# More Grant Support for Town Councils

- **Source:** Ministry of National Development
- **Published:** 2017-02-02T07:29:00.000Z
- **Author:** Ministry of National Development
- **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/more-grant-support-for-town-councils
- **Topics:** Government & Policy, Investment & Capital Markets

## Featured rationale

The doubled funding support may strengthen estate maintenance and lift replacement capacity, helping preserve accessibility and living conditions across ageing HDB estates.

## AI summary

MND will provide Town Councils more than $100 million in additional annual funding, including $600 per lift and 50% matching of Lift Replacement Fund contributions.

## Original article

To help Town Councils with their operating needs and long-term capital expenditure requirements, MND will provide additional grant support to Town Councils in the following ways:

a) Lift Maintenance Grant (LMG)

MND will provide a Lift Maintenance Grant (LMG) of $600 per lift owned and maintained by the Town Councils, to help them cope with higher lift-related servicing and maintenance costs. This is expected to cost the Government an additional $13 million a year.

b) Matching Grant for the Lift Replacement Fund (LRF)

With effect from 1 April 2017, Town Councils have to set up a dedicated Lift Replacement Fund (LRF) to ensure sufficient funds are set aside for the replacement of their existing lifts. To assist the Town Councils, MND will match 50% of their quarterly contributions to the LRFs to supplement their savings. This new matching grant is expected to cost over $50 million in the coming year, and the grant quantum is likely to increase as the Town Councils build up their LRFs over time.

Earlier, MND had also announced a $450 million Lift Enhancement Programme (LEP) over the next 10 years to help Town Councils co-fund the costs of retrofitting older lifts.

Taken together, the Town Councils will receive more than $100 million of additional funding a year. These measures are on top of the existing grants that MND already provide to the Town Councils, namely the annual Service & Conservancy Charge (S&CC) Operating Grants and quarterly GST subvention, which worked out to around $120 million in FY15/16. With the new measures, MND will be doubling its funding support to the Town Councils. This is a substantial package to help the Town Councils with their running costs, and assist them with their lift modernisation and asset replacement programmes. Refer to Annex A for an overview of the funding support for Town Councils.

Ultimately, Town Councils have a statutory responsibility to manage and maintain the common property in HDB estates. While the Government is extending significant financial support, Town Councils still need to do their part to plan ahead and take appropriate and timely steps to ensure that their long-term finances are sustainable.

## Chinese translation

> Translation model: grok_cli

### 向市镇理事会提供更多津贴支持

为协助市镇理事会应付营运需要及长期资本开支需求，国家发展部将通过以下方式向市镇理事会提供额外津贴支持：

a) 电梯维修津贴（LMG）

国家发展部将为市镇理事会拥有及维修的每部电梯提供600元的电梯维修津贴（LMG），以协助它们应对较高的电梯相关检修与维修成本。预计政府每年将因此额外支出约1,300万元。

b) 电梯更换基金（LRF）配对津贴

自2017年4月1日起，市镇理事会须设立专项电梯更换基金（LRF），以确保预留足够资金更换现有电梯。为协助市镇理事会，国家发展部将就其每季对LRF的供款按50%进行配对，以补充其储蓄。这项新的配对津贴预计来年将耗资超过5,000万元，而随着市镇理事会逐步充实其LRF，津贴数额很可能进一步增加。

较早前，国家发展部亦已宣布在未来10年推行4亿5,000万元的电梯提升计划（LEP），以协助市镇理事会共同承担改装旧电梯的费用。

综合计算，市镇理事会每年将获得超过1亿元的额外资金。这些措施是在国家发展部已向市镇理事会提供的现有津贴之外，即年度服务与保育费（S&CC）营运津贴及每季消费税补贴；该等津贴在2015/16财政年度合计约1亿2,000万元。在新措施下，国家发展部对市镇理事会的资金支持将翻倍。这是一项实质方案，协助市镇理事会应付营运成本，并支持其电梯现代化与资产更换计划。有关市镇理事会资金支持总览，请参阅附件A。

归根结底，市镇理事会负有法定责任，管理及维修组屋（HDB）产业的公共产业。尽管政府提供可观的财政支持，市镇理事会仍须尽其本分，提前规划，并采取适当且及时的步骤，确保其长期财务可持续。