Zhong Qingzhen, the head of Neipu Township in Pingtung County, led the township office officials to the Pingtung Branch of the Bank of Taiwan today to settle the interest balance on the public education employee retirement preferential deposits over the years with a "huge sum" of money. The huge check amounted to more than 23.73 million yuan. Zhong Qingzhen emphasized that since the first month of borrowing money for governance eight years ago, all the debts owed by the township office have been repaid, and there is still a balance of 660 million by the end of October. He expressed his gratitude to the colleagues of the township office for their concerted efforts in township administration.
Township head Zhong Qingzhen, who is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, and township office officials went to the Bank of Taiwan in Pingtung City today and took out a sample of a very large check for the media to photograph. The amount at the top was a staggering 23.73 million yuan, which is quite an achievement for a township whose main focus is agriculture. "The debt is 'cleared'", Zhong Qingzhen emphasized that after the settlement, the township office's repayment task will be officially completed and the township office will reach the milestone of zero debt. Before expiration, this check will be used to write a new page in the history of "no external debt" for Neipu Township Office.
The preferential deposit interest for public education personnel is commonly known as "18%". The local government must raise money to subsidize the interest rate difference other than the current deposit interest rate. Many township offices like Neipu have accumulated debts for many years without financial resources. Even if the government changes, it is difficult for anyone to "settlement", and they are still suffering from illness to this day.
Zhong Qingzhen said that although there was a surplus when he took over in 2018, there was basically very little left because he had to invest immediately in building a new office. In January, he had to face year-end bonuses and other higher-than-usual salary expenses. He was afraid that he would not be able to pay his colleagues' salaries, so he had to borrow 2,900 from the National Treasury as soon as he took office. Ten thousand yuan, he managed to survive the stormy January. Later, he continued to receive calls from the Bank of Taiwan for the interest balance arrears. He believed that the arrears should not be defaulted, so he decided to set up a repayment plan. Each year, the interest difference alone included old loans and new charges, totaling more than 4 million yuan, which accumulated over the years to 40 million yuan.
How to reverse the decline? It turns out that real estate took off around 2020, and Neipu Township has followed suit. Local taxes on related real estate transactions have soared to three times the usual level. The public office has successively publicly auctioned 3 township-owned land with an area of less than 500 square meters. In addition to a total revenue of 140 million yuan, some people have tidied up or built buildings for sale of land that was originally wasteland. The improvement of the environment has formed a positive cycle that attracts people to buy houses. In addition, the new Nagutang has also begun to collect tower fees, all of which are poured into the township treasury.
Zhong Qingzhen said that the interest difference is the largest debt, and there are other smaller debts, with a total amount of more than 56 million yuan, which have been repaid one after another within eight years. He actively strives for central subsidies, implements financial soundness, actively performs the responsibilities of local autonomous units, and insists on spending every penny wisely to lay a solid foundation for future rural administration construction and financial sustainability.
Since borrowing money since taking over, the balance of the township treasury is now as high as 660 million yuan. Zhong Qingzhen also pointed out that in the past, every election was always criticized by opponents for selling land. "Spreading the debt and paying it off is the best clarification."
