The Hebron Municipality held a meeting at the Child Happiness Complex on the municipality’s general budget for the year 2024, with the participation of the Accountants Syndicate in the Hebron Governorate, and representatives of the local community and its institutions, in line with the municipal council’s policy of strengthening the relationship with partners and the importance of informing the public of the municipality’s financial status.

This meeting comes within the framework of adopting management and good governance policies and enhancing governance principles, including disclosure, transparency and community participation policies. The Head of the Budget and Property Department at the Municipality, Mr. Khader Al-Sagheer, presented the municipality’s general budget for the year 2024, which was approved by the Ministry of Local Government and published on the municipality’s official website. It was presented in the form of a readable budget, or what is known as the (citizen’s budget), which answers the
important budget questions in a simplified manner: Where does the municipality’s money come from? And where does the municipality’s money go?

The presentation included a classification of revenues into several items, the most important of which are revenues from operational and investment activities and external grants, which are distributed among revenues from water and sanitation activities, revenues from health, environment, public safety, organization, construction, cultural, social and recreational activities implemented by the municipality’s social centers, in addition to revenues from various fees, fines, violations and rents generated from municipal properties. As for revenues from grants, they come from external financiers and are distributed under the supervision of the Municipal Development and Lending Fund. Revenues from investment were also presented, which include the annual profits distributed from Hebron Electricity and other projects.

The most important expenditure items were presented in a
simplified manner, which are distributed among public projects related to infrastructure, such as roads, water and sewage networks, and buildings, in addition to the expenses allocated to acquire fixed assets such as land, vehicles, machinery, equipment, and devices, and expenses related to health, waste, and engineering services, and expenses allocated to cultural, social, sports, and recreational facilities. The remaining allocations are distributed among the operating expenses of other facilities such as the vegetable market, the car inspection station, the slaughterhouse, the central vehicle station, the expenses of the administrative apparatus, the salaries of the various municipality staff, and other general expenses.

The most prominent challenges and obstacles facing the municipality were also presented due to the difficult circumstances we are currently experiencing and the repercussions of the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip on the situation in the West Bank, which affects daily income and liquidity r
ates, which is reflected in the municipality’s ability to spend on operational activities and infrastructure projects. Accordingly, it was explained to the attendees that the municipality has adopted an austere plan for the current year 2024, and many projects and expenses have been postponed to avoid financial hardship due to the expected decline in liquidity. At the end of the meeting, the attendees discussed many accounting issues and future projects.

Source: Maan News Agency