Press Releases

Town Council Management Report (TCMR) Framework

       Following extensive consultation with town councils, residents, experts and the general public, the Ministry of National Development (MND) has finalized the Town Council Management Report (TCMR) framework. Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, Ms Grace Fu, released details of the framework at a media conference today.

TCMR Framework
2      The TCMR framework will cover four key areas – cleanliness of estate, estate maintenance, lift performance and service & conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears management – with six indicators.

(a) Average Number of Cleanliness Defects per Block;

(b) Average Number of Maintenance Defects per Block;

(c) Lift Breakdown Rate per 10 lifts per month;

(d) Lift Automatic Rescue Device (ARD) Failure Rate per month;

(e) Proportion of residential accounts with S&CC overdue by 3 months or more; &

(f) Proportion of residential S&CC amount overdue by 3 months or more (out of total monthly S&CC collectible)

3      These indicators will be reported individually and the results will be released in five banded levels (Levels 1 to 5). The TCMR indicative bandings, together with a sample TCMR format, are shown in Annexes A1 and A2.

Data Collection for TCMR
4      Data for the TCMR will be collected in the following ways.

(a) For Cleanliness and Maintenance
The Housing & Development Board (HDB) will carry out inspections on the state of estate cleanliness and maintenance using a standard inspection checklist. HDB will take on the role of the inspection body for the TCMR as it has the requisite understanding and knowledge of the various HDB estates and town council issues. HDB inspections will cover all HDB blocks island-wide every year.
Town council officers will be invited to join HDB officers in the inspections. Following every inspection, HDB will send its report to the town council concerned for information.

(b) Lift Performance and S&CC Arrears Management
The various town councils will submit their respective data for lift breakdown rate, ARD failure rate, and S&CC arrears to HDB for compilation.

Implementation
5      Data collection for the TCMR will commence on 1 October 2009, and the results of the first TCMR will be ready in mid 2010.

Extensive Consultation
6      In drawing up the TCMR framework, MND/HDB had conducted extensive consultations with various stakeholders to seek their inputs on the areas to be monitored under the framework. A summary of the feedback received is at Annex B.

Key Considerations in the Formulation of the TCMR Framework
7      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. The TCMR framework will focus on a few key indicators for a start. We will review it over time and expand it, where necessary.

8      As towns are inherently different in their profile and needs, MND would like to advise residents to look at the TCMR results in conjunction with the towns’ different characteristics and backgrounds.  In this regard, there are a few suggestions received during public consultations pertaining to how town councils can better communicate and engage with their residents. MND/HDB has collated a list of these suggestions for town councils to consider. Please see Annex C.

9      The TCMR and the town councils’ local communication with residents complement each other to achieve the objective of greater resident involvement and participation in the management of their estates. Senior Minister of State for National Development and Education, Ms Grace Fu said,

“The TCMR is not the only source of information on town councils and their work. Town councils have been communicating various information about their work to their residents. With the TCMR, we hope to bring local engagement between town councils and residents to the next level. Ultimately, greater resident involvement in town councils’ work will benefit the residents and the estate, and will create a win-win situation for all. This is in line with the vision behind the setting up of town councils 20 years ago.”

Enquiries
10     Members of the public can call the TCMR framework hotline at 1800-866 3078 to seek further clarifications on the TCMR framework. The hotline will be available from Mondays to Fridays, 8.30am to 5.00pm.

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Last updated on 23 September, 2009