CITY COUNCILLORS

Evening Star, Issue 19772, 24 January 1928, Page 3

CITY COUNCILLORS

m THEY OVERWORKED ? WABO VOTING SYSTEM WANTED Are the city councillors so overworked that 100 much has to be loft to the staffs? Ex-Cr Sincock declared ttliat that was the case at last night’s meeting of the Dunedin Ratepayers’ Association when the system of ward voting was urged. The Alornington Ratepayers’ Association wrote supporting the proposal by the Dunedin Association that the ward system of voting should be adopted for the municipal elections. Air J. Faulkner held that the ward system would be responsible for the introduction of too muck parochialism. Mr H. Holliday said the proposed system would create greater interest in municipal matters, as in the old days. Under the existing system the twelve councillors did not know 50 per cent, of the residents, and not 50 per cent, of the residents knew the members of the council. Mr P. L. Ritchie said the members of the various ratepayers' associations were trying to got something in return for their rates. The council would be more serviceable if six members were elected for the city and six for the suburbs. He had been top of (lie poll for the Roslyn district at the last election, but ns he was not widely known he had lost- heavily in other districts. Tho returns showed that Roslyn wanted him ns their representative. A Member: That is where the parochial spirit comes in. Mr Sincock said he would not like to see a repetition of last election, when the various ratepayers’ associations submitted four names each and asked the electors to vote for them. To his mind, that was parochialism in its strongest form. He favored the ward system of voting. The city should he divided into five districts, each to elect three members. The present twelve councillors had more work than was fair or reasonable, and consequently too much was being left to tho staffs. That had been the position for years past. Mr T. Cooper said the twenty-four names submitted at the elections had been confusing, and he for one probably missed voting for a, good man. Mr W. F. Forester declared that tho suburban ratepayers’ associations would always vote strongly for them. Tho committee decided to call a. meeting of all ratepayers’ associations to discuss the question of ward voting and of the rating systems.