# Community Development Council

The Community Development Council (CDC; Malay: Majlis Pembangunan Masyarakat; Chinese: 社区发展理事会; Tamil: சமூக மேம்பாட்டு மன்றம்) is a government-led organisation to organise grassroot organisations and community programmes into smaller, local units as a bridge between the government and the community in Singapore. It encourages volunteerism from wider community, and organises community and social assistance programs with the help of a monetary grant from the government. They are governed by the Community Development Council Rules 1997.

## Organisation

There are currently five Community Development Councils as of 27 July 2020:
| Community Development Council | Constituencies |
| Central Singapore | Ang Mo Kio GRC |
| Central Singapore | Bishan–Toa Payoh GRC |
| Central Singapore | Jalan Besar GRC |
| Central Singapore | Tanjong Pagar GRC |
| Central Singapore | Potong Pasir SMC |
| Central Singapore | Radin Mas SMC |
| Central Singapore | Marymount SMC |
| Central Singapore | Kebun Baru SMC |
| Central Singapore | Yio Chu Kang SMC |
| North East | Aljunied GRC |
| North East | Sengkang GRC |
| North East | Pasir Ris–Punggol GRC |
| North East | Tampines GRC |
| North East | Hougang SMC |
| North East | Punggol West SMC |
| North West | Holland–Bukit Timah GRC |
| North West | Marsiling–Yew Tee GRC |
| North West | Nee Soon GRC |
| North West | Sembawang GRC |
| North West | Bukit Panjang SMC |
| South East | East Coast GRC |
| South East | Marine Parade GRC |
| South East | MacPherson SMC |
| South East | Mountbatten SMC |
| South West | Chua Chu Kang GRC |
| South West | Jurong GRC |
| South West | West Coast GRC |
| South West | Bukit Batok SMC |
| South West | Hong Kah North SMC |
| South West | Pioneer SMC |
| South West | Yuhua SMC |
The council boundaries follow that of the existing political divisions, with each handling between four and six GRCs and SMCs and roughly dividing the country's population into equal parts. Each CDC is managed by a Council, which in turn is headed by an appointed mayor and has between 12 and 80 members. The members are appointed by the chairman or deputy chairman of the People's Association.

### Mayors

| Community Development Council (CDC) | Mayor |
| Central Singapore | Denise Phua |
| North East | Desmond Choo |
| North West | Alex Yam |
| South East | Mohd Fahmi Aliman |
| South West | Low Yen Ling |
Singapore has in total five mayors, each responsible for the CDC in a specific district. Mayors also sit as the chairman of the CDC. According to former politician Teo Ser Luck who was the mayor of the North East district, mayors are in charge of laying foundation for building camaraderie within communities.
However, the necessity of having five mayors in a small city-state like Singapore is sometimes questioned. In 2021, during the parliamentary debate on Budget 2021, Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh questioned the amount of salaries paid to the mayors and whether is there a need of full-time CDC mayors. Central Singapore CDC's mayor, Denise Phua, replied that she is the only full-time CDC mayor while the rest are considered part-time mayors.

## Funding

The CDCs are funded by an annual sum from the government directly proportionate to the number of residents living within their jurisdiction at a rate of S$1 per person. They are free to conduct their own fund-raising programs, which the government will match S$3 for every S$1 raised, up to a cap of S$40 million a year from 2018 financial year. Previously, the cap was S$24 million a year. The government also pays for the councils' operational costs, including that for its offices.