Mr. J. W. Andrews Resigns the Mayoralty

Hutt News, Volume 20, Issue 47, 28 May 1947, Page 7

Mr. J. W. Andrews Resigns the Mayoralty

ro re succeeded by mil e. p. hay

RETIRING MAYOR REVIEWS LOWER HRTT'S POSITION

night Mr. J. W. Andrews announce* Luo Local Government Commission office of Mayor of Lower Hutt. w resignation will be lormally tende Council on Friday afternoon. Mr. Andrews also announced tl

consented to accept nomination as Hay'- nomination, and he will be >

Cause for Satisfaction

"The financial position gives me cause lor satisfaction." said Mr. Andrews. "When I was first elected Mavor in 1933 ! was confronted with ; . debii balance of over ClJfl.ooii.

which was considerably above I lie |ogal limit set by the Municipal Corporal ions" Act. and which was threatening the whole stability of the Council, loday. after fourteen years > progress and development, I leavi the Council With its credit balance of £15,000, and lt!< building reserve oi £20.00(i. in a position which com-pai-eji i.l4.re (ban favourably with any of ihe major local bodies in the Dominion. "The public debt of the borough In 193" was £297,914 and the debt per head of population was £2O/10/-. Today the public debt of the city is £309,185 and Ihe debt per head £B/ 11-.

built up

"Tlie population of Lower Hiitl when I first tool; o'lTice was 14.r."n; ii is now over 30,000. The area of the borough was 370fi acres in 1933, and during my term two extensions have taken place, one in HMI. when 1800 acres of the Epuni Settlement of th<-> Hint County were added, and n second in 1945, when 2200 acres comprised in the Taita. N'aenae and Wadtfington areas were included. The present area is 7700 acres.

Finance He view

Tremendous Development

'The comparative valuations of Lower Hutt give an indication of the tremendous development during my 'erm of office. In 1933 the capital valut or the borough was £5,615,459; today it is little short of £11.000.000. Of this astounding increase ihe county amalgamations accounted for £«13,945, but the remainder is entirely resultant from housing, industrial, commercial and kindred expansion.

The total rateable value of property in the Wellington district is now £70,844,859, compared with £68,588,078, an increase of £2,2711,181. Of this anion in the incren.se in rateable capital value of Lower Hutt City absorbs no less than £1,482,78'."», leaving a mi re jC703,«1)0 increase lo be allocated amongst the seven other local bodies in the Hospital Hoard's district, including Wellington City.

"Reserves development generally has formed a major part of my activities ouring my term, and today an area of 434 acres has been developed, or is planned for immediate development, compared with the 1033 acreage of 204.

"Other major development works undertaken by the Council during my term of office include the waterworks scheme, including a new reservoir on the eastern hills; a new pumping station and wells at Randwick, and considerable improvement! to the water reticukilion services in the Valley. Civic centre planning has been a particular interest that has claimed a considerable amount ol my attention and extensive plans foi the development of Feist's Block and the Central Hotel area as a Civic Cen're have been prepared. "When one casts one's mind back and remembers that only 13J miles of streets were paved when 1 was first elected, and that in spite of the war period, when little could he dune, we now have 51 miles of paved streets in the city, one begins to realise that some progress has been ma tie.

rill lit Til FROM CHAMBER

Increase in Assets

The assets of the municipality were valued at £366,357 in 1933. and are now £754,657.

"1 am pleased, as president of the Municipal Association, to have had a substantial part in obtaining from the Select Committee of the House a favourable recommendation that hospital taxation should ultimately he entirely removed from rates and borne by general taxation, and "- have secured from the Government the implementation ol* the first nor* of the recommendation this year, reducing the amount lo be found by local bodies lo .fid in the £ of rateable capital value. The Council nas adopted my recommendation thai this saving should be returned to '.he ratepayers, and they will be pleased to find that.

