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Tag: Town Council

  • Hougang DBSS Resident Files Court Application To Demand S&CC Refund From AHPETC

    Hougang DBSS Resident Files Court Application To Demand S&CC Refund From AHPETC

    A resident of a new Housing Board development in Hougang has gone to court to obtain a refund for the service and conservancy charges (S&CC) she paid to the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC).

    Corporate travel manager Melinda Teo, 37, lodged a report with the Small Claims Tribunal on Monday (June 22), in a bid to get back the $367.20 that she paid in S&CC between November last year and May this year.

    Ms Teo, who lives in the 680-unit Parkland Residences, a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) project, said she should not have to pay the fees to the Workers’ Party-run town council as it took over the management and maintenance of the property only on June 1.

    Before that, the project’s developer, Kwan Hwee Investment, had to step in to clean the common areas.

    Earlier this month, more than 300 residents of Parkland Residences sent a petition to the town council demanding to have their S&CC waived or refunded. But their appeal was not answered by either the town council or the Workers’ Party MPs, said Ms Teo.

    However, an AHPETC spokesman had said in response to media queries earlier this month that the town council would have to compensate Kwan Hwee Investment for the maintenance work done before June 1. As such, it cannot return the S&CC to residents, it told reporters.

    Following Ms Teo’s move to take court action, a representative of AHPETC must attend a meeting at the Small Claims Tribunal on July 2, according to a court document issued to the town council.

    Otherwise, an order could be given against the town council in its absence. The order could include a mandatory compensation to the claimant for claims below $10,000.

    Ms Teo said she decided to go down the legal route as “our e-mails and petition have only received the silent treatment from the MPs and town council”. She added that several neighbours have expressed interest in filing similar claims with the tribunal.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Sylvia Lim’s Open Letter To The Residents

    Sylvia Lim’s Open Letter To The Residents

    Dear Residents,

    There has been Parliamentary debate and many adverse media reports on the issue of Managing Agent contract of the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC). I am writing to you to clarify any misconceptions that may have arisen. I also wish to update you on a few matters concerning the management of AHPETC.

    Public Tenders for AHPETC Contracts

    Has AHPETC given contracts to “friends”?

    It has not.

    The fact is that in 2012, public tenders were called and advertised in the Straits Times newspaper for the contracts for Managing Agent (MA) and Essential Maintenance and Services Unit (EMSU) services. In 2014 and 2015, public tenders were also called for the MA and EMSU contracts respectively. Anyone can submit a bid for a public tender. AHPETC does not and cannot reserve contracts for friends in a public tender.

    A tender was not called for MA services only for the one year period from July 2011 to July 2012 when urgent taking over work was needed. The elected Members of Parliaments (MPs) decided to award the newly formed FM Solutions & Services Pte Ltd (FMSS), consisting primarily of managers and staff from the former Hougang Town Council, a one-year provisional contract to take over the initial management of the Town Council, without calling a public tender. This was in order to ensure a smooth takeover of town management in view of the short time on hand to do so and to avoid any disruption in services to the residents.

    Not calling a public tender for an MA contract is allowed under Para 76 of the Town Councils Financial Rules. However, the Town Councillors did not award a standard three-year MA contract to FMSS at this point, as the Town Council intended to call for a public tender for MA services as soon as possible after takeover of town management has been completed and operations have been stabilised.

    Managing Agent Rates & “Overpayment”

    You may have seen and read reports that AHPETC “overpaid” FMSS by an estimated $1.6 million a year and therefore supposedly estimated as $6.4 million over four years.

    To support this allegation a table showing 2014 Managing Agent (MA) rates of Town Councils was distributed during the parliamentary debate on 12 Feb 2015 and the Law Minister said that “FMSS charges the Town Council $14.92 for each commercial unit compared with between $4.80 and $6.65 for all other Town Councils.”, and that “FMSS charged the Town Council $7.43 for every residential unit. Others charge between $4.80 and $6.65”. He used these as the basis to derive at the above estimated overpayments, comparing FMSS’ rates with a “weighted average” of MA rates in other TCs in 2014.

