Drainage Board breaks State pay link

Press, 27 February 1986, Page 5

Drainage Board breaks State pay link

The Christchurch Drainage Board has broken its traditional State link for board staff salary increases. The board decided , last evening to limit staff salary increases to a 20.12 per cent annual general adjustment.

State service staff have received salary rises of up to 37 per cent as a result of last year’s Higher Salaries Commission determination. The review of State salary margins for skill and responsibility had implications for board salaries, said the chief administration officer, Mr Norman Kelly. "The question is now whether such increases should be passed on to board pay scales,” Mr Kelly said.

Mr Maurice Carter said that the Government had indicated that local bodies could break with their traditional link to state salaries.

Mr Rex Arbuckle said that it was the board’s responsibility to try to break the tradition of annual rate increases which included limiting annual salary increases. Board finances The board agreed to borrow about $1.7 million at an interest rate of more than 20 per cent. This was necessary because interest rates had not fallen as expected, the finance committee’s chairman, Mr R. E. Wilton, told the board. During last year, the board put off borrowing this money for renewal

loans and capital works. Mr Kelly reported that the board had to borrow the money to get funds back into the general account.

“This is to provide working capital for the first three months of the next financial year,” he said.

Some surplus money in the board’s land drainage and sewer loans rate accounts was used to pay off about $620,000 worth of renewal loans. Mr Kelly said that more than $1 million of surplus designated funds in these accounts could not legally be used to pay off further renewal loans. Philpotts drain The board decided to put the piping of the Philpotts Road drain on a list of low priorities. Some

board members argued that the board should go ahead with the piping promptly and meet the full cost.

The majority of board members agreed that its piping jobs should be principally for drainage rather than aesthetic purposes. Both the Christchurch City Council and property owners near the Philpotts Road drain have indicated that they are not prepared to contribute funds for piping the drain.

At the December meeting last year, the board decided to pipe the drain between the Dudley Creek diversion and Innes Road. A high priority was to be given to the work if the council and residents were prepared to contribute funds on the basis of benefits they gained.