新北市義勇消防組織與分配政治之運作—以第二屆新北市議會為例

Abstract

我國的分配政治研究中較無涉及義勇消防組織(以下簡稱義消)，然而義消組織動員力強與分布廣泛的特性，直轄市議長逐漸有兼任義消總隊長的趨勢，再加上每年固定分配的義消建議款等原因，實有必要釐清義消與分配政治的運作。本研究以第二屆新北市議會為研究對象，欲了解義消與議員兩者在地方的互動模式、義消建議款的分配模式與決策過程、以及現行法規與實際運作如何防弊兼興利義消建議款的支用。本文使用量化研究法輔以深度訪談法，訪問具有代表性的關鍵人物，俾利理解多方思維，試圖爬梳數據下的決策思維與影響範圍。 研究發現，義消與議員兩者互動模式屬「政治密友主義」，兩方並沒有固定的恩庇者與侍從者，處於既競爭又合作的狀態，且任何一方隨時可以終結關係。此外，在義消建議款分配模式上，數據及訪談顯示選區性質影響義消建議款分配多寡，大於議員身分所造成的影響，例如議員即便隸屬相關的審查委員會，也不見得會輸出較多義消建議款。最後，由於政府採購法日益完善，動支建議款均須符合法規，如今建議款不再形同議員的私房錢，反而是採購流程因須配合法令而作繭自縛，不時有流標情事。

In the study of distributive politics in Taiwan, Volunteer Fire Departments are less concerned. However, with the traits of strong mobilization and broad geographic coverage, the trend that Speakers of the Council Special Municipality Council double as Commanders of Volunteer Fire Department, and the grants distributed annually from the council; it is imperative to clarify the process of Volunteer Fire Department grant distribution. This paper observed the 2nd session of New Taipei City; it aims to figure out the interaction between volunteer firefighters and councilors in their constituency, the distributive model and decision-making process on Volunteer Fire Department grants, and current laws as well as actual operations on corruption prevention and profits promotion of the grants. By conducting quantitative research and interviewing critical people in related occupations can we understand the whole situation comprehensively and realize the thinking patterns of councilors. There are three findings in this paper; first, the interaction between volunteer firefighters and councilors is political cronyism, which suggests there are no fixed patrons and clients in local factions. They treat each other in a competitive yet cooperative way, and either of them can terminate this relationship whenever necessary. Second, the statistics and interviews indicate that, while constituency characteristics affect the distribution of grants, committee membership or partisanship rarely displays significant effects. Third, owing to the gradual completion of the Government Procurement Act, all government procurements, including those purchased by grants, shall be bound by this act. The grants were no longer councilor’s mad money, but a burden that caused unsuccessful bid due to insufficient bidders instead.