Comments from readers are more interesting than the ST report.

[General Veers]

Singapore
Mar 22, 2010

Town councils not raising fees
But some say rising costs make it hard to keep conservancy fees at current rates

<!-- by line --> By Carolyn Quek
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-- ST FILE PHOTO

<!-- story content : start --> RESIDENTS outside of Aljunied and Jurong can breathe easy for now, as most town councils say they will not be raising their conservancy fees just yet. Aljunied and Jurong town councils announced two weeks ago that they will be increasing their service and conservancy (S&C) fees from next month, due to higher operating and maintenance costs. However, 13 of the 14 remaining town councils say they will not be raising their fees just yet. The last town council - Hougang - did not respond to queries. But some did say rising costs have made it increasingly difficult for them to maintain the status quo. Aljunied and Jurong town councils had made known to their residents that they will raise monthly conservancy charges by between 50 cents and $4.50 for Singapore home owners, depending on the type of flat. The increase for permanent residents and foreigners will be between $2.80 and $7.50.

Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
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[General Veers]

Latest comments

<table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table class="Post" style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Maybe also its b'cos their "Dogs" need to make more Money to buy Flasher,Faster Cars ..like Eric Howe praising and thanking his Parents.

Maybe we should arsk Ong Arr Heng why he thinks a "local" Old worker is better off being replaced by a" Cheaper" Foreign worker and yet they still need to raised fees.

Wah! This kind of Business...Pow Than ( sure make Money )
No wonder the Lim Siow Siow says he can't hear us. No wonder they agree that successfulman and womanising is part of work risk and is acceptable.

No extra Money how to maintain "Mistress" ???

</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Posted by: MaluforSG at Mon Mar 22 10:42:37 SGT 2010
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table class="AlternatePost" style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">
These two town councils got impresssive projects coming up ma. So can take this opportunity to raise the fees lor.
Ha ha ha!

</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Posted by: Great.Asia at Mon Mar 22 10:37:55 SGT 2010
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table class="Post" style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">
My guess is that those that raise the charges is testing the ground.. The question to ask for those who have decided not to do so .. is for how long will they defer ? And when they decide to increase will it be a quantum jump ?

Some councils have lost money through the mini-bonds , and to raise it now... will they incur the wrath of residents ?
May be after election... perhaps ?

</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Posted by: kokoobird at Mon Mar 22 10:32:10 SGT 2010
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table class="AlternatePost" style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">
Basically, all 70% of Singaporeans are "Just being Screewed" inside and outside ,year after year . You have got no choice, my fren..except to migrate ( which is not logical, since this is also yr homeland ).

Our Problem is that "These lot of Pappies" and its servants have become too "arrogant and are tyrants" It is quite obvious that they have suffered Major loses in their recent investments and are makingup for the losses. No body was reprimanded and No heads were made to roll --funny ,Double Standards.

Wonder how the New Citizens will feel ,5 to 8 yrs down the road...after all these "Honeymoon" and "courtship" with Pro Foreigners Programme and Integration Programmes.

</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Posted by: MaluforSG at Mon Mar 22 10:27:11 SGT 2010
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left"><table class="Post" style="width: 100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">@ lobo_respawned / Today, 09:30 AM

"Doraisamy,
It should be: it doesn't make sense to increase the charges, when they said, not so long ago, that they had 2 billion dollars(?) with which to play in the stock market".

Here's an interesting article on that claimed surplus of S$ 2 billion..

http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/...rease-charges/

The Jurong and Aljunied PAP Town Councils have given notice that they will increase the Service and Conservancy charges from 01 April 2010. If you are not affected by the increase... Be patient...

.. the notice of increase in S & C charges by the other PAP Town Councils will be sent out AFTER the GE.

</td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align: top;" align="left">Posted by: WhiteonWhite at Mon Mar 22 10:03:41 SGT
2010



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[myfoot123]

Other town councils are not raising fee yet (for fear of affecting their vote).
After election, all PAP town councils will be out and about to suck bloods again. Not difficult to guess unless Singaporans have no intelligence.

 

[po2wq]

town councils shud do as wat ah vivian wants peasants 2 do 4 his yog ... do it free! ...

wonder y town councils r not enthusiastic abt it ...

 

[makapaaa]

<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD><TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead vAlign=top><TD class=msgF width="1%" noWrap align=right>From: </TD><TD class=msgFname width="68%" noWrap>makapa <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate width="30%" noWrap align=right>10:22 pm </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT height=20 width="1%" noWrap align=right>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname width="68%" noWrap>makapa <NOBR></NOBR>unread</TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft rowSpan=4 width="1%"> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right> </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/03/2-billion-in-pap-town-councils%E2%80%99-sinking-funds-but-need-to-increase-charges/
Thursday, March 18, 2010 12:25

$2 billion in PAP town councils’ sinking funds but need to increase charges?


