ST. KILDA COUNCIL

Evening Star, Issue 21508, 5 September 1933, Page 3

ST. KILDA COUNCIL

11 GROSSLY UNFAIR PROPOSITION" CHARGE OH DRAINAGE BOARD RATE Replying to the St. Kilcla Borough Council’s request for an increase in the charge for collecting the Drainage Board rate in the borough, the secretary of the board wrote advising that the Finance Committee could not see the necessity to agree to any increase. Last night’s fortnightly meeting of the council refused to take “ No ” for an answer, as it was considered that the payment received for the collection of the rate was inadequate. “A grossly unfair proposition,” one councillor termed it, and it was decided to notify the board that in future 2£ per cent, would be charged, and that this would be deducted whether the board agreed to it or not.

Present at the meeting were the Mayor (Mr .1. Beattie), Crs H, H. Leary, ,T. Robinson, J. A. Carman, 6. Glue, W. G. Baird, R. J. B. Griffiths, E. W. Hunter, S. Hartley, and N. D. flnderson. The letter stated that it had been claimed by the Finance Committee that, under the circumstances, the amount collected had no bearing on the subject. What had a bearing, however, was the volume of work that the collection entailed. The council was now being paid a fee of £75 a year, and in addition to the charge the council debited the hoard with 10 per cent, of the amounts collected on the council’s behalf. The average of those charges for the past three years was equal to about lid for each of the 2,030 demands sent out by the council’s solicitor. To meet the request for 2} per cent on the amount struck would mean that the charge per rate demand would amount to 22.01 d. The City Council was paid £7OO a year, with no additional charge for the rate collected by the solicitors. To pay the city on the basis of the St. Hilda Council’s request would increase the amount by over £I.OOO, which in turn would mean a further addition to the drainage rate. Cr Baird asked if the council were to regard the reply as final, to which the town clerk replied “ No.” :Cr Anderson inquired if the council were bound to collect the rate for the amount the board considered it a grossly unfair proposition. Some portions of the reply were rather amusing. He moved that the council advise the board that the charge collected for the rates would be 2| per cent.

Cr Glue said that he had moved in that direction at a previous meeting of the council. He asked if the hoard had been notified to that effect.

The Town Clerk replied that the hoard had been advised. The letter before the meeting was the reply. Cr Anderson said that the council should “ stick to its guns ” and insist that 2i per cent, be charged. The amount should be deducted, and that would be the end of it. Cr Leary seconded the motion.

The Mayor instanced the unfairness of the case by reporting that the Sumner Borough Council received £l5O for collecting £O.OOO. The St. Kildn Council received £75 for collecting £6.000. The motion was carried. NOISY MOTOR CYCLES. Seven residents of Young street complained of the noise made by persons with motor cycles practically every evening of the week. It was requested that the nuisance be stopped. Crs Baird and Carman advocated that steps be taken to enforce the by-law concerning rowdy motor cycles. _ The speakers were entirely sympathetic toward the residents who had complained, ns well as those who had endured the noise, which was not confined to one section of the borough, without demanding its suppression. It was decided to place the complaint in the hands of the borough traffic inspector for investigation. MOTOR LICENSES. It was reported by the borough traffic inspector that daring the past two weeks sixteen motor drivers’ licenses and four heavy traffic licenses had been issued. —Adopted. WORKS. Reporting on the work done for the past fortnight, the foreman stated that tar patching had been carried out _to the road and footpaths in the following streets;—Bird, Daltrety. Mills, Moreau, and Richardson. The flanks of several streets bad been patched with rotten rock. There had been about 120 unemployed men engaged in the borough. The foreman recommended that, for the ensuing period, similar work to that done during the last two weeks be continued.—Adopted. W ATER CO NS UMPTION. During the fortnight ended that day the water consumption in the borough had been 4,057,000 gallons, at a cost of £lOl 8s 6d, as compared with £9O 19s for the previous two weeks, reported the town clerk.—Adopted. FINANCE. Accounts amounting to £1.250 19s were passed for payment.