ROAD MAINTENANCE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 17 October 1928, Page 6

ROAD MAINTENANCE.

MOTORS IN TARANAKI. MR. HAWKEN AT COUNTY - MEETING. The Hon. O. J. Hawken attended the monthly meeting of the El thorn County Council on Saturday last, and tendered a considerable amount of enlightening information concerning highways and the motor regulations. The chairman (Mr. C. J. Belcher) wished to know if Eltham County was going to receive a fair proportion of the allocation made by the Highways Bo a i-d. He did not know what the other counties got, but he did know that Eltham had received only £IO,OOO since the board was formed. ■ Mr. Hawken said it was estimated that the Highways Board would spend £900,000 in 1928-29. The local'' authorities would spend £325,000 on highways ; this amount included £BO,OOO which would be spent on secondary highways. The Highways Board expended on construction in the Egmont electorate in 1926 £8049 and the revenue was £2442; in 1927 the expenditure was £9258, revenue £10,257; in- 1927-28 the figures were £14,126 and £7981 respectively. These figures applied to the Egmont and Waimate West Counties and the balance of the electorate, and showed the board’s expenditure £10,753 in excess of revenue. The revenue from the petrol tax is apparently only now reaching its maximum.: As the money had to be in hand before work was authorised the board was always a little behind the full tax.. Air. Hawken was informed that the Eltham County reevnue last year, was £3402, and replied that all counties overlooked the point that" the Highways Board’s moneys were allocated on the roads, but the local body funds were chopped about before they got it. Interest on the old debt came out of

it. . The chairman said that the Prime Minister had advised a meeting -of delegates at Wellington that he untended recommending a £2 for £1 subsidy. They wanted to know when it i was forthcoming. Mr. Hawken said he presumed the counties would get it as soon as the Estimates passed the House, but he was not certain on the point. The chairman of the No. 7 Main Highways Boai’d (Mr. T. M. Ball) would know. Mr. A. Tiplady (County. Treasurer) explained that the payments out * of the Eltham County general rate for roads was about half, the figures he* ing: Rates, about £10,000; payments, £4633. 1 Mr. Hawken: It seems that for road maintenance the council is getting more • from the Highways Board than from the rates. Though the board paid 30s for £1 and also paid for the hire of machinery, it appeared that the counties had to meet so. much expenditure that there was little left for the roads. Even in a good county like Eltham the money did not get on, the roads. When the original Act was passed the position was allowed for to conserve the Highways Board’s funds for road maintenance and construction, and not to have a loadstone of debt that would eat up the funds. Eltham was one of the few counties that had a. limited amount for interest out of the fund. There was very little coming in the way of subsidy for actual road work in New Zealand. Taking Eltham as a guide, twice the amount of work could he done now than was the case formerly; or, in other words, if there were no other Highways Board funds the rate® in Eltham County' would be increased by one-third. At an estimate of £S per car the council was pretty well getting the revenue back.

It was pointed out that the amount worked out for Eltham County at £5 per car. The chairman said there were 43 miles of road to which no motorist contributed. Compared with the towns the counties got little from the heavy traffic. Eltham Borough received a® murii as the county—the position was ridiculous. Air. Hawken considered this a. dangerous argument; a great deal of the revenue came from the towns, which received no subsidy. On the whole he thought the Eltham County was not badly treated. For the- information of the council Mr. Hawken stated that in the Eltham Countv and Borough there were registered 919 ears (including lorries) and 185 motor cycles. The figures for the other counties were:

The chairman cordially thanked Mr. Hawken for his- attendance and the information supplied.

Havvera Cars and' Lorries. 1370 Cycles. 426 Egniont .... 670 181 Wa ini a to West ... 462 162 Stratford 1100 310 Taranaki 802