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    •    Overall framework
     
    •    Scoring methodology
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Home > How’s Your Town Doing? > TCMR Framework

TCMR Framework


Overall Framework


The TCMR Version 2.0, implemented on 1 April 2012, aims to facilitate greater public accountability and transparency, better reflect public concern, and encourage community ownership.

The framework covers six areas – estate cleanliness, estate maintenance, lift performance, service & conservancy charges (S&CC) arrears management, corporate governance and financial adequacy. Each area is presented as a single indicator and results are banded as Green, Amber or Red. To make the report more meaningful, qualitative observations will be made for each Town Council.

1. Cleanliness
Average Cleanliness counts per block

2. Maintenance
Average Maintenance defects per block

3. Lift Performance
Single index consisting of
(a) Number of lift breakdowns per month (per 10 lifts)
(b) % of lifts managed that break down 3 or more times a month
(c) Lift Automatic Rescue Device (ARD) failure rate per month

4. S&CC Arrears Management
Single index consisting of
(a) % of households with S&CC overdue for 3 or more months
(b) % of residential S&CC amount overdue for 3 or more months (out of total monthly S&CC collectible)

5. Corporate Governance
Compliance with regulatory requirements of Town Councils Act and Town Council Financial Rules, via:
(a) Auditor’s observations
(b) Self-declared governance checklist;

6. Financial Adequacy
(Details to be announced soon.)

Table 1. New TCMR Framework and Banding

Indicator Green Amber Red
Cleanliness < 4 counts per block 4 to < 8 counts per block ≥ 8 counts per block
Maintenance < 4 defects per block 4 to < 8 defects per block ≥ 8 defects per block
Lift Performance[1] ≥ 8 points 4 to < 8 points < 4 points
S&CC Arrears[2] ≥ 8 points 4 to < 8 points < 4 points
Corporate Governance [NEW] Full compliance of checklist with no observation from Auditor Either 1 item of non-compliance in the checklist only OR 1 observation from Auditor only With at least 1 item each of checklist non-compliance and observations from Auditor OR 2 or more items in either category
Financial Adequacy [NEW] Under study Under study Under study

Explanatory notes:

[1] If the result for lift performance is green, this generally means that for every 10 lifts, less than 2 breakdowns occur per month and less than 2 in 100 lifts have a non-functioning rescue device.

[2] If the result for S&CC arrears is green, this generally means that less than 4 in 100 households owe arrears for 3 months or more and less than 40% of the monthly collectible S&CC for the town is overdue.

Scoring Methodology


(a) Cleanliness and (b) Maintenance
HDB officers regularly collect data on the state of estate cleanliness and maintenance in the common areas via estate inspections.

The observations made on these inspections are weighted based on their severity (High/Moderate/Low) and translated into number of counts/defects per block. For instance, observations that pose potential hygiene, health or safety concerns are categorised as High, and will be given greater weightage. To emphasise residents’ stake in their estate, the Cleanliness result will further distinguish between the Town Council’s unsatisfactory cleaning work and residents’ littering and vandalism.

Cleanliness – State of cleanliness is observed by presence of litter, graffiti / cobwebs / moss / stains, and bulky refuse. The Town Council will get a Green/Amber/Red for Cleanliness based on its total score.

Worked Example:

Average counts of cleanliness lapses per block = Total number of cleanliness lapses
Total number of blocks inspected

Inspections for Apr 2012
No. of blocks inspected = 10
Total no. of observations = 62
After splitting by severity:

Severity
High Moderate Low
No. of observations 1 25 36
No. of counts after applying weightage 1 18 11
Total counts 30
Average counts per block 3

Apr – Sep 2012

Month Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Average counts per block 3.0 4.2 4.0 2.8 3.0 2.0
Average counts per block per month 3.2
TCMR Result Green as this is < 4 counts
Illustrative sub-indicator: 37% of counts observed are due
to littering, 63% are TCs’ cleaning lapses

Maintenance – State of maintenance is observed from the condition of wall tiles, benches, staircase railings, electrical fittings and playground equipment etc. The Town Council will get a Green/Amber/Red for Maintenance based on its total score.