In Economics, Main Stories, The Singapore Model, Top Story • 3,763 views • 86 Comments

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_________________________________________
By Leong Sze Hian & Andrew Loh

Jurong (JTC) and Aljunied Town Councils’ (ATC) Service and Conservancy Charges (S & CC) will increase for all flat types on 1 April.
As Singapore is just coming out of its worse recession, with the economy contracting by two per cent last year and also contracting by 2.8 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis in the last quarter of last year, unemployment still high at an average of 87,000 for 2009, wages falling by 3.2 per cent in real terms in 2009, and wage cuts that may not have been restored, I would like to suggest that we be cautious in starting to raise fees so soon.
For example, it was also announced recently that Polytechnic and Institute of Technical Education (ITE) fees will also go up from 1 April.
According to Jurong Town Council’s annual report for 2008/2009, it had a surplus for the year of $1.5 million, and an accumulated surplus of $3.2 million.

This is after transferring $11.7 million to the sinking fund, giving a total reserve of $79.3 million.
For Aljunied Town Council, the surplus for the year was $2.8 million and total town council funds were $59.5 million.
So, why is there a pressing need to increase S & CC so soon?
Even if we have to increase S & CC, those in 1 and 2-room HDB flats should be spared, as their median monthly household income from work declined by a whopping 13.9 per cent in 2009, according to the Department of Statistics’ Household Income Trends 2009 report.
Also, why is it that S & CC in the opposition wards Potong Pasir and Hougang are now lower than Jurong and Aljunied, for all flat types, except for 2-room flats in Hougang which at $28.50 is 50 cents more than Jurong and Aljunied?
According to media reports, Government grants in 2005 per household were $560 for Aljunied, compared to $114 and $111 for Potong Pasir and Hougang respectively.
For 2009, Government grants for Aljunied, Jurong, Potong Pasir and Hougang, were $9.1, $9.1, $0.75 and $0.94 million respectively.
So, even after adjusting for the smaller number of households in Potong Pasir and Hougang, it would appear that Government grants may still be substantially higher per household for Aljunied and Hougang.
If this is the case, why is it that S & CC in Aljunied and Jurong are higher, despite higher Government grants?
The fact that the last reported statistic that three to nine per cent of households were in arrears of more than three months on their S & CC, may indicate that many Singaporeans may still be in financial difficulties.
I hope that other town councils and service providers will not also increase their fees so soon too.
Readers will remember that in 2008, the Straits Times reported:

… the$2 billionin the sinking funds its [the PAP’s] 14 town councils manage is in good hands, said Mr Khaw Boon Wan, the party’s first organising secretary.
​

TOC had asked then:

It would thus seem that in a year which saw the worst financial crisis in decades, Singapore seeing record inflation and our town councils being affected by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the town councils have been able to effectively double its sinking funds.
The question one would ask is: How did this happen? Were returns from investments so good? Or are town councils collecting unnecessary excess of service and conservancy charges?
How did the sinking funds grow from $1 billion to $2 billion within the space of one year in such an adverse economic climate?
​

Perhaps before PAP town councils are allowed to increase S&C charges, these questions should be answered first.

Straits Times, December 2008​

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[Brightkid]

If my memory is still intact, PAPa said that GRC is to enable them to pool their resources and becos of economy of scale, they can offer much better service at much reduced rates......something that opposition wards cannot achieve.

Now who is crying to increase rates due to cannot maintain the costs? Opposition with their single seat ward ?

Someone is not telling the truth here.

 

[rodent2005]

If my memory is still intact, PAPa said that GRC is to enable them to pool their resources and becos of economy of scale, they can offer much better service at much reduced rates......something that opposition wards cannot achieve.

Now who is crying to increase rates due to cannot maintain the costs? Opposition with their single seat ward ?

Someone is not telling the truth here.

Long ago, everything was under HDB. Isn't that a bigger economy of scale?

Then the PAP came up with Town Councils and said that they are better than HDB.

Now PAP flipflopped again and said combine Town Councils to have bigger economy of scale.

The PAP took a working system, destroyed it, created a problem and now said they have the solution to the problem they created in the first place. Only stupid Singaporeans believe so much in the PAP, and for that, stupid Singaporeans deserve to be screwed.

 

[balajii]

the CB PAP can afford to spend 10million to help FTs integrate. why need to increase SC?:oIo:

 

[gone4good]

The FACT that they have managed to accumulated a healthy surplus from previous years show that the cost of operations is very much lower than conservancy charges collected from residents. Unless they can show us a detailed breakdown of the cost of operations is higher than conservancy charges at current time, there is no reason for them to increase. The way they try to force the increase is weak and have no evidences to back it up. Everyone can easily use rising costs as an excuse. TC is not meant to be a profitable institution and its main focus should be serving the residents.

 

[Watchman]

The FACT that they have managed to accumulated a healthy surplus from previous years show that the cost of operations is very much lower than conservancy charges collected from residents. Unless they can show us a detailed breakdown of the cost of operations is higher than conservancy charges at current time, there is no reason for them to increase. The way they try to force the increase is weak and have no evidences to back it up. Everyone can easily use rising costs as an excuse. TC is not meant to be a profitable institution and its main focus should be serving the residents.

It's always kickbacks and more kickbacks . Town Council staff need to go on group holidays .