DRAINAGE BOARD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LIII, Issue 5951, 23 March 1880, Page 6

DRAINAGE BOARD.

The usual meeting of the Ohristohurch District Drainage Board was beld yesterday, at 2.30 p.m. s present— Messrs B. a. 8. barman (Chairman), A. Duncan, H. J. Hall, C. E. Blakiston, J. B. Brown, H. J. Tan, red, F. Hobbs. ' CLAIM FOE COMPENSATION. j Correspondence was road referring to an accident which had taken place in street to a cabman named Mulhomnd, which he attributed to the carelessness of the City Council and Drainage Bow'd. . . „ It aopeared that a claim was originally I made to tho City Council, and of thafbody was referred to tho Board. I The Secretary was requested to obtain from I the Town Clerk a statement of the exact I locality where the accident took place.: I EBPAIES TO STREETS. I It was resolved that the Works Committee, J of the Board be appointed to meet tho Works I Committee of the City Conned with refer- J ence to a matter at issue between them as to I repairs of certain streets. The Works Com- J mittee to have power to act. j DEATH OF MR CLARK. . I A letter was road from Mr Batho, dated j Westminster. Jan 27, staling that Mr Clark, I Consulting Engineer of the Board, had died j on Jan 22, from cnicer in the liver ; also, in- I . forming the Board as to the state of Accounts, I 1 and pumping machines at Mr Clark’s death, J and asking for instructions. I Ibis matter was left in the hands of tho J Chairman, to inquire into and report upon. I * ST ALBANS SWAMP. I E A deputation attended tho Board, to ask I for a storm water drain in St Albans Creek, j £ from Winter’s road to Dudley ’s Creek. I Beferred to tho Engineer. I* It was resolved— *’ To affix the seal of the j 1 Board to Parson’s contract for erecting £ pumping machinery, &c.” I j JACKSON’S CREEK, I A letter was read from Mr J- E. Heo, Call- J ing attention to the choked up state of Jack- j j eon’s creek, through the growth of water- J cress. '; ; * , '■ jti It was resolved to carry out the work. j no. 1 drain. I j, ' A memorial was read from certain land- J owners in the vicinity of No. 1 Drain, calling I attention to the necessity <of deepening of J r

that pertion of the drain where it passes through the sandbank into the Horseshoe Luke. Referred to the Engineer. nsAKCir committee’s ebpobt. The following printed statement was laid upon the table : “In performing the duties referred to the Committee, viz, that of calculating' the amount of rate necessary to meet the reqoire-

Committee have deemed it desirable to carefully consider the financial position of the Board and the working of the Act : with its several amendments in relation thereto: In the original Christchurch District Drainage Act of 1875, the rating powers of the Board were limited to the levying of a general rate of Is in the £ over the whole district, thus treating it as one district, but in 1877 a section of the ratepayers became impressed with the idea that a general rate was unfair in principle, and that the country or “suburban and rural ’’ portion of the district would be called npun to pay largely fdr the expenditure of the money spent within the city. This opinion led to action being taken which resulted in the Amended ■ Act of 1877, which wss introduced in the House: of Eepreseaialives, aid passed without

this Board being consulted in the malUi 1 . j The effect cf this amendment was to compel the Board to levy specific rates, one for the city and one for each of the several suburban or rural districts respectively. The past expenditure from loan and the estimated expenditure within each district for the current year has now to be calculated separately, and a rate levied to cover the interest and sinking fund chargeable to each respective district. There was also a change in the Government of the country, &c., the abolition of provincial governments, which came into operation about the same time this Board came into existence, which has had considerable effect in, the working of the Board’s finances. Prior to 1875 the clearing of rivers and main drains was done by the Provincial Government, and, consequently, did not touch the pockets of the ratepayers, but the Drainage Act of 1875 vested all watercourses within the district in the Drainage Board, and accordingly the ratepayers naturally looked to the Board, not only to keep the old drains in order, but wherever surface drainage was required, the Board was expected to cut new drains. This has led to an enormous number of applications, to the expenditure of large sums from loan, and to a very heavily increased annual recurring charge on the rates to keep the old and the new drains clear. It is necessary to make this explanation because (jour Committee plainly firesee) that if the Board is to continue these works the rating power of the Board will, in the future, be quite inadequate to meet the expenditure, especially when the Joan is all expended and the whole of the interest and sinking fund has to be paid oat of rate. At the present time the Board has expended about £IOO,OOO —or half the loan. The balance is invested at the same rale of interest we pay, and therefore the charges do not at present increase the rate except to provide a small sinking fund. It is with a view of considering the serious difficulty which will arise in the future that your Committee recommend the Board and the ratepayers to consider what will fao best step to take. One thing is clear, either the Board must obtain increased rating powers or else the County Council or Municipalities and Road Boards must face the position and undertake some of the works now devolving on the Board. “ Avon District.—To give one case as an example, we will take the Avon district. This district has for some years had a very low valuation, taken with a very slight increase from year to year, and it also happens to be the most swampy, requiring a large annual expenditure to drain away the surface water, and but for a surplus, which we shall explain later, it would require a rate of Is Id to Is 3d in the £ to pay its interest on the loan on’its proportion of general charges and the annual recurring charge for clearing creeks, whereas the Board has only power to levy Is in the £. As it is, we cannot do with a less rate than lid for the present year. The only hope for the future is that the valuation will largely increase, and thus keep down the rate. It is self-evident that a low valuation means a high rate, and a high valuation a low rate. “ City of Christchurch. —The effect of the amendment of the Drainage Act, 1877, has tended to keep down the city rates, for although the city is charged with the large sun £47,338 18s 2d expended from loan up to Deo 31 last—which includes the £IB,OOO paid' fo: outfall and other sewers—and with the sun of £15,007 10s, the estimated expendituri from loan for the current year, it is onlj necessary to levy a rate of 7d in the £, be cause of the high valuation, viz., £215,060, am with the large annual increase it does no seem Ihely the Board will be called upon t< over reach its limit of one shilling in the £, i: it does it will be only for a short period. Ii the future it will certainly lessen every year.

