wait and see how things develop, and whether the city's leadership will succeed in maintaining stability despite the political upheavals.