UBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" Budget battles Wednesday, June 2, 2010       20 Sivan, 5770        -- create JPOST.COM your Home Page       -- --   Home | Headlines | Iranian Threat | Jewish World | idea | Trade | true Estate | Local Israel | Blogs | Arts & Culture | Français  | Classifieds  Israel | Middle East | International | Health & Sci-Tech | Features | go | Cafe Oleh | Magazine | Sports | Christian World | Subscribe | Services Archives JP Toolbar Christian World Youth Magazines RSS Feeds News Ticker More Services JPost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Rentals Philanthropy Green Israel Israel Real Estate Car Rentals Learn Hebrew Israel Guide JPost Mall Links aid Israeli Children Advertise on JPost Media Kit לימוד אנגלית Astrology Sitemap      Breaking News     JPost.com Christian In Israel Features   .large_body p, .large_body span { font-size: 18px; } .small_body p, .small_body span { font-size: 12px; } Budget battles By JESSE FOX 04/29/2010 12:37   A battle over budget transparency is portion of the growing trend to demand greater openness from the Tel Aviv Municipality.Late last year, for the first time ever, the Tel Aviv Municipality posted a draft of its budget for the coming year on its website. The city commands an enormous annual budget of NIS 4.24 billion, which covers everything from paving streets and bike lanes to paying the salaries of municipal workers.The document supplies a detailed list of the city’s spending priorities. Nonetheless, spread over almost 1,000 pages, on three dense pdf files, it was hardly an easy read. Ir Likulanu (City for All), a party on the city council, submitted a motion requesting that the budget be released in a more accessible format, one which would allow for easier analysis.As proof that this was a reasonable demand, party activists pointed to a directive issued by President Barack Obama just one day after his inauguration, requiring US government agencies to “publish information online in an open format that can be retrieved, download, indexed and searched by commonly used web search applications.”Their motion, even so, was rejected by the city council, which on December 28 of last year approved the municipal budget for 2010.Ir Likulanu, along with the Movement for Freedom of Information, responded by taking the city to court, demanding that it release the budget data in a more open format (such as an Excel file). The Tel Aviv Municipality responded that the budget in its pdf form was, in fact, easy and convenient to use, that its publication fulfilled the letter of the law and that, for technical reasons, it was not feasible to publish the budget in any other form. In early April, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Oded Mudrik granted the municipality thirty days to reassess whether it has the technical means to release next year’s budget in a more open format, suggesting throughout the proceedings that an “enlightened” municipality should be able to meet this goal.       Rate this article         Talkback Add a Talkback describe Abuse Read all Talkbacks   Send big little Print part       Most Talkbacked IDF: Global Jihad links on flotillaFifty 'Mavi Marmara' riders tied to global jihad network.Talkbacks (136)06/01/2010 22:41'Equipment not in shortage in Gaza'Flotilla aid examined, sent to strip; 'Marmara' not inspected yet.Talkbacks (67)06/01/2010 22:00PM visits injured commandosFM tells ban UNSC resolution unacceptable, slams "double standards."Talkbacks (50)06/01/2010 15:53     Tel Aviv Municipality Tel Aviv Municipality Barack Obama Ir Likulanu Oded Mudrik       Israel Focus   Feed HUNGRY ChildrenThousands of desperate Israeli CHILDREN needyour help NOW   Check out our unique deals!   Jerusalem Post LiteLight Edition of the Jerusalem Post for English improvement Travel   Tamir Rent a carCar rental in Israel, special prices   Archeological Guided Tours     Web JPost.com     JPosts Sites: The Jerusalem Report JPost Mall Philantropy Center Green Israel Jpost Edition Francaise Invest in Israel Christian World America's Voices Our Magazines Sites Of Interest: Car Rental Israel Car Rental in Israel Jpost Store Israel Hotels Vacation Apt. Rentals Sderot Dove KKL-JNF Learn hebrew Poalim Online Web Hosting Providers BreitBart.com Maps of Israel Fundraising Ideas Prom dresses & gowns Prom dresses Jovani Israel travel Israel tours Help Children in Israel Our Friends Services: JPost Toolbar JPost News Ticker JPost RSS feeds News JP Subscriptions JPost Archives Learn English JPost Guides: Israel Guide Tour Guides Israel Attractions Information: About Us Feedback Staff E-mails Privacy Statement Copyright Sitemap Terms of Use News Partners Media Kit   About Us | Advertise with Us | Subscribe | Contact Us | RSS   © The Jerusalem Post 1995 - 2010 © 2010 Inter-Media