NAPIER MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3504, 29 September 1882, Page 2

NAPIER MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

SPECIAL MEETING. A special meeting of the Municipal Council was held in the Council Chamber last; evening to consider the advisability or otherwise of dismissing any of the officers or laborers engaged by the Corporation, and for dealing with any notices of motion relating thereto. There was a large attendance of the public, who evidently took a lively interest in the proceedings. The chair was taken afc 8 o'clock by His Worship the Mayor (Dr. Spencer), tho following coun-

cillors being also present:—Councillors Monteith, Lee, Wall, M'Dougall, Price, Margoliouth, Graham, and Cotton.

The Mayor raised the question whether or 1 not two of the motions of which notice had J been given came within the scope of the requisition calling the meeting ; he would, however, put them, as he understood such, was the wish of the meeting, Cr. Wall then moved, " That the salaries of all borough officials be reduced to the former amounts paid previous to tho £70,000 loan being raised, such reduction to take effect on and after January Ist, 1883." Cr. Graham seconded the motion. Cr. Wall said ho must take exception to the remarks of the chairman with respect to the present motion being out of order, or not within the scope of the requisition calling the meeting. The requisition to the Town Clerk stated distinctly the object of the meeting, and the motion was consonant therewith, and therefore quite in order. It was not his intention to say much to the motion, as he understood an amendment would be proposed,with the spirit of which ho agreed. He wished, however, to say that the question of retrenchment now before the meeting had not been taken up hastily, as was supposed'by some people. Last March, when the estimates of the expenditure and receipts were placed before the Council, several Councillors were inclined to take a somewhat similar action to that now taken, but they could not get a majority, and it wa9 thought better to leave it until the loan was expended. This was now actually the case—in fact, there was a small overdraft. At the last meeting of the Public Works Committee proposal* were made with the object of reducing the office expenses, but it was found that seven days' notice of motion must be given, therefore a special meeting was arranged for. As showing the necessity for immediate steps being taken in the matter of retrenchment, he might point out that the present ordinary rate only realised £2800, and considerably more than half of tbat amount was expended in salaries, while the wages of day laborers absorbed the remainder. Either retrenchment or an additional rate was necessary to prevent the borough becoming bankrupt.

Cr. Monteith moved, as an amendment, " That the salary of the Town Clerk be reduced to £350 a year and that he be appointed receiver of rates ; that the borough, valuer also give clerical assistance to the Town Clork, and that the salary be £156, the appointment to be offered to Mr R. Williams ; and that the receiver of rates be notified that his services will be dispensed with, in accordance with the terms of his engagement." Cr. Cotton seconded the amendment. Cr. Monteith explained that he moved his amendment, not because he disagreed with the intention of Cr. Wall's motion, bufc simply because it was desirous to make the proposal more explicit. It was a disagreeable duty for anyone to have to propose reductions in salaries, but it was necessary. He regretted more especially having to propose a reduction in tho salary of the Town Clerk, than whom there was no more efficient officer in New Zealand. If, however, retrenchment in this direction was required, it should affect all alike. He did not wish to convey the impression that tho~"f present reductions were mooted because of > the inefficiency or otherwise of any of the borough officials. It was a question beyond that altogether. He might briefly summarise the effect of his amendment to Cr. Wall's motion as follows : —By the combination of the offices of clerical assistant to the Town Clerk and borough valuer, and the abolition of the respective offices of receiver of rates and inspector of nuisances, a saving of £224 a year would result. Then the Town Clerk's salary would be reduced, making a further saving of £50 a year, or £274 in all. A subsequent proposal would combine the offices of road overseer and inspector of nuisances and other offices, so there would be nothing extra paid for the performance of those duties. Mr Parker, the clerk and receiver of rates, would be dispensed with. That was not because any fault had been found with Mr Parker, bufc it was felfc that it was only just to give the oldest servants of the Council the option of remaining in the service.

Cr. Wall agreed with the amendment in every respect. When the notices of motion were given ifc was not intended to carry them out exactly as written. The morning contemporary (laughter)—he meant the morning paper —had jumpedafc the conclusion that the several motions were to be carried exactly as written, and that there would be a saving effected of about £80, perhaps not; so much. He (Cr. Wall) believed that the result of this meeting would be a yearly saving to the borough of £474, besides further sums by reducing the amount paid afc present for day labor. _^ In reply to the Mayor, Cr. Monteith said ' he meant that the Town Clerk should retain the office of treasurer also afc the salary mentioned in his amendment.

The Mayor wished to put Cr. Monteifch's amendment in two divisions, aud some discussion arose, bufc ultimately, by desire of the Council, it was put as a whole.