“Heathcole District—ln the Heathcote district, in consequence of the small expenditure at present from loan for its especial benefit, and the moderate sum for clearing rivers and creeks, we find a rate of 5d in the £ will bo sufficient. “ Eiccarton —This district has bad less than £SOO expended from loan in it, and although it pays £352 for clearing, creeks, &c., a rate of 4d in the £ will meet the present year’s expenditure. “ Sydenham and Spreydon—For the purposes of rating, tfaesmall portion of theSpreydon Road Board district within .the Christchurch Drainage district is treated as one with Sydenham. These districts have had expended and will, have—including estimate for current year—the sum of £20,246, to find interest for which, with other charges, the exact amount of rate cannot be ascertained until the valuation roll is received.

“ Surplus.—Keforring to the surplus mentioned in connection with the difficulty of finding funds from the Avon district, your Committee find that in consequence of a net profit of £3709 19s 2d on the sale of the debentures, over and above the £200,000, for

which interest and sinking.. fund has to,: fc provided, them is a surplus froiii last year c £3460, IS* 7d, which they hare oopwdere should fairly be placed to the of rat account. This sum being to a rate c 2'Jd in the £ on the total valuation of th whole district has enabled _ the rate? to b fixed, at the sum before mentioned. , ~: “ Proportions of costs of now outfall dram pumping station, tank, &o. —Tho Engineer, i. preparing his estimates for the current yoa> allocated throe-sixths of the cost of aboy works to Christchurch, and one-sixth each t the Heathcote, Sydenham, and Avon districts but your Committee have carefully consider* the matter, and have based their cal culations, on the assumption , that; th. proportions, should be :-Chnatehuroh, six tenths j Sydenham, twO-tenths; Avon, one tenth; Heathcote, one : tenth; total, ten : tenths. Christchurch pays tiie full half ai before, but Sydenham is charged fairly iti proportion to area and mileage of .sewers which are much in excess of either Avon 01 Heathcote districts. Wo recommend these proportions to be adopted for current year. * " F. Hobds, Chairman." Mr A. Duncan moved that tho statement, which he characterised as Mr Hobbs’ comment, on the figures of the Board, bp considered at once. _ To-this an umendment >vus moved Mr J. E.’Brown, to the effect that the conndordtion be postponed. i The amendment was negatived. - The Chairman then called upon the Secretary to read, the Finance Committee’o report and liir Gordon accordingly toad the printed statement above referred to. After a. slight discussion, the report was adopted. ... It was resolved to notify the intention of the Board to make the following rates on the undermentioned districts under the control of the Beard :-ChnVtchurch, 7d in the £; Avon, lid in the £; Heathcote, 5d in the £ j Eiccartoh, dd in the £. . The Chairman was instructed to apply to the Colonial Government for. t lie purchase of debentures to the amount of £2350,* as an investment of tho sinking fund, and* failing their being obtained in Hew Zealand, the; Board’s bailors be requested to obtain them in London.

BICCABXON Minis,

A letter was read, from. Mr W. D.Wood, requesting the Board to take'action ifor the prevention of gravel being placed in the Wairarapa river, thereby diminishing thojflpwbf water to his mills,at Eiccarton. Referred to the Engineer,' ! ;

ACCOUNTS,

Accounts to the amount of £1225 j 15s 8d were passed, and orderedto be paid. ' Alter the transaction of some, business of minor importance ,tho Board adjourned.