Since the former Taipei county government became a special municipality 10 months ago, the efficiency of district offices has dropped because of restructuring, New Taipei City (新北市) councilors said yesterday.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Councilor Chou Sheng-kao (周勝考) said while New Taipei Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) has demonstrated his abilities as the municipality’s first mayor, residents had yet to see the benefits.
“Residents do not feel that New Taipei City is a better place to live in than the former Taipei county,” Chou said at a hearing.
The problem, Chou said, is that public employees held over from Taipei county’s 29 cities, townships and rural township offices are not working in concert with the New Taipei City Government after being restructured into 29 new district offices when the new municipality was established.
Moreover, under the Taipei county framework, there were separate representative councils and assembly halls in different cities, townships and rural townships where resident delegates could meet, he said.
However, since becoming a special municipality, delegates have been forced to meet in small rooms, he said.
Teething problems with the special municipality system have also emerged in Greater Kaohsiung, where the former Kaohsiung city and county were merged.
Before the merger, the National Property Bureau would send officials to rural areas so tenants on bureau-owned land in remote areas could renew their leases without having to travel long distances.
However, after the merger, a single office in Sinsing District (新興) was created to handle lease renewals, forcing tenants, mostly farmers, to travel from their remote mountain homes, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) said in Greater Kaohsiung.
Recently, the bureau agreed to resume services in rural areas throughout the municipality, which would allow tenants to renew leases close to where they live.
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