在我國國家的行政體系中,直轄市與縣(市)同屬於地方位階;惟中央政府無論在人力資源、財政分配,甚或重大公共建設上,皆獨厚直轄市,即以普通統籌稅款分配為例,台北、高雄二直轄市所占比例高達百分之四十七,而占全台灣地區總人口與土地面積五分之四的二十一縣(市),僅獲得百分之三十五,顯示分配上極不公平。經由長時期的累積造就今天台灣南、北二大都市的優越地位,以及城鄉差距的擴大,部份貧困的縣份有時連員工薪水發給皆有問題,顯示問題之嚴重性。 桃園縣由於鄰近台北市,縣內擁有中正國際機場、中山高、北二高、石門水庫、發電廠以及優美的海岸線,大面積的工業用地,各項資源豐富。經過數十年的努力已由農業型的縣份轉變為工商大縣。產業集中、稅收大幅成長,八十八年的稅收超過一千億,約占全國總稅收的7.9﹪,人口亦超過169萬人,占台閩地區總人口數的7.66﹪,教育發達,政治人才輩出,都市化超過相鄰近縣份,已成為北部都會區極具發展潛力的都會性縣份。 惟在發展過程中亦遭遇到不少困境,例如縣長行政權尚須強化,人口急遽成長,預算金額,服務項目以及法律規章,日愈增多,人民要求不斷增加,但以縣政府現有的人力與財源難以負荷。因此,必須透過組織變革才能擁有更大的權責與能力來達成公共組織與地方自治的目標;尤其桃園縣未來加速都市化的主要條件在能改制為直轄市,而改制直轄市之法制要件已具備,包括人口、政治、經濟、文化、都會區域發展以及桃園縣議會通過改制決議等,已符合地方制度法第四條規定,惟我國向無縣改制為直轄市案例,雖然地方制度法對於直轄市已有原則性的規範,但缺少執行性及操作性的標準,因此,本研究希望以桃園縣為例,針對改制直轄市之構成要件予以量化、分析,以建立一個可行的改制模式,期有助於桃園縣以及將來其它縣市改制之參考。
This thesis aims to explore the possibility of Taoyuan County upgraded into a Special City. This research shows that Taoyuan County has good potential to transform into a modern metropolitan City, among all counties in northern part of Taiwan. In 1960 Taoyuan County began to change itself into a modern City from a rural town. Today, Taoyuan has become the home of all major transportation hub of Taiwan. Several huge mass transportation projects have been completed one after another, the CKS international airport as the most important one. Taoyuan County has also worked hard to develop industrial zones. As a result, the county area now accommodates more than 1.6 million residents. This study shows that Taoyuan County will play a very active role in the northern parts of Taiwan. both economically and politically. Meanwhile, Taoyuan has encountered some difficulties in this process of rapid development, such as insufficient budget and manpower. Worst of all, the local government can not meet the residents’needs without fully local autonomy. This study proposes an effective way to solve these problems upgrading Taoyuan County into a Special City, of which the rank is the same as province with much more autonomy, budget and manpower. Although Taoyuan County is politically, economically and culturally qualified to be upgraded into a Special City, there is no such prior example. This study aims to present a “Taoyuan model” that may applied to other counties.