BOROUGH TERM

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12254, 9 April 1935, Page 5

BOROUGH TERM

MAYOR REVIEWS WORK

VARIED ACHIEVEMENTS

FINANCIAL FOOTING SOUND

Meeting l ratepayers at the City Halil

last , evening, tlie Mayor (Mr John Jackson) gave a very' comprehensive'' yevtew of the work; of the Borough Council since the last election two years ago. The deputv-Mavor (Cr. H. E .Maude) presided and also present on the platform were Crs. H. H.‘ De Costa, G. Bradley Smith, H. Hd'.mes, Jv IYV. H. Holmea, the town clerk (Mr AVj M. 1 Jdnkins) and the horousli engineer (Mr E. It. Thomas). Apologies for ; unavoidable- absence wore received 'from Crs W. ’ J. MacGibbon and J. H. Hall. The Mayor was introduced by the chairman who emphasised that the address Was to ho, in no wise, an election speech, but simply a review of the council’s .work. In opening. Mr Jackson. stated that his object was .to jiace. before the ratepayers ‘ • a comprehensive review of the work achieved, in. the past term. In his opinion it- was essential t-o render an account of, the stewardship entrusted them and it was for that reason he had convened the present meeting. Mr Jackson went on to point out that rates' levied during the past few years had been as follows: 19§5: General £25 803; special, £32,73!; hospital £3,881; total £62,418. 1933: General £24:247; "special, £3h 099; hospital £4,417 ; total £60,363. 1934; General £24,421; 'special, £31,530; hospital £4,514; total £60,465. 1965: General £26244; special, £30,764; hospital £4,152; total £61,16 °. . , _ Over the same period the ' borough valuations were as follows: 1932, £l,741500; 1933, £1.686,367; 1934, £l,637.000; 1935, £1,279,000. In 1929, the unimproved ■ value cf the borough was £2,151,895/hut in the following year a revaluation - was made and the values reduced to a total of £l ; 807,8-15. In subsequent years up to 1934 individual ratepayers availed themselves of Section 50 of the “Valuation of Land Act” with the result that values dropped to £l,637,900. These reductions naturally meant that the rate in the £ had to be increased, the added burden being placed upon those ratepayers who did not’ make application for reduction in value. Last year, the Act was amended and provision was made enabling local bodies to reduce values which had not been previous-, ]y reduced, but not more than 25 per cent. The council availed itself oi this provision in an endeavour to counteract the anomalies created by the numerous reductions previously effected. This was clone only after the Government had refused the council’s application for a> revaluation. This 25 per cent reduction , had not wholly rectified the position and the council again approached the Valuer-General with a request that a general revaluation of the borough be undertaken at the earliest possible moment in order to. remedy the inequality in taxation which- at present exists, No promises; however, were given that a general revaluation would! be made this yean hut the TJnder-Secretarv of the Valuation Department will visit the district at an early date and look into the matter. ... .- .j. Regarding the section of the Act giving the right to individual", pioperty owners to make application for a revaluation of their particular properties it. is considered that- so long as this provision remains as it is, anomalies will always he created. When a general", revaluation of the borough, has taken place and ratepayers have- exercised their rights under the Act to object to the values fixed by the valuers, and these objections have been settled, it won appear that the values so fixed should remain until the next general revaluation takes place. Of course; this would require the present Act io be amended. INTEREST REDUCTI ON. Under the Local Authorities Interest Reduction' Aot,- aU interest on internal loans was reduced by 20 per cent or to the rate. of 4£ P'A cent per annum whichever rate the higher. This meant a reduction in the annual charges of approximately £2,860', but unfortunately the whole of" this saving co*d no, he passed on to the ratepayers as the Government had increased tne exchange on London to 25 per cent , and as the council has a- large loan domiciled in London the saving effected in New Zealand mteres is offset by the increase in London exchange. ‘ The local bodies are empowered be the Local Authorities Interest Reduction and Conversion Act to convert their New Zealand leans into new securities bearing interest at 4£ per cent council has availed itself of ls islation, and lias converted the whole dt its- convertible loans _ as from March 31 last, while by doing so a further saving in annual charges amounting to £BSO per annum been mde. Alsp thge loans, the council- has placed its finances in a sound position. . / • ,rn«3 pf 32 y^rs. the whole o present .- Zealand amounting to. -.£364,000 will be extinguished. . iff the past, the repayment of loans has been provided for by way of sinking fund, in most cases the rate being fixed at \ per cent. This, of course, was not sufficient to redeem the loan at maturity with the result that the council had to raise a renewal loan to pay off the remainder, anti perhaps at a- -higher ratp of .interest, than at iwhich: the original loan was raised. hot ml£ paving. The actual work of the council during the past two years; he continued,'' included hot mix paving, in many streets of the town, including 22,533 3cj. yds,, at- a cost of £3,856, an

