Department of Finance

In order to combine creativities and strengths with the public, the Department of Finance (DOF) of Taipei City Government (TCG) sets up a website called “The Reform Space”, at which people can search for information and then propose to transform unused municipal properties.

Chih-Ming Chen, the commissioner of DOF, expresses the establishment of “Municipal Assets Revitalization Team” (MART), a task force appointed by TCG, is to supervise and review issues on idle municipal assets. It strives to integrate the whole information and allocate those properties to government agencies for official use, as well as to civil associations and communities for public use through onsite examinations. However, due to the lack of requirements and marketability for bidding, a few of small properties still remain unused. Therefore, “The Reform Space”, providing online data such as locations, current situations and environmental information, is built to help the public make creative proposals and speed up revitalizing idle real estate.

“Leaving assets idle is a waste of municipal resources,” Chih-Ming Chen says. The development models, for example, urban renewal, lease by tender, sale by tender, and the creation of superficies have been adopted by TCG. Besides that, if TCG can assist the public in brining creativities to transform and revitalize those idle real estate, it would produce more value for resources and drive momentum in regions. To open data is just the first step, TCG is also planning further to encourage the public, especially toward non-profit groups, to initiate some pilot schemes by loosening regulations and optimizing the mechanism. In the case of the asset utilization plan is based on either public interest or commonality, “self-repair program”, an alternative to “rent payment”, will be evaluated, and then reviewed and authorized by MART.

To get more information related to idle municipal properties, please visit “The Reform Space” at http://reformspace.taipei (Chinese website only).