LOCAL BODY AFFAIRS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 11 October 1926, Page 2

LOCAL BODY AFFAIRS.

TARANAKI ASSOCIATION,

TRAFFIC FEES ALLOCATION.

At Saturday’s meeting of the Eltham County Council, a letter was read from the secretary of the Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association (Mr W. .T. Tristram) informing the council that the next, meeting of the association would be held in the Power Board’s office, Eltham, on Friday, October 29, at 11 a.m. He requested that a list of any business which the council desired to be dealt with should be forwarded to him as early as possible. The representatives of thq counties and municipalities would meet at 10 a.m. on the same day at the board’s office and the Council Chambers respectively. Mr Tristram also forwarded a copy of the minutes of a meeting of the executive committee held on September 27, when there were present: — Messrs C. J. Belcher (chairman), J. S. Connett, J. Brown, J. B. Murdoch, and W. G. Walkley. The Chief Inspector, Hew Plymouth Borough Council, forwarded schedule of fees collected by the controlling authority and of the allocation thereof for approval, and it was resolved that the allocation be approved. On the motion of (Messrs Connett and Brown, it was resolved that the committee recommends that the road-user or mileage basis be adopted by the association for the allocation of heavy traffic fees for the year 1927-1928; also (1) that the allocation be according to class or groups of classes of lorries and not on the tonnage miles; (2) that mileage records be attached to each lorry at the expense of the local bodies, the cost to be apportioned pro rata to the amount of the fees allocated; (3) that boundary signs (with distances)' be erected by the local bodies on the main roads; (4) that the allocation for the balance ox the year 1926-1927 be made on the same basis as last year. The following mileage return schedule on a tonnage basis was submitted for the months of July and August, 1926:

Total 1,546,793-1 It was resolved, on the motion of Messrs Murdoch and Connett, that the Hew Zealand Counties’ Association executive be requested to urge exemption of local bodies from the citation in connection with the Drivers’ Federation.

The draft constitution of the Association was approved, and will be submitted to the association for approval. Regarding the elimination of railway crossings, it was resolved, on the motion of Messrs Connett and Murdoch, "that information be obtained from the Public Works Department as to the cost of the elimination of the various works already carried out, as well as to the amount of contributions made by the various local bodies concerned. Mr Murdoch moved, and Mr Brown seconded, a resolution that uniform indication plates be recommended for the Dominion, and that the Public Works Department be requested to make provision by regulation on that behalf. This was carried. The North Taranaki Farmers’ Union wrote urging uniform by-laws for motor ears. The Hon. O. J. Hawken, Minister of Agriculture, telegraphed to the chairman stating that the Hoxious Weeds Amendment Act had failed to pass during the last session, and urged that landlords and mortgagees should enforce the covenants dealing with noxious weds.—Argus.

Taranaki County . ... 369,5434 New Plymouth Borough . ... 263,5044 Inglewood County ... 163,8651 Inglewood Borough 21.232 Eltham. County . /• 113,0144 Eltham Borough 28,2474 Waimate West County . 63,9764 Qpunake Town Board . . 10,2304 Clifton County ... 141,6774 Waitara Borough 26,4924 Stratford County ... 97,4544 Stratford Borough 18,306 Hawera County Hawera Borough , . . 29,0234 Manaia Town Board .. .. 5,739 Egmont County . .. 104,1334