UNDER FIRE

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 March 1946, Page 3

UNDER FIRE

COUNCIL CRITiaSEO . GREYMOUTH RATEPAYERS FORM ASSOCIATION ‘HIGH RATES;_FEW AMENITIES’ Claiming that a lack of foresight and satisfactory policy on the part of the Borough Council had placed Greymouth in the position of being the most high-ly-rated, yet the most unfortu-,-nate town in New Zealand so far as good roads and footpaths were concerned, over 60 citizens at a public meeting in Harker's Lounge last evening decided to l form a Greymouth Ratepayers’ and Residents' Association. The aims of the new body will include the presentation of requests, worthy of support, to the Greymouth Borough Council for information and attention, and proposing and supporting candidates for election to the council.

“Ratepayers are paying very highly for somewhat scanty utilities,” said Mr. R. P. Chibnall, one of’the conveners. “There are 1700 houses in the town and the sum of £37;519 is paid annually in rates. Of 'this I £lO,OOO goes to the Hospital Board, and wages—for work on the roads and footpaths—cost another £lO,OOO. That leaves £17,400' to be used for paying' debts and maintaining roads and footpaths—such as they are. On top of this there is a total indebtedness of £117,202 and this is not going to be settled, for the Borough Council is proposing to raisg another loan for the Tainui Street plots. Even if no work is carried out in the town it will take another 12 years to pay off the loans.” It was no use complaining about the Borough Council, he added, for the ratepayers had put the councillors there. Many residents had asked councillors to sec that a certain thing was done, and nothing was done about it. If a Ratepayers’ Association was formed he promised that it would get something done. There would be a reduction in rates. Greymouth -was the most highly-rated town in New Zealand and there was not another town with worse roads and footpaths. He gave several examples of unusable footpaths on daily routes and of roads which were a danger to traffic. He referred particularly to the road to the Karoro station. Loans amounting to £17,400 were due and had to be paid back in 1949. So far the loans had been reduced by only £2OOO a year.

Council Supported.

Mr. J. Saunders, replying to Mr. Chibnall, said that he agreed that a Ratepayers’ Association shpuld be formed, and recalled that the association, which was in existence in 1923, had been one of the best organisations ever set up in Greymouth and had put forward the best Mayor the borough had ever had, Mr ; F. A. Kitchingham, whom, he maintained, had done an immeiise amount of work for the town. He (Mr. Saunders) did not agree with one or two remarks made by Mr. Chibnall, and quoted figures showing the position of the finances of the council. The budget for expenditure for the year ending March 01, 1946, showed a total of £75,3b1, which was reduced to £56,591 by cheques. unpresented at March 31 of last year and gas works expenditure. The borough then paid for interest and sinking fund—with principal reductions of £ 7000— £ 13 ’ 3 y ’ Hospital Board levy of £lO 624, water supply, £3150; street lightmg, £ll5O - nightsoil removal, Liiuu, house ’refuse collection, £670; Fire Board levy, £617; Health Inspector£ls2- and Cobden bridge, annual charges of £74. This total of £30,848 left £25,743, though nothing had yet been spent on the running of the borough. , . . For some years no provision worthwhile had been made for funding moneys for future requirements, so the following had been set aside, continued Mr. Saunders: Reserve for works machinery, £1000; nucleus of insurance fund, £500; town clock restoration, £500; caretakers quarters (Town Hall), £350; and_conveniences, Tainui street and Dixon park £100; a total of £2450. This reduced the balance to £23,293. A further £5312 was taken from this sum by the abattoirs, £2627; library and reading room, £1064; Town Hall (including funding of rent from lease), £932; women’s rest room, £402; Inspector of Nuisances, £2UI, and Catchment Board election expenses, £B6. Other expenditure items relating to administration were- Town Clerk and officers salaries ’£2664; Mayor’s honorarium, £lso’ unauthorised expenditure, £100; and relief of unemployment, £7O. By this stage only £14,99Z was left for work around the town, and this sum, spread over 52 weeks gave only £292 per week. Wages increases amounting to £2lOO had also been spread over the appropriate accounts. To spend the £l4 997 the council proposed: Street maintenance, £6877; street improvements, £1806; drainage, £l7OO, ieserves and swimming baths, cemetery maintenance, £532; cemetery extension, £300; main highways, •0 500' water extensions, £250; aerodrome, £5O; contingencies, £1650.

Council’s Burden.

“Only a few people have any conception of what is entailed in the running of a concern like a borough council,” continued Mr. Saunders. He paid a tribute to the councillors work during the past eight years. Some work did not meet with his approval, but they had to face the problem of lack of funds. He po in ?- - ed out that the bank overdraft in 1938 had been £15,770, which'with outstanding accounts brought up a total liability of £19,000 and with onlv £13,000 in sight, the borough had been “down the drain” by £6OOO. In March of last year, there had been an overdraft of less than £l2OO. As far as loans were concerned, these totalled £80,300 in 1938. The sewerage loan of £57,000 was obtained with several others before 1940, when the total was £149,000. The position at the end- of this - month would be a total'of slightly -over £ 100 000. The lowest it had been was £79,000. He pointed out the colossal burden taken on by the council and the good work* it had done The cost of sealing the portion of Shakespeare Street from the United Tennis Club to the St. Columba Tennis Club had been £l3OO, showing the costly nature of this class of work. Mr Chibnall sajd that the 1944 balance-sheet had' shown that the Town Hall had cost £6OO to main-tain-and yet produced only £4OO in

revenue. That was not good business. The question was: Were the ratepayers satisfied with what they were getting for what they paid? He suggested that if an association was formed it could collaborate with those in Karoro, Blaketown, and Cobden with a view to nominating nine candidates for the Borough Council who would do the work required. Mr. A. l Agnew, another convener, said that the streets in the town were in a hopeless state while “wildcat schemes” were, being considered on which to spend the ratepayers’ money.

