BURDEN OF BRIDGES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 154, 15 June 1932, Page 5

BURDEN OF BRIDGES

“MANIFESTLY UNFAIR.” “It does look as if there is something manifestly unfair,” said Cr. A. W. W. Longley at the annual meeting of the Patangata County Council yesterday, remarking on the big debit balance (£l9BB 15s lOd) in the Porangahau riding and the fact that other ridings were working on a fraction of the rate that was necessary in Porangahau “Our chief liability is the fact that we are loaded with so many big bridges,” he said. “I think the time has come when we should look into the matter of whether it is fair that eno riding should be saddled with a big liability and whether it is possible that all bridges should be a charge on the whole county.” The chairman: The stumbling-block is that several road boards, I think Porangahau included, agreed to come into the county only on condition that the ridings stood on their own feet. Cr. C. R. Edgecombe said that some other counties operated on the basis suggested by Cr. Longley. “We can’t always be bound by conditions imposed by road boards,” he said.

The chairman remarked that the Porangahau riding had been in a similar position for many years. The discussion then dropped.