Town Council (Singapore)
In Singapore, a town council (TC) is an entity formed by at least one elected Member of Parliament (MP) and appointed residents who are responsible for the day-to-day operations in managing the common property of the Housing and Development Board (HDB) residential flats and commercial property within the town.
It supported numerous improvement projects over the next few decades such as establishing a fire brigade, enlarging reservoirs, and providing street lighting.
[6] The People's Action Party (PAP) campaigned on the promise that if they were to win the general election on 30 May that they would reorganise the "present unwieldy, inefficient, expensive and wasteful system of government".
First on the list of priorities was the absorption of the parallel administrations of the City Council and Rural Board into the central government.
[8] The water, electricity and gas functions stayed with the City Council until 1963, when it was absorbed into the Public Utilities Board (PUB).
[9] Although the PAP campaigned in the early years that local government functions were inefficient for a small city-state like Singapore,[7]: 87, [87] the party changed its mind a few decades later.
It decided in 1986 to decentralise some municipal functions because it wanted ostensibly to increase resident participation in estate management.
As a result, three town councils were set up in Ang Mo Kio as a pilot programme to manage the estate.
[11] Goh Chok Tong, who would eventually become Prime Minister in 1990, argued in Parliament that town councils not only provided for greater resident participation, but also would act as "political stabilisers".
[12]: 385, [385] Chiam See Tong, then-MP for Potong Pasir and one of only two non-PAP MPs at that time, spoke at length rejecting the bill.
Chiam argued that the role of an MP was to give direction to a nation, and not to manage municipal matters:[13]: 413, [413] A party is elected because of its policy.
These include but are not necessarily limited to cleaning of common areas in the HDB estates, lift maintenance, and some landscaping works, such as grass cutting.
With the approval of the Minister for National Development, the town council can also opt to carry out the work of any public authority or association if there is mutual agreement to do so.
As a result of this programme, a new fund—the Lift Replacement Fund—was required to be set up by all town councils to contribute at least 14% of their income into.
Under this programme, the HDB would co-fund up to 90% of the town councils' costs to retrofit older lifts with safety features and enhancements.
[22] This funding source is not explicitly stated on the MND website, but was revealed after a query by Pritam Singh, MP for Aljunied GRC, in 2015.
Some things that are considered offences include poor corporate governance procedures (e.g. not keeping a register of conflict of interests), not complying with notices from the HDB or any official direction given by the Minister for National Development, misuse of monies from funds that are managed by the town council, and failure to submit audited reports or statements.
Chandra Das, AIM chairman, produced correspondence between the company and the town council that suggested otherwise—AIM in fact readily agreed to two extensions to the contract that was supposed to end on 1 August 2011.
[25] This point is later corroborated again in the judgment of Aljunied–Hougang Town Council and another v Lim Swee Lian Sylvia and others and another suit.
[28] There was sufficient public interest in the matter for Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to order an investigation into the transactions of AIM in January 2013.
The scope of the investigation would also cover "observations on the nature of TCs and how they are run, with a view to improving the current framework".
[30] Khaw Boon Wan, then-Minister for National Development, expressed during the ministerial statement that there were concerns on how Aljunied–Hougang Town Council (AHTC) waived the requirement for open tender and awarded a multi-million dollar contract to FM Solutions and Services Pte Ltd (FMSS), a company that was formed just days after the general election.
Khaw mentioned several times during the ministerial statement that FMSS was formed and owned by a group of people loyal to the Workers' Party, and that awarding a contract without open tender seemed inappropriate.