    We were puzzled by the MA rates used by the Minister and hence I filed questions in Parliament to ask the Minister for National Development for more information. On 5 March 2015, the Minister provided Parliament with the tables which I will reproduce here to clarify the matter.

    Table 1 – MA Rates Per Residential Unit by Town Council (2011-2014)

    Town Council 2011 2012 2013 2014
    AHPE $7.87** $7.87** $7.01 $7.43
    Ang Mo Kio $5.08 $5.08 $5.08 $5.33
    Choa Chu Kang $5.13 $5.13 $5.06* $5.06
    East Coast $6.10 $6.20 $6.30 $5.10
    Holland-Bukit Panjang $5.95 $6.10 $6.20 $6.30
    Jurong $5.35 $5.45 $5.55 $5.55
    Marine Parade $5.13 $5.13 $5.13 $5.13
    Moulmein-Kallang $6.63 $6.63 $6.63 $5.80
    Nee Soon $6.05 $6.20 $6.30 $6.40
    Pasir Ris-Punggol $6.11 $6.20 $6.25 $5.50
    Potong Pasir $6.63 $7.80 $7.80 $5.80
    Sembawang $6.05 $6.20 $6.30 $6.40
    Tampines $5.00 $5.00 $4.79* $4.79
    Tanjong Pagar $6.22 $6.25 $6.45 $6.65
    West Coast $6.01 $6.01 $6.10 $6.21

    Note:
    * Indicates there was a change in MA during the period of the predominant rate.
    ** Derived by MND using total MA fees paid, which includes for managing parking lots, and making no distinction between residential and commercial rates.

    We make the following observation from Table 1 on MA rates for residential units:

    1) MA rates of PAP Town Councils in 2014 were lower compared to preceding years for six TCs. In 2011, there were eight PAP TCs with MA rates per residential unit over $6, and nine in 2012 and 2013. In 2014, the number dropped to five and the “weighted average” MA rate in PAP TCs was the lowest.

    2) Compared to 2013, MA rates per residential unit dropped drastically in 2014 for four PAP TCs even though the MA did not change: East Coast from $6.30 to $5.10, Moulmein-Kallang from $6.63 to $5.80, Pasir Ris-Punggol from $6.25 to $5.50, and Potong Pasir from a high of $7.80 to $5.80.

    Next, we look at the data on MA rates for commercial units:

    Table 2 – MA Rates Per Commercial Unit by Town Council (2011-2014)

    Town Council 2011 2012 2013 2014
    AHPE $7.87** $7.87** $14.08 $14.92
    Ang Mo Kio $5.08 $5.08 $5.08 $5.33
    Choa Chu Kang $5.13 $5.13 $5.06* $5.06
    East Coast $11.50 $11.50 $11.50 $5.10
    Hollang-Bukit Panjang $5.95 $6.10 $6.20 $6.30
    Jurong $5.35 $5.45 $5.55 $5.55
    Marine Parade $5.13 $5.13 $5.13 $5.13
    Moulmein-Kallang $6.63 $6.63 $6.63 $5.80
    Nee Soon $6.05 $6.20 $6.30 $6.40
    Pasir Ris-Punggol $11.50 $11.50 $11.50 $5.50
    Potong Pasir $6.63 $7.80 $7.80 $5.80
    Sembawang $6.05 $6.20 $6.30 $6.40
    Tampines $5.00 $5.00 $4.79* $4.79
    Tanjong Pagar $6.22 $6.25 $6.45 $6.65
    West Coast $6.01 $6.01 $6.10 $6.21

    Notes: * and ** as noted for Table 1 above.

    We noted from Table 2 that prior to 2014, some MAs of PAP TCs practiced charging a higher rate for managing commercial property compared to residential property. For example, the MA rate for commercial units at East Coast and Pasir Ris Punggol TCs were $11.50 when their residential rates were in the range of $6. The former MA managing of Aljunied TC, CPG Facilities Management (“CPG”), also had the same practice and hence the former Aljunied TC had a differential MA rate for residential and commercial units (see Table 3).

