Reminders, help schemes used by PAP-run town councils

At estates managed by People’s Action Party-run town councils, up to three monthly reminders will be sent to residents who have not paid their service and conservancy charges (S&CC). By the third month, most of the town councils will also impose a penalty fee.

But before the penalty fee is imposed, town council officers will typically visit residents who default on payments to understand their predicaments. Advice on financial schemes they can tap, such as ComCare, or assistance in job matching, is then dispensed to those who need help.

The Temporary Estate Inspector Scheme offered by the Northeast Central Development Council, for instance, hires unemployed residents who have difficulty paying S&CC as temporary inspectors to identify faulty lights or water leaks around the estate. The money which they earn from the scheme will be used to offset their arrears.

Among the eight PAP town councils contacted by TODAY, four cited low-income families as the main source of residents with arrears.

Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council chairman Hri Kumar said a “disproportionately large” number of families in arrears he encountered live in one- and two-room flats.

“The failure to pay S&CC is sometimes a good indication of a deeper problem, and we have identified a number of needy families this way,” he said.

Nevertheless, not all households with arrears are in financial hardship, the town councils noted. “Some (are) couples who are estranged or going through divorce and both parties refuse to pay, although they could afford to,” said Mr Zainal Sapari, chairman of the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council. He added that residents who refuse to discuss a payment plan with the town council may be charged “as a last resort”.

When contacted, the Workers’ Party-run Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council did not address queries on how it manages arrears and the profile of households in arrears. KELLY NG