The Executive Yuan yesterday said it is to allot NT$800 million (US$25.5 million) for the Miaoli County Government to pay its employees’ salaries, which have been delayed after the county government agreed to abide by the recently promulgated control mechanism for local governments’ financial discipline abnormalities.
Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said the county has agreed to have its operations put under the supervision of the control mechanism from Aug. 1, while the central government recognized Miaoli’s determination to push for financial discipline and is to allot an advance of part of the county’s general subsidies for the second half, about NT$800 million.
The control mechanism requires a local government in need of a bailout to, among other requirements, report its budget to the Cabinet each month, and present and carry out plans for spending cuts.
Photo: CNA
“The NT$800 million is part of the general subsidies for the county in the latter half of the year [about NT$2.16 billion], not a new subsidy. We are giving the county its own money in advance,” Sun said, adding that the money is only to be used for personnel expenses.
Miaoli County Commissioner Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌) at a news conference again apologized to the county government’s employees over the delayed salaries, which Hsu said would be paid by tomorrow.
Hsu did not respond to the Cabinet’s request that the control mechanism be adhered to, as the county government found some of them hard to swallow, according to a Central News Agency report.
Hsu was in Taipei on Tuesday where he met with Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) to outline cuts to social welfare spending, including decreasing monthly overtime benefits for the police and firefighters from NT$17,000 to NT$15,000, newborn subsidies from NT$34,000 to NT$20,000, and funding for student lunches, though students from disadvantaged families are to keep the benefit.
Mao said current welfare spending would be incorporated in the control mechanism as necessary expenditure.
About NT$2.8 billion could be saved through spending cuts, including the NT$270 million from the benefit cuts, another NT$720 million from cuts to administrative spending and NT$1.74 billion from a halt to at least 15 major construction projects, the county government said.
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