Grey River Argus FRIDAY, March 23, 1928. BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

Grey River Argus, 23 March 1928, Page 4

Grey River Argus FRIDAY, March 23, 1928. BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

' The report which the Loans Committee of the Borough Council last evening brought down, with proposals for borrowing a sum of approximately £lOO,OOO, is a very important one, and will doubtless claim the serious attention of the ratepayers during the next few months. The Borough debt stands at present at about £90,000, but that is not the main consideration in estimating the needs of the situation. Undoubtedly the. principal proposals cannot indefinitely be deferred, and the sooner they are tackled the better it will be for Greymouth. The principal item is the sewerage system, but it is really contingent upon the proposal for improving the water supply, as the extra water will be necessary for flushing. The water ' shortage at present is serious. In the southern and eastern sections of the Borough, the pressure is now very defective indeed, and in case . of fire there is a real danger. The mains require to be considerably augmented, both within the residential area and between the reservoir and the town. These items in tire scheme are estimated to cost about £65,000, while there are other proposals in regard to Blaketown sewerage and water supply costing £18,670, and for the pumping of sewerage from the low area around Elmer Lane costing £6940. A sum of £2OOO is suggested for making advances to ratepayers, enabling them to secure sewerage connections, while an amount of £5OOO is proposed for channelling and concrete kerbing. Other items, the cost of which has yet to be estimated, are improvement of the Recreation Ground, the closing of open drains and the provision of roadmaking plant. The Council may deem it prudent to allow the ratepayers to vote separately on the seven or more proposals, but it will require to point out which of them are absolutely indispensable, and are correlated. The town is growing in size and population, and it cannot be expected that services which have sufficed for years past will do so for the future. The consideration of public health

alone renders a radical improvement imperative. That is the outstanding point. It is not the question of a luxury, but of an absolute necessity. The rating question is bound to attract attention, but with a revaluation of the borough, with an eye to the effect of the great improvement in conditions and property values which this scheme would undoubtedly mean, the increase could doubtless be so distributed that the effect would not be felt to any serious extent. The compensations undoubtedly would far outweigh the disadvantages. We believe that the Council has given the proposals its very best deliberation, and that it has been forced to the conclusion that delay can go on no longer. Ordinary revenue at present will not enable the works to be faced, and necessary capital can only be secured by loan. At anyrate, the report should be carefully weighed by every citizen, and if a long-time view is taken, then the proposals should commend themselves to the great majority, and be sure of adoption fur at anyrate the greater part.