Gunpo City Council in Gyeonggi Province is changing the way it supports policy staff, shifting from a committee-based joint support system to a dedicated support model for each council member.
According to the council on the 20th, this change aims to enhance understanding of individual council members' legislative activities and strengthen the continuity of policy research and legislative support.
Under the new system, one policy support staff member will be assigned to support two council members for a designated period.
Previously, two policy support staff members were assigned to each committee to jointly assist with committee-related tasks. Going forward, the focus will be on providing more consistent oversight of the overall legislative activities of the assigned council members.
The key aspect of this change is to place policy support staff closer to the legislative activities of individual council members while maintaining a balance through rotation and collaboration.
Policy support staff will assist with tasks such as reviewing and amending ordinances, budget and settlement reviews, administrative audits and investigations, city council inquiries, and collecting and analyzing policy data, as well as supporting council research groups.
Notably, the change allows for continuous support of the same council member's legislative activities over a set period, which is expected to enhance understanding of local issues and key policies.
This approach is anticipated to enable quicker access to necessary information during the legislative process and ensure continuity in reviewing ordinances and budget proposals.
However, to prevent a long-term fixed relationship between specific council members and policy support staff, the council has decided to rotate assignments based on July 1 each year.
This rotation is designed to allow policy support staff to gain experience in various areas of legislative support and to prevent specialization in specific tasks.
Collaboration among policy support staff will also be maintained for tasks requiring joint efforts.
In cases where specialized support is needed, such as for policy data requests, ordinance reviews, or council research group operations, staff members will work together to complete the tasks.
Citizens have expressed that the importance of this change lies not just in increasing the number of policy support staff but in how effectively they can support the legislative activities of council members.
With a better understanding of individual council members' issues, there is hope for more systematic support in reviewing local complaints and policy matters.
Conversely, there are concerns that the dedicated support model should not be perceived as solely benefiting individual council members, emphasizing the need for clear definitions of public duties and operational standards.
The city council aims to leverage the advantages of dedicated support while ensuring regular rotation and collaboration among policy support staff to maintain both expertise and balance in support.
Meanwhile, Chair Lee Woo-cheon stated, "It is important for the policy support staff system to lead to tangible outcomes in legislative activities."
He added, "We will improve the system to ensure responsible support from data research to legislation, budget reviews, and administrative audits, with a deep understanding of each council member's legislative tasks."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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