下水道、税金投入抑制を＝値上げや広域運営を提言―財務省

　財政制度等審議会（財務相の諮問機関）は６日の分科会で、地方財政をめぐり議論した。効率化が課題となっている自治体の下水道事業について、財務省は税金による費用補助を減らすため、使用料の値上げや事業運営の広域化によるコスト削減を提言した。
　こうした見直しを来年度予算案の編成作業に反映させ、歳出削減を図りたい考え。
　下水道事業のうち、汚水処理費用は利用者からの使用料で賄う原則がある。財務省は、処理費用の３割近くが自治体の一般会計からの繰り入れなどで穴埋めされていると指摘。コストを下げるため、自治体をまたいだ事業運営の広域・共同化を提案した。また、税金に頼らず、値上げなどの経営努力で採算を確保するよう、公費投入基準の厳格化も求めた。下水道の使用料は２０１７年度現在、全国平均で月額３０４１円。（2019/11/06-17:12）

Japan's Finance Ministry proposed on Wednesday measures to cut the spending of taxpayer money for municipal sewage programs, including rate hikes and joint operations.
   The proposal was made at a subcommittee meeting of the Fiscal System Council, which advises the finance minister. Taking into account the presented measures, the council will start its full-fledged work to draw up a state budget proposal for the next fiscal year starting in April 2020.
   In principle, wastewater treatment in cities, towns and villages should be funded with fees collected from sewer system users. But the ministry claims that nearly 30 pct of costs for the treatment are covered by taxpayer money transferred from municipal governments' general-account budgets including grants from the national government.
   To reduce such budget transfers, a move deemed necessary to improve municipal fiscal health, the ministry, at the meeting, suggested that monthly sewer rates be raised from 3,041 yen on national average as of fiscal 2017 and that criteria for using public funds be made more stringent.
   It also proposed that multiple municipal governments jointly undertake a single sewage program to cut water treatment costs for each participating government.