Tremendous Task

in spite of rising costs in all directions, there will he a reduction of :Jd in the rate this year, the total rate being Ss/U in the C ol annual value as against ;!/'» last year, and this, together with a drop in the average residential valuation, will represent a fairly substantial saving to most ratepayers.

"The purchase of the properties in the vicinity of the new Post Office and the replanning of the commercial area, including Barraud Street

,\i n special meeting of the Lower linn City Council on Monday

thai owing to his appointment to he would be compelled to resign the ih other local body positions. The ed at a special meeting of the City

uf Mr. E. !'. Hay, deputy-Mayor, bad .Mayor. Councillors confirmed Mr. •cieil al ihe meeting on Friday.

represent major operations •ulminating in the scheme for what -.111 probably be the most up-to-date ••ansport centre in New Zealand.

/hen ihe proposals for ihe area hounded by Dudley and Margaret Streets and Andrews Avenue are

I am pleased that I am able to

• nnounce that the Deputy Mayor, Councillor E. P. Hay. who has been ny loyal lieutenant, has agreed to

"ccept nomination as my successor, mhl i asl; for your co-operation and aipporl in his work lor (he city and Ibe Valley.

'"I know i hat the Mayoress would desire thai 1 should express a special word of thanks to ;ill the women's organisations which have worked so loyally willi her during these eventful years. We have each enjoyed the privilege of being In positions where we could render some public service, and we relinquish office with some foldings of regret."

"The year just completed has been a very successful one. A phenomenal rate collection of 97.fi0% in current rater, amounted to £142,000 and a vigorous drive by the rales department to clear up outstandings brought the total collection to 101. T» of the current rates levied.

•'Heavy traffic fees collected during the year exceeded the estimate by £1044, and motor drivers' licences issued reached a new high level of £1723. Roth receipts are indicative of the growth of commercial and industrial activity in the city. Similarly, petrol tax receipts were underestimated by no less than £2153. which is no doubt the result of the elimination of petiol rationing. The total general account receipts totalled £170,000 approximately, and exceeded the anticipated revenue by nearly £BOOO.

"On the expenditure side, the Works Department's vote was underspent by £3488. this being due to the non-completion of contract worlts, and to the inability of the Council to obtain sufficient staff to complete its programme. Similarly, the Reserves Department was unable to complete its full expenditure for tlie year by some £2707, and other General Account votes were short spent by £903.

"The Council budgeted for a deficit «>»' £7:149 during the year under review, and has completed its operations for Hie year with a credit balance of £15,000.

"In addition, the Plant Purchase Renewal and Repair Account has increased to £2184/6/1, and the interest earned o:» the War Loan deposits of the Building Replacement Fund has increased its total to £19,428. The over-all position is, therefore, very buoyant."

TRAVELLING BAG PRESENTED "I have the pleasant and unpleasant duty of saying 'Thank you" to Mr. Andrews on his retirement from the Mayoralty," said Mr. K. K. Watts. the retiring president, at the annual meeting of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce and industry. "I have seen what Mr. Andrews has done to assist the people of the Hutt Valley, and 1 feel that we can thank bin for much of its advancement. The Chamber appreciates the co-opera-tion received from the Mayor and the City Council officers. '"We are sorry to see you going," said Mr. Watts to Mr. Andrews. "We are proud of the high honour bestowed on you, and we know you will df) a great job. We hope you and Mrs. Andrews (whose wonderful work is we)i known) will have a long life of happiness and prosperity." On behalf of the Chamber, Mr. Watts handed Mr. Andrews a handsome travelling hag. and the recipient was accorded musical honours.

In returning thanks for the gift and the kindly sentiments expressed .Mr. Andrews said that he was leaving many things which were near and dear to him and he was not very happy about it. However, the Local Government Commission was undertaking a tremendous task. About 700 local bodies would be overhauled, ami the number would probably be reduced by amalgamation. The Minister had given the Commission great powers. The term of the appointment was three years, and he hoped that at the end of that time the public would be satisfied with the work done. It had been a great privilege to serve the district, and he had been proud of the fact that he had been chosen its Mayor.