Daejeon City Council Standing Committee Criticizes Excessive Remaining Balance After Budget Execution

Haengjawi, Sangeonwi, Bokhwanwi Review 2023 Fiscal Year Settlement and Contingency Fund Expenditure

Meeting scene of the Administrative and Autonomy Committee of Daejeon City Council / Daejeon City Council

Each standing committee of the Daejeon City Council reviewed the approval of the 2023 fiscal year settlement, supplementary budget expenditures, and fund settlement on the 11th, criticizing the large amount of unspent balances.

During the Administrative and Autonomy Committee review, Councilor Jeong Myeong-guk (People Power Party, Dong-gu 3) pointed out that the unpaid amount increased by 14.4% compared to the previous year, emphasizing the need for measures to collect delinquent payments. He also criticized the budget transfers and changes in use that undermine the transparency of the budget related to the Personnel Innovation Officer's duties, and during the review of the Citizen Safety Office's settlement, he emphasized the need for thorough examination when establishing the budget due to the large unspent balance.

Councilor Kim Jin-o (People Power Party, Seo-gu 1) pointed out projects with low execution rates during the Planning and Coordination Office's settlement review, criticizing the pre-allocation of budgets for projects whose selection through public contests had not been decided, resulting in unused funds. He also urged efforts to improve financial efficiency by reducing supplementary budgets and reallocating funds to other projects if unspent balances are expected depending on the progress of the projects.

During the Industry and Construction Committee review, Councilor Song Hwal-seop (People Power Party, Daedeok-gu 2) pointed out the excessive unspent balance related to local transfer investment subsidies, despite budget reductions during the supplementary budget adjustment, and ordered to do their best to operate the budget efficiently to minimize unused amounts.

Councilor Kim Young-sam (People Power Party, Seo-gu 2) inquired about the low performance of holding forums and expert advisory meetings related to the establishment of a corporate finance-centered bank, emphasizing the importance of hearing expert opinions in major policy projects. He also pointed out the excessive return of the budget related to subsidies for purchasing hydrogen cargo vehicles and urged active promotion and demand creation for the hydrogen cargo vehicle support project.

During the Welfare and Environment Committee review, Councilor Park Jong-seon (People Power Party, Yuseong 1) questioned the support for the Gruteogi Women with Disabilities Association and the Seonambu Comprehensive Sports Town project, pointing out that many projects had more than 30% of their budgets unused. He also criticized the excessive budget balance in the asset formation support project and urged active promotion to ensure that benefits reach socially vulnerable groups, as it is a necessary project.

Councilor Lee Geum-seon (Democratic Party, Yuseong 4) pointed out in the revenue settlement of the Citizen Sports and Health Bureau that the unpaid amount related to admission fees was nine times higher than the actual collection increase rate. In the inquiry related to the Environment and Greenery Bureau, she criticized that despite the insufficient budget for resolving the local issue of odor problems, the unspent balance for the management project of industrial complex environmental pollution discharge businesses was as high as 43%.