Riding move deferred

Press, 10 February 1981, Page 6

Riding move deferred

A move to abolish Waimairi County’s separate riding rating system was last evening deferred by the council’s finance and by-laws committee to its next meeting. The issue, described as a “silly wrangle about nothing” by the County Chairman, Mr D. B. Rich, was discussed by the committee at some length. It eventually decided that it did not have enough information to reach a decision. Mr Rich said it was "one of the most dangerous moves made in a long time,” one that would affect the council’s continuing ability to serve its ratepayers. The move to a “common rate in the dollar over the whole county” is being pushed the hardest by Cr W. T. Rice. He told the committee that the change would “streamline, simplify, and strengthen the financial administration” of the whole county. The committee will look again at the question when it has more information on the possible effects on the ridings. Cr Rice has called for a common rating system before. In December the committee asked for a report on possible savings from abolishing the riding rating system and on the effect of refuse and reading being on a county basis. The County Clerk Mr J. Reid, said that a common rate would save the council some time and materials but it was difficult to assess just how much. Support for city Mr Reid and the County Engineer, Mr A, J. W. Lamb concluded that a common rate for refuse and roading would probably simplify existing methods. -Waimairi County will sup-

port the Christchurch City council’s stand on electricity pricing but not its “practice” of transferring Municipal Electricity Department surpluses to other accounts. As well as describing transfer of Municipal Electricity Department surplus funds as “scurrilous,” Mr Rich said that as far as Waimairi ratepayers were concerned the City Council was “no be'tter than the Mafia” in this. But supporting the City Council’s stand on electricity pricing and opposing the transfer of M.E.D. surpluses were two issues and should be kept as such, Cr Hazel Tait said that the City Council was taking a “holier-than-thou” attitude in opposing the 9 per cent in-

crease in the bulk electricity supply charges effective from April 1, 1981, Ordinary power boards would not be allowed the kind of surpluses the M.E.D. had. The city Council should get its own house in order before bulldozing the Government, she said. Waimairi County, which bought electricity from the M.E.D., had not received anything back from the department’s surpluses.