ESTIMATES NOT EXCEEDED

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22306, 21 January 1938, Page 21

ESTIMATES NOT EXCEEDED

DULLER COUNTY COUNCIL

MANY. OUTSTANDING RATES

The Buller County Council is within its estimates at this stage in the financial year, according to a statement made by the Engineer-Clerk (Mr C. F. Schadick) at the monthly meeting on Wednesday. The financial statement showed that the receipts since April 1 totalled £30,820 19s 3d % and the payments during the same period amounted to £42,128 5s 4d. The chairman said that at present the expenditure was in excess of the receipts, but there was a considerable sum outstanding in rates and large amounts still to be refunded to the council. Cr. the Hon. W. H. McTntyre, M.L.C.. asked if any reply had been received to the council's application to the Main Highways Board for a further grant of £SOO to enable the Millerton men to be kept on the improvements to the main highway at Nikau. The engineer said no word had been received yet, and Cr. Mclntyre was authorised lo remind the Highways Board (which met yesterday) by telephone of the request. Cr. Jordan suggested that Cr. Mclntyre might at the same time ask for assistance towards the cost of constructing the Coal Creek road to give access to the bush in the upper Mokihinui. Several sawmillers were waiting to shift their mills to that locality and were willing to contribute £IOO worth of timber for bridges on the road. Already £575 had been paid in royalties on portion of the bush to be milled, and it was estimated that in all £3OOO would be paid in royalties. The miners should receive some assistance. The engineer said that unfortunately the area was part of the Harbour Endowment, which meant that the whole of the royalties would be paid into ( the Consolidated Fund through the \ harbour account. SUPERANNUATION FOR EMPLOYEES PREVIOUS RESOLUTIONS RESCINDED fiREY POWER HOARD'S DISCUSSION Consideration to the question ol superannuation for employees of the Grey Electric Power Board was given by the board at its monthly meeting on Wednesday evening. A motion by Mr J. Smeaton rescinding all resolutions previously passed regarding superannuation of the board's employees, was carried. For some time consideration has been given to the matter of superannuation, and of a change from an Australian insurance society, in which a number of the present employee.: are insured under a group scheme, to the National Provident Fund, provision beins made in the latter instance tor all the board's employees to be cumpulsorily insured for superannuation purposes. . Mr Smeaton said that a fair majority of the board's staff was against having anything to do witn the composite scheme of the NationaJ Provident Fund. Under this scheme the board would have to pay out £3OO a year or more. Provision for widows and children was unsatisfactory ana not to be compared with that under" the mutual society's scheme There was in existence a gentlemen's agreement with the A.M.P. Society, under which certain promises had been made by the board of that time concerning superannuation. Id his opinion the mutual society's scheme was a much better proposition lor the board's employees; he considered most of the staff favoured the scheme, which had been in existence.

Mr A. H. McKane said that, under the National Provident scheme there was a possibility, of all the board's employees joining, but under the mutual society's scheme the board could legally pay out of its funds the amount required to - subsidise the policies. The board had just about reached the limit of its unauthorised expenditure account, and could not pay for more of the staff because it lacked authority to subsidise the payments. They had about £IOO left before, the limit of unauthorised expenditure was reached, and if they had compulsory superannuation they would have no money left for tiona to charity. He suggested that if the board was going to rescind the resolution it should rescinci the lot. Mr Smeaton: I am aware that we are paying out of unauthorised expenditure, and I know that it is becoming heavily overburdened. But it should be possible to secure Parliamentary sanction to increase the amount.

Mr J. B. Kent asked what amount of unauthorised expenditure was available, and was told that it was a percentage of the income and increased accordingly. Mr W. H. FarfUt maintained that the board had long ago agreed with the mutual society over superannuation. He did not anticipate any difficulty in obtaining sanction to increase the amount of unauthorised expenditure. He felt, he said, that the staff should have superannuation. The chairman said he had assured the staff that there would be no coercion. With the exception of three members, the majority preferred the old scheme. The notice of motion meant that future members o£ the staff would have to join the National Provident scheme with additions. After further discussion the motion was put to the meeting and was carried by five votes to four. HOKITIKA FIRE BRIGADE MEETING OF MEMBERS At a meeting of the Hokitika Fire Brigade, held on Tuesday evening, a vote of appreciation was passed to those who had decorated their vehicles for the New Year's Eve display. Fireman F. Ballinger was appointed delegate to the annual conference of the New Zealand Fire Brigades' Association, to be held at New Plymouth on lebruary 21. It was decided to confer with the Businessmen's Association in . regard * ■ the fireworks display, and also that the brigade participate in the Hokitika State School jubilee procession with fire brigade vehicles, which have been in use from 1865 till the present.