WORK OF LOANS BOARD.

Matamata Record, Volume XIII, Issue 1108, 24 March 1930, Page 5

WORK OF LOANS BOARD.

COUNCILLORS’ APPROVAL. Not Blocking Progress. I "We found on inquiry in Welt lington that the Local Body Loans i Board has been doing good work for , the county. It is a pity it was not • appointed 20 years ago,” said the ; chairman of the Piako County Council (Cr. W. R. Lowry), when reporting at Tuesday’s meeting the result of a visit to-Wellington by himself, Cr. W. F. Stark and the county clerk last month. They had interviewed several Government officials in connection with loans for reconstructing rhain roads. Mr. Lowry said many councillors had had an idea that the Loans Board was blocking progress, but this was quite wrong. The board was protecting the interests of the public. It acted on the advice of exengineers. As an instance, he said there was at present an agitation in favour of concrete penetration for surfacing main roads. If an application was made for a concrete penetration road the Loans Board . would get a report from its experts with full reasons for the recommendations made. The experts might say that the road would last for 20 years, and so the loan should be for 20 years, so that it would not be worn out before the loan was repaid.. The board was going to protect the public from local bodies which laid down roads that did not outlast the period of the loan. Cr. W. C. Kennedy (Waihou) said the engineers were experimenting at present. He thought there had been no reason to say the Loans Board had helped the council. He under- , stood that the reason for the crea- . tion of the board was to prevent wasteful expenditure on harbours. ] Supporting the chairman’s praise ] of the Loans Board, Cr. Stark said Cr. Kennedy should' look into the history of past Piako County loans. The county was paying interest on ] loans for works which had disappear- ] ed years ago. That state of affairs 1 would stop now that there was a i level headed body of men like the « Loans Board supervising local body loans. T'. ( Cr. Walters said it was not the * Loans Board that had done the good ' work, but the Government which had called the Loans Board into existence.