<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published September 24, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Town councils to be graded by MND
Areas of assessment include cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance
By UMA SHANKARI
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>SINGAPORE'S 16 town councils will be benchmarked according to four key areas outlined in the finalised Town Council Management Report (TCMR) framework, which was released yesterday.
The town councils and the estates that they manage will be assessed on cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance and also how they manage service & conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears.
To do this, the Ministry of National Development (MND), which released the framework, will be looking at six indicators - including the average number of cleanliness defects per block, the lift breakdown rate and the proportion of residents with overdue S&CC payments.
The town councils will be graded against a common scale, from levels one to five. However, they will not be ranked in comparison to one another.
In addition, the TCMR will also not evaluate the use of each town council's sinking funds, as this is dependent on the town's plans and profile, said MND. But the ministry will look into the feasibility of getting the town councils to declare their financial adequacy based on cyclical maintenance plans over a stated time horizon of about five years or so.
Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu said that the TCMR is intended to be a simple and easy to understand report that summarises key information on the core areas of town councils' estate management functions.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'The objective of the TCMR is really to build up the nexus between town councils and residents,' said Ms Fu.
The framework will be reviewed over time and expanded where necessary, MND said.
For now, MND will evaluate the town councils both by gathering its own data - from site inspections by HDB - as well as using data provided by the town councils. Data collection for the TCMR will begin on Oct 1, and the results of the first TCMR will be ready in the second quarter of 2010.
MND arrived at the framework after months of extensive consultations with various stakeholders such as the public and the town councils.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Town councils to be graded by MND
Areas of assessment include cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance
By UMA SHANKARI
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Email this article</TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Print article </TD></TR><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>SINGAPORE'S 16 town councils will be benchmarked according to four key areas outlined in the finalised Town Council Management Report (TCMR) framework, which was released yesterday. The town councils and the estates that they manage will be assessed on cleanliness, maintenance, lift performance and also how they manage service & conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears.
To do this, the Ministry of National Development (MND), which released the framework, will be looking at six indicators - including the average number of cleanliness defects per block, the lift breakdown rate and the proportion of residents with overdue S&CC payments.
The town councils will be graded against a common scale, from levels one to five. However, they will not be ranked in comparison to one another.
In addition, the TCMR will also not evaluate the use of each town council's sinking funds, as this is dependent on the town's plans and profile, said MND. But the ministry will look into the feasibility of getting the town councils to declare their financial adequacy based on cyclical maintenance plans over a stated time horizon of about five years or so.
Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Grace Fu said that the TCMR is intended to be a simple and easy to understand report that summarises key information on the core areas of town councils' estate management functions.
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The framework will be reviewed over time and expanded where necessary, MND said.
For now, MND will evaluate the town councils both by gathering its own data - from site inspections by HDB - as well as using data provided by the town councils. Data collection for the TCMR will begin on Oct 1, and the results of the first TCMR will be ready in the second quarter of 2010.
MND arrived at the framework after months of extensive consultations with various stakeholders such as the public and the town councils.
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