    In 2014, as seen from the tables, all MAs managing PAP TCs adopted the practice of charging a flat rate for MA fee for both commercial and residential units. Hence, by taking the 2014 rates only, the commercial rate of $14.92 for AHPETC stood out compared with the flat rates of PAP TCs.

    In any case, if we use the same logic of the ministers to derive at “overpayment” estimates, PAP TCs such as Tanjong Pagar (77,300 units), Nee Soon (65,000 units) and Sembawang (67,000 units) are also overpaying their MAs by around $860,000, $530,000 and $550,000 a year respectively. I am not alleging Tanjong Pagar, Nee Soon and Sembawang TCs are overpaying their MAs. My point is that comparing the MA rates of a TC to the “weighted average” of MA rates for all TCs is not a good way to judge the fairness of the rates charged by the MA. As you can see in Table 1 & 2 above, there is a lot of variation in MA rates among TCs, which reflect the different geography and requirements of each town.

    Fair-Pricing the MA Contract in an Uncompetitive Situation

    During the parliamentary debate, the Law Minister also brought up Tampines and Choa Chu Kang TCs because these towns are supposedly comparable to or host a similar number of units as AHPETC. Incidentally, these two PAP TCs also charged the lowest MA rates in 2014 (see Table 1). The contrast is there, but Tampines and Choa Chu Kang are not easily comparable to AHPETC because all towns are different in terms of geography and other town characteristics that affect how they are managed.

    As stated earlier, we decided to award FMSS a one-year provisional contract to ensure a smooth transition to avoid any disruption in services to the residents before calling for a public tender in 2012. The question was how to fairly price the one-year MA contract.

    Reasonably, we used the contractual MA rates agreed to between the former Aljunied Town Council and their MA, CPG, as our reference point for fair-pricing the MA contract (Table 3). There was no reason to doubt the professionalism of the former Aljunied Town Council in contracting the following MA rates with CPG. More importantly, we believed, as evidenced by the varying MA rates in Table 1 & 2, the contractual MA rates with CPG reflected the cost of managing the bulk of the town in terms of its unique geography and town characteristics.

    Table 3. CPG’s contractual MA rates for Aljunied TC

    Period Residential Commercial
    1 August 2010 – 31 July 2011 $6.03 $12.80
    1 August 2011 – 31 July 2012 $6.37 $12.80
    1 August 2012 – 31 July 2013 $6.73 $12.80

    Hence, when Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) appointed FMSS as MA for one year, the contract provided for the taking over of the management of the former Aljunied TC at the same MA rate agreed between the former Aljunied TC and CPG for that year (1 August 2011 – 31 July 2012). In other words, our contract with FMSS was substantially the same as CPG’s contractual MA rates for the second year, $6.37 for residential unit and $12.80 for commercial unit (highlighted in Table 3). This was the first cost component for the one year transitional contract. However, there was a second cost component that covered the taking over of the existing staff of the former Hougang Town Council at their existing salary, and also some additional staff who had to come in to prepare for the handover before the actual handover date.

    In its tenders for MA services in 2012 and 2014, AHPETC did not receive competing bids. Only FMSS submitted a bid for our public tender for MA in 2012. In the absence of a competing bid, we again returned to the CPG contractual rates and used the third year rate (2012) as the reference point (Table 3).

    We awarded FMSS the MA contract at the contractual rate for residential units of $7.01 for 2012/13. This rate represented a premium of approximately 4% compared to the third-year CPG residential rate of $6.73 for 2012. We also assessed the increase in the MA fees to be reasonable for several reasons, including the need to operate an additional TC office in Kaki Bukit and the lower economies of scale enjoyed by FMSS as a smaller operator compared to CPG. We were also aware of the MA rates in several PAP TCs being in the range of $6 to $7 at the time of the tender i.e. in 2012.

    The subsequent rise in FMSS’ contractual MA rate from $7.01 in 2012/2013 to $7.43 for 2013/14 for residential units mirrors the annual 6% rise in the CPG contractual MA rates for residential units.