Worked Example:

Average maintenance
defects per block		 = Total number of maintenance defects
Total number of block inspected

Inspections for Apr 2012
No. of blocks inspected = 10
Total no. of observations = 130
After splitting by severity:

Severity
High Moderate Low
No. of observations 52 58 20
No. of defects after applying weightage 30 26 0
Total defects 56
Average defects per block 5.6

Apr – Sep 2012

Month Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Average defects per block 5.6 7.0 7.1 6.6 7.9 6.0
Average defects per block per month 6.7
TCMR Result Amber as this is between 4 to < 8 defects


(c) Lift Performance

Lift performance comprises two sub-indicators: (i) Lift breakdown rate and (ii) ARD failure rate. The Town Council will get a Green/Amber/Red for Lift Performance based on its total score (out of 10 points).

  • Lift breakdown rate [5 points] – Besides technical faults, lifts may break down due to frequent misuse and vandalism. For example, pressing multiple buttons, jamming buttons, forcing the lift door open for a long time and urinating/spilling liquids in the lift can cause the lift system to malfunction.

    This sub-indicator will include –
    a) the current average lift breakdown rate per 10 lifts (4 points)

    Average no. of lift breakdowns
    per month (per 10 lifts)    		 = ( Total lift breakdowns
    Total no. of lifts managed    		 ) x10  


    Average no. of breakdowns Points
    < 1
    1 to < 2
    2 to < 3
    3 to < 4
    ≥ 4
    5
    4
    3
    2
    1    		 Scaled to a 4-point score

    b) a component on the percentage of lifts that break down 3 or more times a month in the town (1 point)

    Percentage of lifts that break
    down frequently     		= ( No. of lifts that break
    down ≥ 3 times a month
    Total no. of lifts managed    		 ) x 100%  


    Percentage Points
    < 0.1%
    ≥ 0.1%    		 1
    0

  • Lift Automatic Rescue Device (ARD) failure rate [5 points] – The ARD brings the lift car to the nearest landing level during a power failure. Common causes of ARD failure include technical faults, battery defects, wear and tear and expiry of the device. The ARD is an important mechanism that enhances public safety in high-rise buildings and must be regularly tested to ensure that they are well-functioning.

    Average Lift ARD failure rate
    per month    		 = ( Total no. of ARD failures
    Total no. of ARDs managed     		) x100%  


    Percentage Points
    < 1%
    1% to < 2%
    2% to < 3%
    3% to < 4%
    ≥ 4%     		5
    4
    3
    2
    1


(d) S&CC Arrears Management

The management and maintenance of HDB housing estates is funded by the service and conservancy charges (S&CC) collected by town councils. S&CC arrears may affect a town council’s ability to upkeep the estate.

While some town councils may choose to be more forbearing in recovering their S&CC arrears, they need to strike a good balance between being lenient and the ability to finance the estate’s upkeep. One consequence of not recovering long overdue payments is that responsible households who pay their S&CC on time end up being adversely affected.

S&CC arrears management comprises two sub-indicators: (i) % households with S&CC overdue for 3 months or more and (ii) Amount of S&CC overdue for 3 months or more out of total monthly collectible. The Town Council will get a Green/Amber/Red for S&CC Arrears based on its total score (out of 10 points).

  • Percentage of households with S&CC overdue for three months or more [5 points]

    % of Households with S&CC overdue for ≥ 3 months = ( Total no. of households owing S&CC arrears ≥ 3 months
    Total no. of households     		) x100%


    Percentage Points
    < 3%
    3% to < 4%
    4% to < 5%
    5% to < 6%
    ≥ 6%     		5
    4
    3
    2
    1

  • Amount of cumulative S&CC overdue for three months or more as a proportion of the total S&CC that the Town Council collects each month [5 points]

    % of S&CC amount overdue
    for ≥ 3 months    		 = ( Total amount of S&CC amount overdue ≥ 3 months
    Total amount of S&CC collectible
    monthly    		 ) x100%


    Percentage Points
    < 30%
    30% to < 40%
    40% to < 50%
    50% to < 60%
    ≥ 60%     		5
    4
    3
    2
    1


(e) Corporate Governance

It is important for town councils to have sound corporate governance and internal controls. To provide greater public accountability and transparency, town councils are required to submit a self-declared checklist. Click here for the checklist on their compliance with the Town Councils Act and Town Councils Financial Rules. Town councils will then be assessed based on the checklist and observations of their financial auditor.

(f) Financial Adequacy

MND will work with a professional consultant to develop this indicator. More details will be announced later.



Last updated on December 14, 2012

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