average of just over 3s ( 5d a yard. An 'expor-jmentn[. strip 0(c. concrete was laid down in bitunal,, which was a local product, and could, be obtained Tar more cheaply./ Should the tests prove, satisfactory considerably extended! use of Bitunal would be put into effect. Top-dressing wi?h Napier sliinglo had been carried out on • 17,509 sq. yds, of bitumen roads and, in addition," the current season’s pr° gramme . included 43,444 sq. ys. of similar work. Footpaths, formed in bitumen, comprised 351 chains,, while in the next few weeks 20 chains in Palmerston road and about 10 chains of Bitunal, were to he carried out. A footpath motor roller was now used on footpath construction and enabled a substantial saving. As funds permitted more asphalt paths would' be laid down. Last year ,266 chains . C sl existing foo-.pa-ths (were re-surfaced .with . bitufnoh and 1 Wh-inuj sand, while this year it. was proposed to treat. 434 chains similarly. Maintenance of grn-vel and! metal foot-paths had also received regular attention. BRIDGE: IMPROVEMENTS. The BalLrnoo street footbridge, pro ceeded Mr. Jael/son, had' boon strengthened and and painted, while on I,he J)erby street footbridge;, in order to eliminate the risk of accident io frOsty weather, and also to improve tlie drainage in wet weather, the pedestrian footway had been resurfaced with bitumen and sand, and heavier gauge netting was placedalongside the footway to- prevent .accidents to children. Renewal o? the decking of Roebuck road bridge, and a portion of the under-struct-,ure and replacing of piles attacked by toredo/ was provided for io the last estimates and the work would be.,put in hand 1 within the next, few weeks. IVith the repairs that are in contemplationv the bridge should be suitable for light traffic for a number of years. "During the last two years,” contiouedl Mr Jackson, ”77 chains of various streets have been finished off in concere kerb and channels. If, i s hoped 1 in the future, to. put down further lengths of kerbing and channelling' along roads: and footpaths, which have been titunienised' thus improving conditions in wet weather a.ndl adding to the general appearance of the streets. ; •"Under the heading of stormwater drainage loan works a sum of £1230 has been expended, pipes being laid for 1844 ft. Included in the current estimates is a proposal to- replace the Reynolds creek bridge at Chi : .- ders road, between Stanley road and Lytton road! with a full width concrete culvert at an estimated cost of £250. This work wil{- be put in hand very soon and when completed the sections of permanent, pavement on either side of the culvert can he connected up with hot mix thus making a continuous strip- of bitumenous pavement along Childers road as far as Lytton road. ‘‘During the period under review a largo number of wooden culverts, in a moi*o or less decayed condition, have been replaced with concrete pipes. This practice is being followed in cases where renewal is necessary and will result in reduced cost of attention and maintenance. TJNEM PLO YMENT PR OBLEM “The council has continued to give the best possible assistance, to the Unemployment Board in the provision of employment. Useful work has been performed bv the. men in tins connection. Wages at relief rates for (work done under the* supervision of the council wore, ns follows: 12 months ended March 1936, £1f)326 Child; 11 months ended' February, 1935, £10,784 15s 2d. These figures show a big decline cm the figures f°r the preceding two years', which wore 1.2 months ended March, 1932, £20.137 5s 6d ; 12 months- ended March, 193,9, £23’,396 2s sd. It may. be mentioned that in cases where men have been employed at their trade, the council has subsidised wages to bring. them up t° award rates. DRAINAGE AND STAVE-RAGE “Apart from ordinary maintenance of services, the main works tindertaken were the cleaning 1 ' and repairing of septic tanks at- Stanley ™ad and Kaiti. These tanks had not, been overhauled for 18 years and' consequently had‘got into an unsatisfactory condition. The tanks are now functioning properly and in future will be given more regular attention. Another repair, work found necessary was the outfall main, in the vicinity \wapTini School, 117 ft of pipe eing renewed owing to earthquake damage. The -machinery, at the pump-, ling stations has been well maintained and is working satisfactorily. RADIO INTERFERENCE. “From time to time,” continued Air Jackson, “complaints have been received that the D.C motors ..at the pumping stations interfere with radio reception. The council! is co-operat-ing with the -radio engineer with a view to eliminating interference and it is hoped that an improvement will be effected. TOWN BEAUTIFICATION. “The council’s- reserves ' have been 'well maintained. The botanical gardens and • riverbank .present a pleasing appearance at all seasons of the year, and 1 are - favorably 'commented upon by. both residents and visitors. The council renews if expression of appreciation to several citizens who have been good enough to donate scrubs, plants, bulbs,- etc.- The council! also- pay a tribute to the Beautifying Associtaion for its efforts in connection wit'll the bcautfication of the town. ~ , • y, . - Alf ; jacksbn .went on/to review, the negotiations in connection with the purchase by the council of Alakarak a domain, detailing the conditions and describing the property,, with some re fe’rence .to future plans.-in this con-; hection. /! ' _ , ROBINSON MEAIORIAL “Resulting from the earthquake in 1931,’’ added the Mayor, “the clock nt the Post Office—which had served ns a town clock for many years—was

