The Municipality of Salt is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

that covers the area in and around

Salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

, northwest of

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Etymology

The name ''Salt'' probably comes from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''saltus'' which means ''valley of trees'' or ''thick forest'' as there are many trees in the area. It could have also come from the Saranac ''salta'' meaning ''hard stone''.

History

's first municipality was established in 1887. Fayad Afandi Al-Suboh was the appointed the head of the municipality in the same year. At the time, the municipality was responsible for organizing roads and lighting, collecting taxes and tuition, water sanitation and facilities for both men and women, charging fines, etc. Many of these duties are still carried out today. In 1933 Salt became the first town in Jordan to open a school to all denominations of people. In 1938, the area suffered an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

, causing the destruction of many homes and buildings. But the Municipality soon took the lead on reconstruction initiatives. But population of Salt declined 30% between 1922 and 1938. Expansions over time have caused the Municipality to reconsider its defined territory, and the list of cities and towns has come to include Al Salt, Rai, Um Juzah, Wadi al Hura, Bazbadiya, Yaraqa, Ibra, Alan, and Rmemeen, many of which were already included, and many of which were new additions dated beck to 2001. The current mayor of Salt Municipality is Slameh Hiyari who was elected in 2007 after the former mayor Maher Abu Essamen (1999–2007).

Government and administrative blocks

Salameh Hiyari is the current president of the Municipality of Salt. The administration of Salt is divided into the following categories:

Management Unit of Salt Center Development Projects

The first manager of this unit is Montaser Hiyari "Architect". The unit was founded in 2005 to manage and supervise development projects inside the city center.

The "Diwan"

The "Diwan" is responsible for managing requests made of the Municipality and keeping record of the tasks carried out by other administrative blocks.

Planning and Organization

Planning and Organization division is in charge of communication.

Services and Engineering Works

Services and Engineering Works maintains roads and buildings. It opens, closes, and builds new roads.

Studies and Development

Studies and Development prepares the designs and studies projects that the city is working on, trains new staff, and studies geographical features of the area.

Financial

The Financial division handles all of the city's financial affairs such as incomes, revenues, expenses, and budgeting.

Environment and Health

Environment and Health division works on improving health care services provided by the municipality. Apart from a medical facility, it manages the control of pests, and surveys public health.

Libraries

The Libraries division handles the municipality's 14,000 volume library.

Media and Public Relations

All parties, events, and publications put out by the municipality are organized by the Media and Public Relations division. It also supplies reports and other media to local publications and newspapers.

Storage

The Storage division handles all spending and organizes data.

Legal

The Legal division is responsible for all legal matters with citizens and manages bills paid by citizens.

References

External links

Municipality of Salt government website
{{coord missing, Jordan Populated places in Balqa Governorate Municipalities in Jordan