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DIALOGUE SESSION PARTICIPANTS AGREE THAT CLEANLINESS SHOULD BE MONITORED UNDER TOWN COUNCIL MANAGEMENT REPORT
Participants at a recent dialogue session held to discuss the planned Town Council Management Report (TCMR) agreed that the cleanliness of public estates should be a basic area to be monitored under the proposed framework.
2 During the session, there was agreement on the need to ensure objectivity for the report through the use of “scientific” and transparent assessment methods, so that the results could be meaningfully compared across towns with different profiles.
3 Some participants felt that the existing levels of cleanliness were already acceptable, and expressed concerns that the TCMR might lead to higher expectations of conservancy standards. If so, this could lead to a possible increase in Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC).
4 At the same time, many participants recognised that residents in different towns may have differing expectations on cleanliness, and that the behaviour of residents also contributed significantly to the state of cleanliness of the estate.
Dialogue Sessions
5 The participants shared these views at the first of three dialogue sessions, which are part of the on-going multi-pronged public consultation on a TCMR framework. This consultation process was announced by the Ministry of National Development (MND) and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) in June this year.
6 MND/HDB invited HDB residents and representatives from all town councils to three dialogue sessions in June and July 2009. The dialogue sessions, chaired by Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education Ms Grace Fu, sought views on the indicators to be included in the TCMR. Each dialogue session focused on a specific theme viz. Cleanliness, Maintenance, and Financial Management respectively.
7 There were over 30 participants at each dialogue session, and they comprised a generally equal mix of HDB residents and representatives from the town councils. Most of the HDB residents who participated were aged between 36 and 55 years, and a majority resided in 4- & 5-room flats. They also came from different backgrounds, and from different estates. A more detailed breakdown of the profile of the participants is attached at Annex A.
8 Details on the participants’ feedback and comments at the dialogue session on Cleanliness are in Annex B.
9 Ms Fu said, “We would like to thank the participants for coming together to provide useful inputs for the TCMR. The discussion has led us to look at many practical issues, both from the perspective of town councillors and residents, and it has enriched the public consultation process on the development of the TCMR.” She added, “We received useful suggestions. For example, to use the number of ‘cleanliness defects’ per unit as the basis of measurement, since different blocks have different number of units. These are definitely some of the ideas we could consider.”
Further Consultations
10 Feedback from the other two dialogue sessions will be released when ready. Going forward, MND/HDB will also be expanding the consultation outreach through online channels, and details will be announced soon.
Background
11 The TCMR is meant to provide HDB residents with objective information on key areas of town council management. It will comprise a common set of key indicators and the respective results of every town council, and will serve as an additional basis for informed discussion between residents and their town council about how their estates and living environment improve over time. The framework is expected to be introduced in Sep 2009. Results of the first TCMR is expected in 2010.
| Issued by: |
Ministry of National Development
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| Date: |
16 July 2009 |
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Annex A
Profile of Dialogue Session Participants (HDB Residents)
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Age Group (Years)
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Proportion
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| Young adults (21 – 35) |
12% |
| Middle-aged (36 – 55) |
64% |
| Elderly (Above 55) |
24% |
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Flat Type
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Proportion
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| 1-room |
2% |
| 3-room |
14% |
| 4-room |
36% |
| 5-room |
32% |
| Executive Flat |
16% |
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Geographical Spread
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Proportion
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| Southeast |
12% |
| Southwest |
10% |
| Northeast |
20% |
| Northwest |
22% |
| Central |
36% |
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Annex B
Summary Notes of Town Councils Management Report Dialogue Session on Cleanliness
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S/N
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Issue
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Participants’ Comments / Feedback
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| 1 |
Including Cleanliness in the Town Council Management Report (TCMR) |
Participants generally agreed that the cleanliness of the estates should be included as an indicator in the TCMR. |
| 2 |
Measuring cleanliness |
For objectivity, the basis of measurement should be scientific and fair, so that the results of the assessment can be meaningfully compared across Town Councils with different scale of properties under management. For example, using number of defects per dwelling units as the basis of measurement since different blocks have different number of dwelling units.
The issue on the timing of the inspections on cleanliness of the estate was also raised. For instance, inspections carried out after the first sweeping in the morning will yield different results from inspections carried out in the afternoon. |
| 3 |
Existing levels of cleanliness |
Some participants felt that the existing levels of cleanliness in their area were acceptable, and expressed concerns that the TCMR might lead to higher expectations of conservancy standards and consequently, a possible increase in Service & Conservancy Charges (S&CC). Participants also recognised that different residents in different towns may have different expectations of cleanliness. |
| 4 |
Concern about cleanliness of specific areas |
Participants reflected different areas of concerns on estate cleanliness. For example, while some highlighted littering as a concern, others highlighted the stench from the bin centres and stagnant water in the drains. |
| 5 |
Public education on community involvement in estate cleanliness |
Participants agreed that residents’ behaviour and habits played a large part in determining the state of cleanliness of the estate. They suggested having more public education programmes to engage residents and promote ownership of the environment e.g. through school curricula. |
| 6 |
Residents’ involvement |
To motivate residents to be more conscientious and to take greater responsibility for the cleanliness of their living environment, participants suggested having some form of cash incentives. This could include refunding the operating surplus to the residents, or rewarding residents if they keep their own corridors clean. Participants also felt that for such concepts to work, standard indicators need to be in place first to measure cleanliness.
Some participants suggested getting residents or Residents Committee members to take on the role of inspectors as this could promote residents’ involvement and could be more cost effective than hiring inspectors to assess the cleanliness of the estate. However, they agreed that the results could be more subjective than having an independent team conducting the inspections for different estates |
| 7 |
Other possible TCMR indicators |
While participants suggested that TCMR could include other indicators such as Town Councils’ performance in estate maintenance, implementation of cyclical maintenance works and improvement works by Town Councils, and response time to complaints, they recognised that not all these are easily quantifiable. For example, there was difficulty in coming up with an objective measure for improvement works. |
| 8 |
Issues relating to Town Councils’ operations |
Participants also brought up several other points on Town Councils’ operations and made suggestions on how to improve them. The suggestions were:
- Implement a demerit point system to assess the performance of the conservancy contractors. If the contractor does not perform up to the TC’s requirements, demerit points and penalties should also be imposed. Residents and RC members could also provide their feedback on the performance of conservancy contractors to Town Councils for their assessment.
- Implement a reward system to motivate cleaners/ contractors with consistent good performance.
- Town Councils could setup an online channel for residents to provide their feedback and views on estate matters such as cleanliness.
- Town Councils could collaborate with other agencies such as NEA and Police to step up on enforcement on vandalism of common property, smoking at lift lobbies etc.
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Last updated on 16 July, 2009
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