Kiryat Motzkin Mayor Proposes Merging Kiryat Haim to Boost City's Economy
The mayor of Kiryat Motzkin, Tsiki Avissar, is pushing a year-long initiative to merge Kiryat Haim, a neighborhood of approximately 33,000 residents currently under Haifa's municipal jurisdiction, into Kiryat Motzkin. Avissar argues that the current municipal boundary is an "historical distortion" and that the merger would provide Kiryat Haim residents with better municipal services and improve the economic standing of both cities. He believes Haifa's municipality "takes all the economic benefit" from Kiryat Haim's industrial areas while returning little to its residents, who also bear environmental burdens.
Avissar contends that Kiryat Motzkin has exhausted its land reserves for commercial and industrial development, hindering its revenue streams beyond residential taxes. Kiryat Haim, conversely, possesses income-generating territories. He asserts that merging Kiryat Haim would lead to improved municipal services within one fiscal year and that the current situation is unsustainable. He also suggests that a majority of Kiryat Haim residents would favor joining Kiryat Motzkin if given the choice.
Regarding Haifa's mayor, Yona Yahav, Avissar notes Yahav's dismissive attitude towards the merger proposal but expresses personal respect for Yahav's intellect. Avissar criticizes Haifa as a "weak metropolis" suffering from two decades of decline, attributing this to a lack of effective leadership in interacting with the national government and insufficient investment in the city's metropolitan role. He extends this criticism to Haifa's handling of infrastructure projects like the railway, which he believes hinders regional development.
Looking at Kiryat Motzkin's future, Avissar emphasizes urban renewal as the primary growth strategy, with plans for extensive high-rise construction to accommodate new housing units. He also highlights security concerns, including earthquake preparedness and the need for immediate access to protected spaces against ballistic threats. Economically, Avissar warns that Kiryat Motzkin faces insolvency due to a low proportion of non-residential tax revenue, despite cost-saving measures. He credits the Netanyahu government, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, and former Interior Minister Moshe Arbel for recent changes in grant formulas that have benefited Kiryat Motzkin.
Avissar is also tackling social issues, including a crackdown on properties used for prostitution, aiming to disrupt the operations of clients, pimps, and property owners. In a separate conflict, he is engaged in a public dispute with animal rights activist Michelle Tronny over the culling of jackals, defending the municipality's policy as necessary for public safety and based on scientific expertise, dismissing online criticism as uninformed.
Furthermore, Avissar has publicly criticized Education Minister Yoav Kisch, deeming him unfit for his role. This stems from a dispute over the ministry's alleged failure to fully reimburse Kiryat Motzkin for expenses incurred while hosting students evacuated during wartime. Avissar accuses Kisch of being unresponsive and dismissive, leading to public protests against the minister. He believes Kisch's focus on strengthening Jewish identity in education detracts from crucial investments in STEM fields and teacher training.
