CHATHAM ISLAND ROADS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29342, 22 October 1960, Page 15

CHATHAM ISLAND ROADS

County’s Expenditure Reduced "The Press” Special Service WELLINGTON. Oct. 21. The National Roads Board has approved an application by the Chatham Island County Council to reduce its share of roading expenditure for this year from £4393 to £lOOO. The amount to be found by the board, £lO,OOO, is to remain the same.

Discussing the financial difficulties of the Chatham Island Council, the board recognised that the county’s income, being obtained from wharf dues and not land rating, could not be controlled in the same way as the revenue of other local bodies. Revenue for the year fell about £2OOO below that expected and the council finished the year with a deficit of £5OOO.

The No. 14 District Roads Council had declined to make a recommendation ‘ ‘because the county’s circumstances were not comparable with other counties in the district,” and passed the question of allocation on to the board.

The board also agreed to purchase a new metal crusher, of much greater capacity than the existing one, for the Chatham Island Council. The cost was estimated at £2500. The new crusher will be bought for the county on a hire purchase term of four years at current interest rate, unless a redundant machine can be released by the Ministry of Works for the island. The primary crusher at present in use is unable to deal with the size of stone, the board noted and was hampering the council so that it would be unable to fulfil its scheduled roading work and utilise the allocated £lO,OOO.