GURI — The city of Guri, in Gyeonggi Province, is moving ahead with its first water rate increase in 22 years, has completed appointments to head its main public corporations and is overhauling parking at city hall, in a push to resolve issues that bear directly on residents' daily lives. The aim is to shore up fiscal health while raising the professional standards of public services, officials said.
Lee Do-hwan, the city's spokesperson, outlined the background and future plans for the measures at a regular press briefing held on the afternoon of the 22nd in the main conference room of the Women's Happiness Center.
The most striking item is the adjustment of water and sewerage rates, the first in 22 years. The city has given public notice of proposed revisions to the relevant ordinance in order to address chronic deficits in the utilities and secure funding to replace aging pipes. Under the revisions, water rates will rise by an average of 22% and sewerage rates by an average of 32% starting in January next year.
For first-tier household use, water rates will go from 480 won to 620 won per cubic meter, while sewerage rates will go from 658 won to 870 won. The city plans to keep the new rates frozen for a set period afterward to limit the burden on households.
Appointments to lead the city's key public corporations have also been completed. After confirmation hearings at the Guri City Council, Lee Seung-woo, former president of the Incheon Urban Corporation, was formally appointed on the 19th as the fifth president of Guri Urban Corporation, and Kwon Bong-soo, former chair of the Guri City Council, was appointed on the 21st as the 13th president of Guri Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation. The appointments are expected to add momentum to long-standing priorities such as urban development and the relocation and revitalization of the wholesale market.
The city has also drawn up tough measures to ease parking problems for visitors to its offices. After adding 113 temporary parking spaces and designating visitor-priority zones, it introduced a "three-strikes" rule under which employees with registered vehicles lose their regular parking permits after three violations, such as parking in the visitor-priority zones, putting residents' convenience first.
"Bringing water and sewerage rates in line with costs is an unavoidable step to supply residents with safe, clean water on a sustainable basis," the spokesperson said. "We will sharply step up efforts to improve management efficiency and cut costs, while continuing to communicate with residents by disclosing major policy issues transparently."