Road Grants and Rates

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28020, 14 July 1956, Page 8

Road Grants and Rates

The representative of the municipalities on the National Roads Board (Mr N. H. Moss) is to be commended on his vigilance. When he found that the Akaroa Borough Council was using its reading subsidy from the board to reduce rates and not to improve roads in the borough he protested. The borough council has now reversed its decision and will pay for an extra eight chains of sealing out of rates, which will remain at the old level. Although this is a relatively trivial matter, the principle is of the greatest importance. Local authorities receive these large subsidies only because motorists agreed to pay much higher road i taxes, not to relieve ratepayers of

their obligations but to get better roads. Because their inclination is to keep rates as low as possible, particularly in election years, local authorities may sometimes need reminding of their obligation, as the Akaroa Borough Council did. It is to be hoped that the county members of the board, like Mr Moss, keep their eyes open, or motorists could be deprived of many miles, not just a few chains, of the roads they have paid for.