    To summarise, our contractual commitments with FMSS have been based on strict reasoning using available market information in 2012 when tender was called in the absence of competing bids, while placing residents’ interests in undisrupted services at the forefront.

    Follow-ups on the Report by the Auditor-General’s Office

    AHPETC underwent a rigorous 10-month audit by the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) in 2014. The AGO found some areas where there had been lapses in financial management and weaknesses in controls. AHPETC has made some improvements and has also acted promptly to hire external accountants to assist to clean up its accounts and to further strengthen its processes and controls. The work is making progress and certain financial issues will take time to resolve. AHPETC is also working towards filing its audited accounts by the deadlines set by the Ministry of National Development.

    Transition to Direct Management

    Come July 2015, we will be embarking on direct management of the TC, as no MA has submitted a bid to work for AHPETC. We will do our best to keep costs down and protect AHPETC’s long-term financial interests. On behalf of my fellow MPs and Town Councillors, I would like to thank you for your concern and support. Despite the challenging political climate, we will continue to serve you to the best of our ability.

    SYLVIA LIM
    CHAIRMAN
    ALJUNIED-HOUGANG-PUNGGOL EAST TOWN COUNCIL

    June 2015

    This letter was extracted from the June 2015 edition of Good Neighbours newsletter.

    Click here for the Open letter in Chinese

    Click here for the Open letter in Malay

    Click here for the Open letter in Tamil

     

    Source: www.ahpetc.sg

  • AHPETC: No Managing Agent Has Submitted Bid

    AHPETC: No Managing Agent Has Submitted Bid

    The Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council (AHPETC) will not have a Managing Agent from July, as no one has come forward to submit a bid, said chairman Sylvia Lim in an open letter to residents published in the June edition of the Good Neighbours newsletter.

    “Come July 2015, we will be embarking on direct management of the TC, as no MA (Managing Agent) has submitted a bid to work for AHPETC. We will do our best to keep costs down and protect AHPETC’s long-term financial interests,” she wrote.

    She added that the Workers’ Party-run town council would continue to serve residents to the best of its ability despite the “challenging political climate”.

    Ms Lim said the three-page letter aimed to clarify any misconceptions that may have arisen, as well as to update residents on matters concerning the management of the town council.

    Earlier this year, a report by the Auditor-General’s Office pointed out serious lapses in the town council’s books. This sparked a two-day debate in Parliament.

    Among the lapses identified was a failure to manage conflict of interest when it came to transactions involving its Managing Agent FM Solutions & Services (FMSS). Its owners were also senior party officers.

    In the letter to residents, Ms Lim said AHPETC had not given contracts to friends, and that public tenders had been called in 2012.

    “AHPETC does not and cannot reserve contracts for friends in a public tender,” she said, adding that a tender was not called for MA services only in the one-year period from July 2011 to July 2012.

    The then newly-elected MPs had decided to award FMSS a one-year provisional contract – to ensure a smooth takeover of town management and avoid any disruptions in services to residents.

    The town council is also said to have overpaid FMSS by an estimated S$1.6 million a year, over a four-year period.

    But Ms Lim said what AHPETC pays its Managing Agent cannot be compared to the “weighted average” of rates that all other town councils pay.

    She pointed to tables detailing the rates for residential and commercial units between 2011 and 2014, saying that there is “a lot of variation” in rates among the town councils – which reflect the different geography and requirements of each town. This, in turn, affects how they are managed.

    Ms Lim added that this, and later contracts involving FMSS, were fairly priced and based on “strict reasoning” using available market information.

    In wrapping up her letter, Ms Lim told residents that since the AGO report, AHPETC has made some improvements, and hired external accountants to help clean up its accounts as well as to further strengthen processes and controls.

    “The work is making progress and certain financial issues will take time to resolve. AHPETC is also working towards filing its audited accounts by the deadlines set by the Ministry of National Development (MND),” she said.

    MND is currently appealing a High Court decision not to appoint independent accountants to safeguard Government grants to the town council. The court did also point out that grave and serious questions had been raised about the state of the town council’s accounts.

