NEXT YEAR'S WORK

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 67, 20 March 1931, Page 12

NEXT YEAR'S WORK

BINDING- THE COUNCIL

A PRE-ELECTION POINT

"Whether the City Council, with only a .few weeks of its term to go, should cuter into undertakings ns regards works fur next financial year was debated last evening when the "Works Committee recommended that, application should be made to the Local Bodies Loans Board for authority to expend an amount of approximately £.521S lying to the credit of the Wellington City Paving and Surface Sealing Loan, 11)27, on the work of widening Wadestown road between Orchard and Moorhouse streets, and that the City Engineer i should be authorised to proceed as soon as possible with the work of sea-Hug additional streets, the sum of £.5000 to bo provided in next year's estimates. Councillor T. Porsytli questioned whether the retiring chairman of the Works Committee should bring down proposals for the spending of considerable sums of money, amounting practically to promises, when the council h.id only a few more, weeks in oilice. The new council should not be committed in that way. The Mayor, Mr. G. A. Troup, said that the clause was more than a proposal; it was that the engineer should be authorised to proceed. He "wished to know whether the £i>2lS mentioned ir the first clause had been set aside for certain definite works in the original loan schedule.

Mr. Troup snid lie did not think the council should adopt the clause proposing £5000 for sealing at this stage of it.-! term of office, for it might be quite impossible for the new council to carry out the work next year. Councillor G. Mitchell said that the council's policy to proceed with sealing should be continued until all necessary work was done. At present there wore streets immediately read}' for sealing, and if they were" Jeft untreated considerable additional expense would be involved. Councillor W. H. Bennett said he believed that it was the Mayor's own proposal that a definite policy as to sealing should be followed until the whole, of the work was done. Quite so. said Mr. Troup, but the council could not commit the incoming council. Councillor Bennett maintained that it would be very short-sighted to allow roads now ready for scaling to fall into disrepair. DETAILS WANTED. Councillor Hislop thought it unwise to commit a future council, but continuity of policy was desirable. He did not think a fixed sum should be laid down without the details of the works. "Consideration," however, bound nobody. It was otherwise in regard to the spending of £5000 on sealing without definite details. The work should not start now unless the start was essential, but should remain for the incoming body. Councillor Huggins reminded thorn or! many deputations regarding sealing. If the work were not done before the wet. weather it could not be done for twelve months. In the meantime thousands of pounds spent on conditioning the roads for sealing would tie wasted. The present council would not be out of office until practically all this monoy had been spent. Councillor Luckie said the policy in the past had been to carry out commitments until April, and only new works decided on in April had been barred. > The Mayor said he did not wish his successor to be able to say that he had becu run in for a lot of expenditure. This whs especially desirable in the present times. The chairman of the committee, Councillor B. A. Wright, agreed that the council would not be justified in committing the new council, but there wou'd be a definite loss to the city unless the streets, which had been prepared by unemployed labour, were dealt with without delay, as they would go back. The plant was all ready. Tho work, in fact, would bo maintenance, but if tho council liked to see the roads go back then let them go back. The new council would take so long in getting down to business that sGrious damage would be done. Among the streets listed were Tasman, Austin, and Chelsey streets and Awa road. The amount of £.5218 mentioned by the Mayor, said Councillor Wright, was made up of surpluses and would bo no commitment upon the new council a.t all. The report was adopted.