HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 100, 8 April 1936, Page 8

HEAVY TRAFFIC FEES

Protest at Delay in Distribution PATANGATA RESOLUTION From Our Own Correspondent. WAIPUKURAU, April 7. The Patangata County Council is to protest against the delay in distribution and allocation of heavy traffic fees in the No. 5 Highways District, and is going to forward copies of the protest to other local bodies participating in the distribution. This decision was arrived at when the council held its meeting to-day. The protest arose out of a letter received from the Hawke’s Bay County Council, advising that the allocation of heavy traffic fees had been held up since last December, as certain boroughs were considering whether to refer the matter of distribution to the Minister, and certain figures were sought from the council, in anticipation of its being in favour of no alteration. The Hawke’s Bay County Council forwarded an allocation of £450 for heavy traffic fees collected for the year ended March 31, 1935, this amount being equivalent to 85 per cent, of the amount. “We want not only our 85 per cent, that we have just received, but we want the fees shortly for the year that is just ended. Why should we have to wait 12 months while the body holding the money gets interest on the fees?’’ said Cr. R. H. White. Cr. White protested at the tardiness of the payments, which were held up each year. “We agreed to an annual distribution,” he stated, “but we didn’t agree to the holding up of distribution for 12 months. Any step we took would be popular with the other local bodies concerned.” Cr. White then moved that the council forward a letter to the Napier Borough Council protesting against the annual delay and that copies be forwarded to other local bodies concerned.