Cr. Lee was opposed to the amendment;. He did not see how the work could be satisfactorily performed with the proposed combination of offices. It would be impossible for the Town Clerk to act as rerates and at the same time properly perform the duties of Town Clerk; and the offices of collector and treasurer should not be amalgamated in one officer, or complications might arise. Cr. Cotton remarked that Cr. Lee had evidently forgotten that the demands for rates now went through the post. Cr. Margoliouth agreed with Cr. Lee's remarks. It was impossible that the Town Clerk could act in the dual capacity proposed. A great deal of the Town Clerk's time was taken up in educating the councillors into their duties, &c. He (Cr. Margoliouth). was also opposed to taking £50 off the nuisance inspector's salary at the same time that extra work was imposed on him. Cr. Monteith, in reply, twitted Cr. Margoliouth with "measuring other people's corn in his own bushel" when he spoke of the Town Clerk having to instruct councillors in their duties. With regard to tbev rate-receiving, certain days might _be setr apart for the work, and it need not interfere witli the other clerical duties of the Town Clerk. The Council divided on the amendment: —Ayes, Crs. Monteith, Wall, McDougall, Price, Graham and Cotton ; Noes, Crs. and Margoliouth. * The amendment, was, therefore, declared ' to be carried. Cr. Wall moved, " That the overseer of roads be given three months' notice his services will not be required January Ist, 1883." Cr. M'Dougall seconded, pro forma, as he understood an amendment was to be proposed. Cr.'Monteith said he, at Cr. Wall's request, had to move an amendment on the motion, which latter had been drawn up hastily. It was " That on and after January Ist all works be let by tender where possible, and that the regular staff of day laborers be reduced to not more than six." Cr. Graham seconded the amendment. Cr. Monteith explained that though the regular staff would be reduced, the amendment left the Council with power to employ extra labor in cases of contingency. Crs Lee and Margoliouth opposed the amendment, the former stating that ho was not absolutely in favor of contract work. He understood that some work that had been done by contract, was now sinking in places, while that done by the Corporation laborers remained good. Gr Graham : Cr Lee must, have got his~, information from the Herald too. * The amendment, on being put, carried, Crs Lee and Margoliouth dissenting. Cr Price moved, "That the Municipal Engineer be given three months' notice that his services will not be required on their present basis after January Ist, 1883.'

Cr Margoliouth seconded the motion. Cr Price reviewod the circumstances under which Mr Lamb was appointed, and remarked that afc the time ifc was perfectly understood that the office would not last more than eighteen months, or until the loan was expended. In support of this statement Cr Price 'read an extract from a leading article published in the Herald of the 24th of December, 1880, when such views were clearly expounded. Cr Price also referred to the fact that, contrary to the terms of his engagement, the Municipal Engineer had conducted a large private practice during the whole of the term of his connection with the Council. Cr McDougall defended the engineer's position with respect to private practice, and gave it as his (Cr McDougall's) opinion that the engineer had served the Council well and faithfully, and had, in the proper interpretation of the term, devoted his whole time to the borough requirements. He would move, as an amendment to Cr Price's motion, " That the engineer be notified that his services will not be required upon the present basis after the completion of the waterworks now in course of construction, and that Mr Lamb be offered the appointment of consulting engineer to the borough (his duties to include the making of plans, specifications, and estimates for new works) afc a salary of £100 per annum." Cr Monteith seconded the amendment. Cr Price remarked that the amendment was not an amendment afc all. It simply differed from the motion in that ifc defined the duties of the consulting engineer and fixed the salary to be paid. Cr Lee said that, under the new building regulations, all plans of buildings would have to be submitted to the engineer for approval, and a consulting engineer would not undertake such a duty. Who then was to discharge those duties ? Who was to superintend the construction of buildings ? Was ifc to be the overseer of roads ? Was the architect of a building to submit; his plans to a person who did not know the principles of architecture ? The principle upon which Councillors appeared to be proceeding was to increase the duties of officers and reduce their salaries. He could not agree with that. After some forther discussion of a desultory character the amendment was put, and the Council divided : —Ayes, Crs. Monteith, Wall, McDougall, Graham, and Cotton ; Noes, Crs. Lee, Price, and Margoliouth. The amendment was, therefore, declared carried. Cr. Monteith moved, " That three months' notice be given to Mr R. Williams that his services as inspector of nuisances, hackney carriages, fire inspector, valuer, &c, be dispensed with, to take effect on January Ist, 1883, ifc being apparently impossible to have the work satisfactorily performed under the present combination of duties." Cr. M'Dougall seconded the motion. Cr. Lee said he would oppose the motion. He did not agree with hurrying the business through in this fashion. Ifc would have been sufficient for the present meeting to discuss the main subject, leaving the details fco be considered in public works committee. Cr. Wall said that the whole thing had been discussed at the last meeting of the public works committee, and ifc was Cr. Lee's fault if he was not present. Cr. Graham remarked that, instead of simply opposing everything that was brought forward, Cr. Lee should propose something himself. The motion was carried, Crs. Lee and Margoliouth dissenting. Cr. Margoliouth moved, " That the overseer of roads be given three months' notice that his services will not be required after January Ist, 1883." Cr. Price seconded the motion. Cr. Monteith moved, as an amendment, "That the road overseer be notified that on the Ist of January, 1883, his appointment as at present be cancelled, and that after that date he will be required to undertake the offices of clerk of works, inspector of nuisances, inspector 'of hackney carriages, fire inspector, and building surveyor afc his present salary." Cr. Cotton seconded the amendment;. Cr. Monteith explained that, although the list of duties allotted to the road overseer in the amendment now proposed looked rather formidable, they were not so heavy as one might think afc first sight. As clerk of works the person holding the office would be , enabled fco see at the same time any existing nuisances; the inspection of hackney carriages only required attention about once a year; and the duties of fire inspector were simply to look after defective chimneys, open fires, and other matters of that kind. The duty of building surveyor was also : light. On being put to the vote the motion was carried, Cr. Lee alone dissenting. By permission of the meeting,'Cr. Wall withdrew the following motion of which he had given notice, as ifc was rendered unnecessary by the resolutions already carried : —" That application be invited for a competent man to undertake the duties of clerk of works, overseer of roads, inspector of nuisances, inspector of hackney carriages, fire and building inspector, and surveyor, afc a salary of £200 per annum, duties to commence January Ist, 1883, and terminable by giving three months' notice on either side." The Council then adjourned.