Mr. C. K. Morel said ratepayers were not satisfied with the way their money was being spent. Condemning the plan for grass plots in the centre of Tainui street, he referred to a similar plan in Palmerston street Which had cost the residents their bus service. In the cleaning up of streets, he said,' graders should be used instead of the old pick-and-shovel methods. He named several streets in the town where a cyclist had to get off his machine when a bus entered the street. The library service was not worth the £1064 spent on it, he considered. The newspapers were chopped and changed around and the public library was the worst in New Zealand. Nelson, he said, was a thriving city, but its rates were only £lOOO more than those of Greymouth. He condemned the entry of politics into Borough Council affairs-. • The parties were never in accord 'Ovei' anything and the ratepayers were paying. Executive Committee.

On the motion of Mr. J. Sloss, seconded by Mr. B. Tindale, it was decided to form a Ratepayers’ and Residents’ Association, and the following officers were elected to the executive committee:—Messrs. Chibnall, -Agnew, H. Rattray-Fraser, S. R. Hood, T. Blackie, D. Hardie, B. W. Caulton, P. C. Peters, and Parkinson. Mr. N. Shallcrass, who presided at the meeting, was elected chairman pro-tem, and Mr. Morel was appointed secretary. ' Subscriptions were fixed at 2/6 a year. Mr. Chibnall, discussing Greymouth’s streets, said that some of the work should be done by contract. By this means a first-class job would be done in a shorter time. Mr. Hardie supported this suggestion, pointing out that the plan had been most successful in Westport some years ago. Mr. Caulton reported on a discussion by the Automobile Association upon the plan for grass plots in Tainui street, and suggested that the Ratepayers’ Association should take some action.

Mr. Chibnall said that as the Borough Council received £9OO as its share of heavy traffic duties, that should be spent on Tainui street repairs.

Grass Plots Not Wanted.

The chairman said that no one seemed to be in favour of grass plots and the council would be going against the ratepayers’ wishes if it pi’Qceeded with the plan. Mr. D. Mcßeth, said there would be a large increase in traffic on Tainui street as soon as the road was put in decent order. Numerous motorists, he said, used other roads in preference at present. He also opposed the placing of the town clock upon the hill, stating that it should be placed on the top of a reconstructed Town Hall. Mr. K. Fehsenfeld said that the Town Hall in its present state would hardly bring in much revenue, and the council was fortunate in leasing it for £4OO. Mr. Caulton said that the ratepayers themselves were to blame foi the state of the Town Hall, for they had turned down a plan for a loan for a new hall. . Mr. J. Saunders suggested that instead of narrowing Tainui street by six feet the islands should be reduced to three feet or four feet. That would give motorists more room. He thought that a scheme for the reconstruction of all Greymouth roads should be prepared and the work carried out by contract. Mrs. A. Pratt suggested that concrete slabs be placed at the sides of the roads to allow repairs to drains, etc., to be made without damaging the surface. •

Repairs to Street. Mr. Caulton said the Borough Engineer had agreed that Tainui street could be repaired without grass plots being nut down. . Mr. Isdell said that a motorist on Tainui street would see about 250 yards of road with grass plots in the middle, a further stretch of unadorned road, and then High street with grass plots at the sides. This discounted any theories as to the beautification of the town. Such a state of affairs showed a lack of vision. Mr. Peters said the rates were the highest, and the town was the shabbiest in the Dominion. Mr. Mcßeth said it would be alright if some of the work staited was. satisfactorily completed. Loan Proposed. The chairman said that the council could not be blamed. A lot, he said, was due to maladministration on the part of the officers. He suggested that another loan be procured—it would cost the ratepayers only another 30/- to £2 a year, which was not much—and the work could be completed. , This suggestion met with a noisy reception, members opposing, any increase in rates and indicating that their wishes were for a reauction, not an increase. It was decided that a deputation from the association approach the Borough Council and request that no action be taken in the meantime about the Tainui street plots.

Hospital Rating. Mr. Agnew complained about the hospital rates, adding that the board had recently decided to purchase a house for a doctor for £2500. This sum, he said, was far too high. Mr. Tindale: The hospital rate is the biggest disaster ever seen. Mr Hood said that ratepayers m Christchurch had placed a man in charge of the hospital and he had brought it out of debt in no titme. He did not know if the same thing could be done in Greymouth, but something should be done to stop the waste at the hospital. . The meeting concluded with votes of thanks to the conveners and to Mr. Saunders for his explanations.