Morning-ton Improvements

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 223, 17 June 1936, Page 13

Morning-ton Improvements

Sir, —His Worship the Mayor, at the meeting of the Mornington Electors’ Asso-’ elation, stated that the extra cost of the wage increases and the 40-hour week would amount to £76,000, but he did not tell the electors what the estimated increase o£ cost of materials used by the corporation would amount to. The increased cost of living will be at least 15/- per week. He also stated that some £44,700 was spent during the last five years in Mornington renovating streets, but he was careful not to give the cost of each job. From a cursory knowledge of work done it seems obvious that the costs have been over-estimated.. Again, he did not state until questioned that the unemployment funds helped to pay for much of the work done, so the city treasury did not pay the. whole of the £44,700 as the Mayor implied. The Mayor was very hazy about the financing of the lowering of the hill on Mills Road. He first stated that only u small amount could he allowed this year to lower it —-most of it would be spent iu buying property. Then he began to realise that some £6OOO was in the schedule of the last loan for the job. There was a feeling at the meeting that part of this money had either been spent before the loan was obtaind or was spent on another job. If this is so, then the council will have to make this good and spend the whole of the schedule amount on the lowering of Mills Road and Mills Road only. It was pointed out that iu drawing up loan schedules items are often struck out before the loan is carried, and also for the purpose of window-dressing, or as Cr. Wright said, offering a sop to the various suburbs, various works were put into the schedule which were never done. It was stated that many streets were named for footpaths, kerbing and channelling. and were never done, and the council’s stock reply was that the money had run out. Obviously this_ is_ pure window-dressing and under-estimating thcosts to get the ratepayers to pass the loan. The electors made it quite clear to the Mayor that the ratepayers would look carefully at any loan schedule in the future. Melrose voted for a tramway loan sixteen years ago, and still have not got it. The Sydney Street scheme has been turned down, and yet the City Council is persisting with it, find has spent some £70,000 orer it already. The Mayor will find, it very difficult to convince the ratepayers that a loan for sewerage is urgently needed. The stunt of dragooning the ratepayers with some scheme on the score of health, assisted by veiled threats of the Government or the Health Department is played out. —I am, etc.. ELECTOR. ■Wellington, June 16.