    The ministry said there is an urgent need for independent accountants to be appointed with powers of inquiry and recovery, given the “serious questions” raised about payments AHPETC had made to related parties — a reference to the town council’s managing agent firms.

    The case is likely to be heard on Aug 3.

     

    Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

  • PRC Contractor Recommended By Town Council Tried To Overcharge My Mother

    PRC Contractor Recommended By Town Council Tried To Overcharge My Mother

    My toilet is under hdb upgrading at teban gardens, so the town council called up my mum cos they need to realign a pipe in the kitchen leading into the toilet.

    They recommend this PRC contractor to take down the cabinet.

    The task includes some unscrewing and one man job.

    1st day he came and spent about half an hour taking it down. on the last day he came n put back, after that the PRC man ask my parents for $400.

    WTF. $400 to take down and put back after the pipe is done. is this serious overcharging or cheating? no new materials was used or any hacking was done.

    just take down and put back cost $400? better i buy a fking new one?

    Call the PRC main company they didn’t bother about me. the cb thing is he said he do for many households in the block for around the same price

    Tomorrow i intend to call the town council office see what they say. they should go to every household n ask how much that PRC is overcharging those old folks like my parents

    edit: forgot to add .he offered to cover up those exposed white pipe in the kitchen and also in the toilet for $3000+

    Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com

  • The Workers’ Party: A Response To Lawrence Wong

    The Workers’ Party: A Response To Lawrence Wong

    RESPONSE TO MINISTER LAWRENCE WONG’S OPINION PIECE

    AHPETC finds Minister Lawrence Wong’s accusations in The Straits Times of 5 June 2015 surprising and puzzling.  We would like to make the following clarifications to correct the misconceptions.

    1. What the High Court recently had to decide were, mainly, legal questions i.e. whether the court had power to entertain the Ministry of National Development’s request for the court to appoint and authorise independent accountants (1) to co-sign cheques for the disbursement of the FY 14/15 and FY 15/16 $14m Town Council grants which the MND had withheld; and (2) to look into AHPETC’s past transactions.  The High Court accepted the arguments of AHPETC’s lawyers that there were no legal bases whatsoever for the MND’s request, and accordingly, threw out the government’s entire case.
    1. There was no trial and the High Court did not itself embark on a dedicated fact-finding exercise.  However, in the course of delivering the judgment, the High Court expressed views on AHPETC’s lapses but the views were based, principally, on the findings of the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO) Report.
    1. A special two-day sitting of Parliament was convened to debate the AGO Report.  All Workers’ Party Members of Parliament (MPs) who are responsible for overseeing the management of the Town Council, including Secretary-General Mr Low Thia Khiang, participated in the debate to explain and clarify matters raised.
    1. Ms Sylvia Lim denies that she lied to Parliament.  Parliament has avenues such as the Committee of Privileges to ensure that MPs’ conduct meets the standards expected.
    2. Just because AHPETC did not physically transfer monies into Sinking Funds from its Operating Funds does not mean that monies are missing.  Up to Financial Year 13/14, AHPETC has done the necessary transfers.
    1. Currently, MND is withholding $14 million in grants to AHPETC.  If MND continues to withhold the grants from AHPETC that every Town Council should receive, AHPETC will not be able to fulfill its obligations to make the necessary Sinking Fund transfers.
    1. AHPETC does not understand the basis for Minister Lawrence Wong to accuse AHPETC or the Workers’ Party of “dishonesty” or “irresponsible” behaviour.
    1. All Town Councils are required to be audited, and the audit reports are presented to Parliament for public scrutiny.
    1. Whether AHPETC’s contractors are delivering services or not, and the standard of their work, is a matter that residents can assess for themselves.
    1. When Town Councils engage contractors, they are required to comply with rules on the calling of public tenders.  If any Town Council staff has committed any illegal act or corrupt practice, he / she will have to face the full consequences of the law.

    Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council spokesman
    05 June 2015

     

    Source: www.ahpetc.sg