Suwon's Resident Participatory Budget and Resident Tax Refund Programs: A Good Example of Collaborative Governance

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] On the 21st, Suwon City held a "2019 Civil-Government Collaborative Governance Training for Capacity Enhancement" at City Hall for approximately 200 participants including members of resident autonomy committees and public officials.

Professor Yu Chang-bok of Sungkonghoe University, who served as lecturer, stated, "When resident autonomy committees are activated, collaborative governance will be naturally realized." Professor Yu Chang-bok is a civil-government collaboration (governance) expert who has served as Seoul Metropolitan Government Collaborative Governance Advisor, co-chairman of the Korea Village Support Center Council, and director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Village Community Comprehensive Support Center.

Professor Yu explained, "As times change, the necessity for civil-government collaboration to solve complex social problems is growing," and added, "The answer to activating civil-government collaboration is autonomous activities where citizens actively participate in policy decisions and community projects." He cited Suwon City's resident participatory budget and resident tax refund programs as good examples of activated governance.

Since this year, the city has been pilot-operating resident autonomy committees that add "community building" and "welfare" functions to the resident autonomy functions of the existing resident autonomy committees. In eight pilot districts of resident autonomy committees—Songjuk, Yulcheon, Seodun, Homaesil, Haenggung, Ingye, Maetan 2, and Gwanggyo 1-dong—240 committee members are active. Resident autonomy committee members are responsible for ▲promoting the Resident Tax Smile Program (resident tax refund project) ▲holding resident general assemblies ▲establishing community autonomy plans ▲establishing resident participatory budget plans.