Israel’s local authorities say their biggest operational risk is no longer budgets, but the state’s rigid employment model, which makes it hard to recruit, retain, and reward skilled workers. The article says municipal employees are the force behind daily life for 10 million residents, and that the same people who keep cities running in routine times are also expected to handle emergencies, often without modern pay structures or flexible hiring rules.
Ramat Hasharon Mayor Itzik Ruchberger described an overnight escalation when fighting with Iran resumed. He said he had to summon senior managers and department heads to the municipal emergency room within minutes, even though many had young children at home, and that they worked through the night without any extra pay. “Everyone כמובן התייצבו,” he said, adding that the system is distorted because senior and mid-level municipal staff are stuck in rigid agreements that do not properly compensate overtime, on-call duty, night call-ups, weekends, or holidays.
The same problem, mayors and officials said, affects planning, infrastructure, IT, welfare, and engineering jobs across the country. Rehovot Mayor Matan Dil said municipalities are expected to run projects worth hundreds of millions of shekels, yet must rely on uniform salary scales that do not connect pay to responsibility or results. He called for controlled managerial autonomy, excellence tracks, individualized contracts, and differentiated incentives. In Mitzpe Ramon, council head Elia Winter said some crucial jobs remain vacant for months because applicants will not accept the pay and schedule limits, though he noted that targeted incentives for teachers quickly transformed recruitment.
Tira Mayor Mamoun Tariq Abd al-Hai said residents experience the consequences as delays in building permits, slower infrastructure work, and shortages in welfare and education, because there are too few engineers, inspectors, project managers, and social workers. Haggit Magen, the deputy director general for labor agreements and wages, said outdated rules still require notices in two newspapers, long waiting periods, and ministry approvals that cause employers to lose candidates and waste money that could go to welfare and education. She also said some jobs should no longer require a university degree. Local Government Center chairman Haim Bibas said the state must treat municipal workers as a national asset, improve wages, protection, and career prospects, and that the issue will be highlighted at the MUNIEXPO2026 conference on June 23 to 24.
