Services provided by local government include education, culture, health,
social welfare, road maintenance, public parks, water, and sanitation. Each
local authority functions through by-laws complementing national laws, which
have been approved by the Ministry of the Interior. Some authorities operate
special courts in which transgressors of local by-laws are tried. Financing for
local authorities comes from local taxes, as well as allocations from the state
budget. Every authority has a comptroller who prepares an annual report.
The law recognizes three types of local authorities: municipalities, which
provide the framework for urban centers with populations of over 20,000; local
councils, which manage towns with populations of between 2,000 and 20,000; and
regional councils, which are responsible for several villages grouped within a
certain radius.
Each local authority is administered by a mayor or chairperson and a council.
The number of council members is determined by the Ministry of the Interior,
according to the authority's population. Currently there are 73 municipalities,
124 local councils and 54 regional councils.
All municipalities and local councils are united, on a voluntary basis, in a
central body, the Union of Local Authorities, which represents them before the
government, monitors relevant legislation in the Knesset and provides guidance
on issues such as work agreements and legal affairs. Affiliated with the
International Association of Municipalities, the union maintains ties with
similar organizations throughout the world, and arranges twin cities programs
and exchanges of international delegations.
- Israeli
municipalities and local government on Internet