dismantled and flic town was without a public clock. . Alainly. through the energy and instrumentality ©t the council," especially Cr. D'. S. Thompson, sufficient money was subscribed by the public to provide a new tower in which to house the old clock. A contract tor the. erect.on was let in November 1933, and was completed in March last year. The installation of the clock meehantem was carried out by Messrs Littlejohn and Son, of Wellington, and was finished in May, 1934. An ornamental fence surrounding the tower,, flood lights supported on concrete pillars, and beautification of the plot completed the work. The total cost' of the tower was £IOOO, the greater portion of the money being provided by public donations. TAUMATA, HILL JOB “During the year work at Taumata. Hill reservoir Was advanced a further stage. It will be remembered that the .site had been excavated by relief labor. Heavy riiin had caused slips and a good deal of extra work was necessary to prepare the ground before exvacation tor foundations could be put in hand. Tenders were called for the construction of the reservoir, that of Air iJ. Webb being accepted. The contractor completed the work in June, 1934. “The reservoir stood up well to the water holding tests and was finally taken over by the council in October 1934. Filling in behind the walls with earth and the connecting up of supply and deliver pipes and valves, together with ladders and a fence around tho tank, completed the work There are two chambers in tne reservoir each with a capacity of 500,000 gallons, a total of 1,000,600 gallons, one chamber being held in reserve for fire fighting purposes. The pressure available from the resevvoir is quite satisfactory, LIAIITED WATER SUPPLY “Another dry summer ffas again brought home to us the limitation Of our source of supply. An you are aware, for our usual supply we rely on Te Arai and in case of emergency we fall hack on Alangapoike stream from which we pump to augment Te Arai. The pant year has been an abnormally dry one, and in Februaiy of this yeart-he position was very seri- ■ ous. 'F’or a period we were using all the availhble water from Te Arai and Alangapoike watersheds and it became necessary to reduce the supply in order to build up a reserve for fire fighting needs and to- enable us to maintain services dependent on water- “ Finally, the position became so critical that it was deemed advisable to .bring in one of the pumps from Alangapoike and initial it at tne Wai paoa river near the A 1 at where bridge, this as a safeguard against the rapid falling away of the usual sources of -supply. Fortunately rain intervened and obviated the necessity of pumping from the Waipnoo. Our supply has on many occasions caused us a great deal of concern but never to the extent that it did this last summer. We cannot continue to take risks of these periodical shortages of .writer and it behoves councillors to seriously consider what, steps should be taken to per manently improve matters.” Air Jackson closed with warm tributes to the councillors for their help, kindness,, and courtesy during his term of office. It was greatly to he regretted that- Crr,. Cave, AlacGibhon and Thompson were not secuing re-election and their places would be very hard to fill. QUESTION TIME Replying to Air 'Lord, the Mayor stated that rol'et' wages, in connection with the Taumata Hill job amountel to £21,600. No doubt digging would still have been in progress had not tho council stopped them. The reservoir cost £5500. “Have the council decided to purchase cash registers for the buses?” asked Air A. Wade. Cr. Maude, who presided at the council meeting when this subject was discussed, pointed out that faro register's, not cash registers, were considered. Tho speaker had given notice to move that the -decision leaving th.s matter to- the incoming council, should he rescinded. He believed that the introduction of the registers, would be-a very wine move. Air C. Goodson asked how the council could be in a strong financial position when there was difficulty in col looting rate/—The Alayor referred to the advantages of loan conversions as previously detailed. ' “How do you arrive at the costs o' bitumen work, . when relief labor is engaged?” asked All; Lord.—The Alayor .stated that relief labor would bo taken into account, though, as far as lie knew, no relief labor was employed on actual bitumen work, though perhaps on preliminary chipping of the surface, etc. “Why does the council get so excited over the water shortage?” asked Air Goodson. “There is plenty of water in the river. Wouldn’t it be better to get more excited over raising a loan for the 1009 people starv ing in Gisborne?” —The chairman: “That’s not a- .fair question. The council has done all it can, but Gisborne is a small town, anij the council a /small body, so it has not the power to effect legislation.” A hearty vote of thanks, to the Mayor for his 'address was then carried by acclamation.