Top ratings for all town councils for the first time in estate management report
The town councils achieved green bandings for estate cleanliness, estate maintenance, lift performance and S&CC arrears management.
Build-to-Order HDB flats in Singapore. (File photo: CNA/Calvin Oh)
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
SINGAPORE: For the first time, all town councils have scored “green” – the highest of three ratings – for all indicators in the latest estate management report released by the Ministry of National Development (MND) on Thursday (Jun 27).
The report, covering the financial year from April 2023 to March 2024, assesses town councils across four indicators – estate cleanliness, estate maintenance, lift performance, as well as service and conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears management.
Assessments are given using three colour bands – green, amber and red.
In response to CNA queries, MND said the achievement underscores the town councils' "continued efforts in the upkeep of their towns".
Sengkang Town Council made improvements this time in the area of S&CC arrears management, having been the only one among 17 town councils to be rated amber in the previous report for FY2022.
For FY2021, Sengkang Town Council, Chua Chu Kang Town Council and Jurong-Clementi Town Council were marked down for their performance in S&CC arrears management.
An amber rating is given when a town council has 40 per cent to less than 60 per cent of the monthly collectable S&CC for the town overdue for three months or more or if between four and less than six in 100 households in the town owe arrears for three months or more.
To get a green rating, town councils must have an overdue monthly S&CC of less than 40 per cent for three months or more and fewer than four in 100 households should owe arrears for three months or more.
Sengkang Town Council said on Thursday that it is pleased to receive a green banding across all four operational indicators in FY2023.
"We continue to implement repayment schemes that are practicable for our residents, taking into account their personal circumstances as well as the economic climate," the town council said in response to CNA's queries.
Sengkang Town Council told CNA previously that it had been working “very closely” with its residents to manage the collection of monthly S&CC.
OTHER INDICATORS
To be given a green rating for estate cleanliness or maintenance, town councils must have fewer than four counts of cleanliness or maintenance observations per block on average.
According to the report, assessments were made based on observations such as the presence of stains, litter, bulky refuse and graffiti.
Obstructions in common areas, unauthorised fixtures and damaged walls were also taken into account.
For lift performance, town councils must ensure that there are fewer than two lift faults per 10 lifts each month, and less than one hour of downtime per lift each month, to score a green rating.
The assessment is based on the frequency of faults measured by the Tele-Monitoring System and the duration of the downtime resulting in such faults. The issues picked up by this system include problems with the opening and closing of lift doors as well as non-functioning buttons.
MND first introduced the Town Council Management Report (TCMR) in 2009.
The ministry said the TCMR has been split into two reports since FY2021. The report covering operational indicators is published in the mid-year period while the report covering the corporate governance indicator is published at the end of the year.
"This allows for more focused and timely reporting on the different aspects of TCs’ work. The report on the operational indicators is issued two to three months after the conclusion of the financial year when the information is ready," said MND.
The corporate governance indicator is published in the year-end period as the town councils' audited financial statements required for the indicator are only submitted to the ministry in end-September each year.
