Town Councils

Govt grants to Town Councils to cope with higher costs

All Town Councils in Singapore depend on government grants to offset their costs. In recent years, many costs, including that of electricity, manpower, construction and maintenance services, have gone up significantly. I asked the Minister for National Development if the Ministry has any plans to increase its grants to Town Councils to cope with these higher costs. Mr Desmond Lee acknowledged that TCs face higher costs. Although he did not immediately commit to increasing grants, he said the Government will continue to monitor the larger macroeconomic environment, the cost drivers affecting TCs, their income sources and overall financial positions, and assess if further funding support is required.

This was my full question and the Minister’s answer on 10 Jan 2023:

PLANS TO INCREASE GRANTS TO TOWN COUNCILS TO COPE WITH HIGHER COSTS

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry has any plans to increase its grant to Town Councils to cope with higher costs, including for electricity and other Town Council contracts.

Mr Desmond Lee: Town Councils (TCs) are autonomous legal entities formed under the TCs Act and managed by elected Members of Parliament. The TCs are responsible for their financial sustainability, through managing their income and expenses prudently.

We understand TCs face higher costs due to higher energy prices, manpower costs and costs of maintenance services. Such cost increases are not unique to Singapore and the Government has taken steps to partially cushion the impact on residents. To help TCs cope with costs, the Government provides grants such as the Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) Operating Grant, Lift Maintenance Grant, GST Subvention Grant and Lift Replacement Fund Matching Grant. Collectively, these grants to TCs amount to about $239 million a year.

The Government will continue to monitor the larger macroeconomic environment, cost drivers affecting TCs, their income sources and overall financial positions, and assess if further funding support is required.

Bird population control

My residents in Bedok Reservoir and Hougang have given me feedback on the nuisance caused by pigeons, crows, mynahs and even koels around their housing estates. The proliferation of the bird population is often a public hygiene, and in the case of crows, a safety issue, which worries residents.

The Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) has been doing its part to combat this problem. AHTC puts up banners to caution residents against bird feeding and works with residents to identify and report feeders. It advises food stall operators on proper food waste disposal methods, and our conservancy workers regularly remove unattended food sources. The Town Council also conducts regular tree pruning and, as a last resort, pigeon culling.

Despite all these efforts, the bird nuisance problem has persisted. NParks occasionally sets up crow traps, but these are rather ineffective as crows are intelligent creatures and tend not to fall for these traps.

I believe this problem is not unique to Aljunied-Hougang town. A national level effort by MND and its agencies may be needed to combat it. This may include more public education to discourage bird feeding, setting up CCTV monitoring and stepping up enforcement actions against bird feeders.

It would be helpful if NParks could regularly share with Town Councils its research and recommendations on best practices for controlling the population of various bird species. It could step up efforts to trap and relocate birds in areas where they are causing a nuisance to the public.

Together with the efforts of Town Councils, MND’s stepped up involvement could help residents and our avian friends to co-exist more peacefully in our urban environment.

Speech in Parliament during the Committee of Supply debate for the Ministry of National Development on 8 Mar 2022.

Town improvement costs

Construction costs have skyrocketed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The price of materials has shot up, wages have increased and the cost of bringing in foreign workers is also elevated. The construction industry’s confidence has been shaken of late, resulting in shorter payment terms and demands for higher upfront payments.

Against this backdrop, it is not surprising that recent bid prices for town improvement projects, like the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP), are up to 50% higher than pre-tender estimates. Yet HDB’s grants to town councils have not kept up with these price increases.

Some may suggest that town councils’ existing funds can be used to cover the cost increases. However, doing so will be unfair to the majority of residents, as each project mainly benefits residents living in a particular precinct. It is also unfair for residents in those precincts if the new projects are pared down to meet the original budget.

I have three suggestions.

First, can HDB temporarily increase its NRP grants to town councils to cover these short-term cost increases?

Second, can HDB provide contractors and subcontractors for town improvement projects some price protection for raw materials like steel and concrete, similar to that of HDB’s BTO projects. This will better ensure residents receive comparable amenities regardless of market conditions at the time of tendering.

Third, can the Ministry explore more measures to restore confidence among construction firms so as to ameliorate the need for onerous upfront payment terms. This could help to temper price increases across the industry.

This is a “cut” I made for the Ministry of National Development’s Committee of Supply debate on 8 Mar 2022.

Opposition wards achieve more with less

The Straits Times carried a commentary by one of its journalists today criticizing the Government’s handling of the Town Council Management Report (TCMR). The journalist gave the Government “at best an E -” grade for “effort”. In other words, the Government failed miserably. (In the ‘O’ levels, a ‘D’ is already a failing grade.)

My 13 June blog post, Underwhelmed by town council report, was quoted in the ST article:

Workers’ Party member Gerald Giam wrote on his blog: ‘Why does the MND suddenly feel the urge to tell residents what they should think of their town councils, and by extension, their MPs?

‘Residents are personally affected by their town council’s performance. If they feel that their MPs are not performing, they would have voted them out long ago.’

— “Perception of bias dents report’s credibility”, Straits Times, 3 July 2010.

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‘Underwhelmed’ by Town Council report

Residents are personally affected by their Town Councils’ performance. If they feel that their MPs are not performing, they would have voted them out long ago. But the two opposition MPs have been returned to office again and again for the last 18 to 25 years–longer than any other PAP MPs save one. Why does MND suddenly feel the urge to tell residents what they should think of their TCs?

It is hard to contain one’s scepticism when reading the news about the Town Council Management Report (TCMR).

The Straits Times reported on Friday:

The two best performers are Ang Mo Kio-Yio Chu Kang led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and Tanjong Pagar headed by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, according to the government’s Town Council Management Report.

The two worst performers are run by the opposition: Hougang, by the Workers’ Party’s Low Thia Khiang, and Potong Pasir by the Singapore People’s Party’s Chiam See Tong.

Isn’t it interesting that the two Town Councils (TCs) that “top” the report are the ones “headed” by the PM Lee and MM Lee, and the two “worst performers” are those headed by opposition MPs? (Technically the two Lees do not head their Town Councils. They have delegated that less glamorous job to their backbencher MPs.)

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Revamp the role of MPs to attract potential ministers

The Straits Times did an Insight piece about PAP MP Hri Kumar’s controversial proposal of having nominated (non-elected) ministers. They quoted some comments I made on my previous blog post:

For administrative aspects, there are already people like the permanent secretaries heading the various ministries, he notes.

The view is shared by IT consultant Gerald Giam, a founding member of the socio-political blog The Online Citizen.

He writes on his blog that ministers need to have the common touch; they need to be people who can empathise with ordinary Singaporeans.

‘If we open the doors to this segment of society to lead us, we will be fishing from the wrong pond. We will, in the long run, attract the wrong sort of people to lead our country – people with a different set of values and motivations,’ he says.

Mr Giam, Mr Siew and Dr Tan all say that a parallel cannot be drawn between Singapore’s parliamentary system and the presidential system in the United States, where the Cabinet is made up of people who are appointed, not elected.

Some friends have expressed to me publicly and privately that they in principle support the idea of non-elected ministers because some ministries (e.g., finance) need “technocratic minds”. However, I still maintain my disagreement with the idea.

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