PALMERSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 12807, 3 June 1914, Page 6

PALMERSTON BOROUGH COUNCIL.

KEMIT.S TO )irX]('[|'Ah ASSO CIATIOX.

The Council decided to send forward the following remits to tlie Municipal Association :—- That legislation lie introduced so as to provide that local- bodies re quiring the name of the owner or mortgagee for the purpose of collecting rates be .supplied by the Depart-

ment free of the usual charge made for searching a title. That section <54 of ''The Rating Act, 1!M)S, be amended so as to provide that any person who does not keep his rateable buildings in a sutiicient state of repair to permit of their being occupied, or, who, being the owner of rateable buildings lit for occupation, refuses to occupy or let the same, shall be required to pay the whole year's rates as though the said rateable buildings were occupied. That all reserves held by a local authority for recreation purposes, and all lands vested in a local authority of which there is not an occupier as defined in the Rating Act other than the local authority, be exempt from rating.

That the Municipal and County Associations jointly confer, with a view of deciding upon the best method of making provision by legislative authority to tax motor vehicles on a graduated scale for the upkeep of main roads and streets, and also taking joint action to expend the money raised by way of taxation so as to secure an equal benefit to every district through which motors pass. That clause l'» of the Second Schedule of "The Tramways Act. 11)08," be amended so as to exclude the right to demand another poll on the question of applying for an authorising order to construct a tramway. That legislation be introduced to prevent Government Departments putting up advertising hoardings facing a public street within a city or borough.

That legislation be introduced to prevent the Railway Department from blocking a crossing within a city or borough by bringing a train to a standstill thereon. That an amendment be introduced into the various Acts dealing with Government inscribed loans to local bodies in the way of directing the Advances Office to supply local bodies each year with a statement showing how much has been paid off the original loan, and that this amount be shown in the statement of the publicdebt of the city or borough as a set off against the amount of inscribed loans.

That "The Workers Dwellings Act, 1908," be amended so that the

Government shall be made liable foi rates in the same way as are all othei owners of land as set out in "Tin Rating Act, 1908." That the Valuation of Land Act

1908, 1)0 amended to provide for the closing of the valuation year on the 31st December instead of the 31st March, and that the Valuer-General be directed to have all the completed rolls in the hands of the local authorities before the Ist April in each year. That the honorarium paid to the Mayor of a Borough be exempt from the Income Tax, on the ground that it is chiefly used for purposes outside personal requirements. That where ratepayers fail to carry a loan for a supply of water to give a lire service, or which in the opinion of the local authority is considered necessary for the health of the inhabitants, the local authority on receiving the consent of the Ministei may be authorised to raise the necessary loan without the consent of the ratepayers. That, as the present system of electing members of Harbour Boards has been found to be expensive without giving the Counties proper represen tation where joined wit-h Boroughs they be elected by the local bodies in the grouped district. That "The Slaughtering and In spection Act" be amended to prohibit the sale of pigs for human consump tion unless they have been slaughtered at a registered abattoir and pas sed by the Inspector. That, in order to lessen the risk oi informal voting papers, "The Local Elections and Polls Act" be amended so as to provide that the system of marking all voting papers used at elections and polls be uniform. That the Motor Regulation Act be altered to make it compulsory: 1. That the number on motors be affixed at both rear and front, and that the rear number be shown at night by means of a light. 2. That it be an offence for motor cycles to be ridden within a city or town without a silencer being affixed and used. That section 9 of "The Local BodLoans Act, 191.'?," be amended by defining accurately the meaning of the clause "once in each week for four successive weeks." That to provide a better system of town planning, and for the purpose of securing the best system of drainage, etc., "The Municipal Corporations Act, 1908," be anended to provide that consent to lay off a street shall not be given unless the plan submitted for approval shows the construction to extend to the boundary of the owner's land, or to a conjunction with or continuation of another street.

(2) That at the junction with another street running at right angles the crossing from a new street shall be continued to the crown of the old street, and be constructed with proper culverts and levels. That "The Municipal Corporations Act, 11)08," be amended in the direction of giving local authorities power to refuse a permit to build a dwellinghouse unless it is detached a distance of 4ft (iiu from any of the boundaries of the land on which it is erected, or a distance of Oft from a dwelling erected on the same piece of land. That the Municipal Corporations Act. 1 DOS. be amended to give local authorities power to order the removal of any dwelling-house or other building which has in the opinion of the Borough Inspector been so damaged by (ire or other causes as to render it beyond repair, and that it be an offence to allow such building to remain after one calendar month from the time of receiving notice to remove same.