GRANTS TO LOCAL BODIES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 100, 26 April 1912, Page 6

GRANTS TO LOCAL BODIES.

DE-LAYS OV£R PAY^IE^'T. On Tuesday last, a deputation from t!ie Waitemata County Council waited en the ilniister for .FinaJKe (Han- A. 3L ifver;) with reference to the delay in the payment of certain special grants for the tract!on of roads, bridges, and other public work?. It was stated in last night's -Star" that the Minister had received a telegram from the Public Works Department's head office to the effect that twelve vouchers totalling £954 had been received only on Saturday last. Speaking to a ".Star" representative this morning, the chairman and secretary of the Council pointed out that the inference from this telegram was -that the Council was to blame for the delay. They stated that the County Engineer had, on February 29 and March 9 last, sent in to the local office of the Roads Department vouchers for sums totalling £1,500, for transmission to Wellington. It had ■been requested that all such vouchers should be in by tire middle of March, and 1 they were careful not to cause any dc- j lay. It WES presumed that the vouchers , had rain in the local office till last week.! for in the interval only £.150 had br>en | received out of the £1.500 asked for. j Even no , there was aome £700 not ac counted for. and thpy supposed that the 1 vouchers for that amount still lay in the j local officp. which plainly had not a strffi- | cip.n?. staff to cope with th?. business of 1 the various local bodies, others of -whom j had similar complaints to make about, 1 vexatious delays. The Council's chief r-atior of complaint lay in the. fa,-t. that the grant? had already been extended, and the X 1.500 merely went to swell i th? bank overdraft, on which a good rate j of interest had to be paid. Morcnver. j if the £rani were not paid before MaTch , "1 of this year, it. would appear on the | next estimates. 3n<l the Council would j >>• prejudiced in its application for further "Tan!?. I " ______„