All town councils get top banding for governance, except Bishan-Toa Payoh
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Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council was the only one among the 17 town councils to receive an amber rating.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
SINGAPORE – Nearly all town councils here received a green rating, the highest score, for their corporate governance in the latest town council management report (TCMR).
Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council (BTPTC) was the only one among the 17 town councils to receive an amber rating – the second band out of three – due to multiple instances of the same type of non-compliance, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said on Dec 11.
BTPTC did not obtain approval from the authorities before commencing work on three projects and disbursing funds for these. The town council, which manages estates in central Singapore, including Toa Payoh, Thomson and Marymount, retrospectively sought approval, which was subsequently granted.
The multiple instances of the same type of non-compliance were considered to be of medium severity, and BTPTC thus received an amber band, MND said. The lowest possible performance band is red.
The Dec 11 report is the second part of an annual report released by MND that reflects town councils’ performance on their financial statements, auditors’ reports and compliance with the Town Councils Act and rules over the last financial year.
The first part of the report, released mid-year, rates their performance on operations such as estate cleanliness and maintenance. All town councils received green ratings in the June report.
Besides BTPTC, the ministry also flagged non-compliance by three other town councils in the latest report. But these infractions were of low severity, and the town councils were still banded green.
Ang Mo Kio Town Council had incorrectly allocated a portion of its lift replacement fund matching grant to residential property instead of commercial property.
Marine Parade Town Council did not obtain the Housing Board’s consent prior to its installation of new bicycle racks.
Marsiling-Yew Tee Town Council similarly did not get the HDB’s consent before commencing works on common property, in this case, the pilot installation of electronic notice boards.
All the cases identified were of administrative oversight and have since been rectified, MND said.
BTPTC, chaired by Marymount MP Gan Siow Huang, said it has taken steps to prevent the recurrence of violations of the Town Councils Act.
These include having an internal review team periodically review, assess and confirm the accuracy and completeness of project details submitted.
The town council will also ensure that it issues the letter of award for each project requiring legal approval only after obtaining MND’s approval.
BTPTC has received an amber banding for corporate governance at least twice before – in the 2014-2015 and 2017-2018 editions of the same report – although it received a green banding for the previous governance report released in November 2023.
Aside from these observations, the report found that town councils, in general, improved their financial positions in the last financial year, mainly due to increased service and conservancy charges (S&CC).
Town councils under the ruling People’s Action Party raised their monthly fees for flats, commercial properties and market and food stalls on July 1, 2023, and again on July 1, 2024.
Town councils run by the Workers’ Party followed suit. Aljunied-Hougang Town Council announced two increases in S&CC – the first on Oct 1, 2023, and the second on July 1, 2024 – while Sengkang Town Council said it would raise S&CC from March 1, 2025.
Town council finances were also buoyed by a one-off funding package from the Government. MND said that without the one-off support, more town councils would have incurred operating deficits for financial year 2023.
The ministry said the support served as a temporary measure to buffer town councils and residents from the full impact of the “sharp and steep operation cost increases” that arose due to external factors in 2022 and 2023.
“These measures, coupled with the town councils’ ongoing efforts to raise productivity and improve cost-efficiency, have been necessary to help town councils cope with cost pressures, particularly in the areas of cleaning, maintenance and general administration,” it said.
Maintaining financial sustainability meant town councils have been able to continue setting aside funds for improvement projects, such as sheltered linkways and disability-friendly ramps, MND added.
