MAYOR REPLIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 13

MAYOR REPLIES.

HOSPITAL SCHEME.

MR. MOODY'S CRITICISM

CITY'S INTEREST IN PLAN

" SMOKE-SCREEN- » FOR RATEPAYERS. e "I can claim to possess an ordinary degree of intelligence, but this.. I confees, has not assisted me to an understanding of tlie statement of my friend, the chairman of the Hospital Board, who apparently is unable to distinguish tlie difference between a dispassionate survey of facts and what he terms 'sugarcoated criticism, and who became so unduly excited at my remarks," said the Ernest Davis, to-day, when replying to the statement made by the chairman of tlie Hospital Board, Mr. Allan J. Moody, last Saturday.

"Equally, I am at a loss to follow his strictures on the city engineer, which I can describe only as an unwarrantable attack on a public officer, who in the course of ordinary duty and as an expert f drew the attention of the local authority to the existence of an apparent anomaly," the Mayor proceeded. "This is the more unfortunate, since a public official is precluded from replying. "Vijally Concerned." "It may facilitate the chairman's ap- i preciation of the position if I quote, from the file cojfy of my statement, the introductory paragraphs, which were not published in the summary of my other observations. I said:— " 'With regard to .the "operation of the Auckland Hospital generally, I have never been able to-shed the feeling that the City Council acts, and under present circumstances can only continue to act, as a smoke screen between tlie board and the ratepayers. The majority of the ratepavers do dissect the rates and isolate the proportionate amount chargeable to - tlie Hospital Hate Account. -Rather do they think in terras of tlie aggregate rate for all the services, and criticise the civic administration accordingly. Anyway, we suffer the hanging.' „ "Is it to be wondered at, then, that the City Council and other contributing local authorities are vitally concerned over any -substantial extensions to hospital expenditure?" Sir Ernest asked. "As an instance, tllie amount available for expenditure on streets and civic amenities generally is, incidentally, now being controlled by the funds remaining after payment of levies compulsorily made by outside bodies. The only alternative to -this policy is increased rates.- - » •/. "Receipt (from the Hospital Board of an arbitrarily increased assessment involving the raising of the. charges to their ratepayers has now 'become to local authorities a civic anxiety. They are the collecting agencies, "whereas the board is the receiving body. \ Issue Joined. . "At the same time," the Mayor continued, "it must be emphasised that the City Council takes second-jilace to no one in its sympathy for the sick or its desire. to see an amelioration of the conditions -which arise from overtaxed accommodation at the hospital. No one acquainted with existing facilities would call them adequate, or say that "the present position' requires no alteration. But issue must be at once joined on the question raised of the competence of-any local body knowing the.existing conditions to speak decisively' on their alleviation."

'The Mayor stated that the Hospital Board looked to the * City Council, among other local authorities, for payment of the annual levies made iby the board, and the council in turn must pass on the board's levy in the form of rates to its ratepayers. For the present financial year, the City Council had been, called on to collect £57,577, equivalent to 8d in the £ of the total rates levied of 4/5j in the £. This represented an increase on the previous year of £23,039, or 2id in the £ in the rate levied;

'Unfortunately for the ratepayers, the increase iri the annual levy lias been a progressive one, and citizens are entitled to inquire whether can be .taken wliidh, ■without impairing the efficacy of the work of tlieliospital, can arrest unreasonable -additions to the burdens they are already carrying.

If ratepayers can be satisfied 'by the board that any proposed expenditure whether it be for maintenance or im : provement of the existing institutions or for capital -works to provide new accommodation—is fully warranted, then, I, for one, "will raise/no objection. But how does the Hospital Board intend, if indeed it does intend,"to satisfy the contributory "local bodies, and the ratej/ayers who find the levies, of the soundness of its proposals? Searching Inquiry Wanted. "When a major scheme of the magnitude of present is under review," Sir Ernest continued, "the local bodies, are entitled to ask for the fullest evidence in support of such decision as may be made. To my mind it is . not sufficient for the highly technical questions and heavy liabilities involved to "be considered- by a board alone. In such circumstances some more authoritative and searching form of inquiry is warranted to ensure that prudence is not sacrificed to suc-h shock tactics as are envisaged by the board's chairman.

"The simple suggestions which I made in council, and which seem to have disturbed the equilibrium of the chairman, are that in view of the ever-increasing population in the outer areas, before any. definite action for further centralisation is taken, the extent of that and- of the area comprising the Auckland Hospital District should be reviewed with the object Of physical and economic readjustment, and that the appropriate- form of' any such inquiry be a Royal Commission."

This was' a fundamental issue, he said, and at the outset should be determined in such a way as to inspire confidence in -the ultimate payers of the board's levies. Outside of this were the incidence "of rating 'and related questions which could well be overhauled without reflection on the board, and yet be in the public interest.

ee Help Received. ° f the W 'V the of ]• er ' , clses conference 01 local todies held last July 011 the .nc.dence of hospital admita AVlnt tan l"' cse "* incidence is unfair. 'from tin V -1 V'S loCal bodics "ceived So , , T ll Board to re,,lctl .V tlin ,! • am awale > none. Hatlicr i nuirv I tn' an f S^" ts tl,e id0!l 0f further "X , 1 "' 1 " 5 matter on an equit,n fels - concern is that the atepavcrs of Auckland city pay the r juat share, and their i llst share o • fmnH-f• COtst ° f P rov >d»»£ for tlie hospital of Anrki le , cpl . ml ]> y the deserviip' sick fiecf that a! tho C ' i'w'' t l" lt U,Cy bl: nea that the object of the expenditure low proposed is sound. There is no 5™,,.'"'" tlßt.'i I can o"fv " IC(I I ! cws P«l»er controversy, kilov me v"™" 0 tlmt h ° <loes »' oi