Mayoral Campaign Opens

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 102, 1 May 1941, Page 8

Mayoral Campaign Opens

Mr. W. B. Tennent Fires First Shot POSITION SHOULD G-0 ROUND There was a particularly largo and representative gathering of citizens at the Coronation Hall, Terrace End, last night when Mr. W. B. Tennent opened jiis campaign for the mayoralty. Ho had Mr. J. Davidson as his chairman. Mr. Tennent stated that it could be said without fear of contradiction, that the affairs of this city were in very good shape. At March 31, 1911, capital and unimproved value amounted to over £8,250,000, while total loan indebtedness had been reduced to £514,531 against which must be set £65,842 accrued sinking fund, leaving a nett indebtedness of £748,689. If no further loans were raised we would be entirely free of debt by 1960. Generalcivic amenities were good and the affairs of the various departments were being 'well cared for. Mr. Tennent then made this point that the council as a whole was responsible for this happy state of affairs. The work of the council was not the work of any one individual, but was an excellent example of good team work. ‘ ‘ The past council has been one of the finest wo havo had in Palmerston North,” added Mr. Tennent, 1 ‘and as a member of the council for the past eight years, may I modestly claim a share, with the other councillors, of any praise due for the sound and satisfactory state of the city’s finances.’ * The candidate proceeded to deal with various departments. He said that from the abattoir one could not expect large profits because of heavy overhoad expenses. Nevertheless, what had been done reflected credit on Councillor Mouklev and his committee. Their task was a difficult one and the fact that the 1941 figures revealed an improvement showed careful attention to details of management. Transit. This department had had a heavy uphill fight and through careful and capable management was now considerably improving its position. For instance the department for the year ending March 31, 1940, showed a working loss of £IG4, a great improvement over previous years. This year it had made a working profit of £346, excluding interest and sinking fund. The bus revenue improved by approximately £2OOO. and tho miles travelled improved by approximately 27,000. The passengers carried improved by 147,000. This reflected credit on Councillor Smillio and the city owed a debt to him for his knowledge and experience made available in this department, but the position was also duo to the co-operation which had come to him from his committee and from the members of the council. Library. Of all departments of the council, none showed a more striking change and progress than the library. At the end of 1938 it was facing competition from other book clubs with the result that the membership was as low as 1172. To-dav the membership was 9G99. The results obtained in this department, particularly as they were brought about without anv outside assistance as from Carnegie Library Trust, were a monu- j ment to tho work of Councillor Black, , his councillors and the librarian, Mr. j Greenwood. “We have to-day a book j issue which is the fourth highest in New | Zealand, and on a per head of the population basis, is possibly the highest in New Zealand,” added Mr. Tennent. j “The Library Committee has given j wonderful service to this city through its juvenile department. This department is free—and its membership is the largest in New Zealand.” An example of the service to the city which the library was rendering could be judged by the facts that the library was costing approximately £1 per subscriber. To-day that amount was down to 6s Sd per subscriber. The position in this department should improve still further as the department became consolidated. Gas Department.

1 ‘Four years ago I wns one of those who could see that the time had arrived xvhen the gas department and electricity department should be under separate management and to-dav I make no apology for moving in this direction, because time has now proved the wisdom of that step,” Mr. Tennent continued. When Mr. Learraouth was appointed as manager, he found several matters required urgent attention. One of tho most alarming was the diminishing gas pressuro which, in some parts of the city, had reached as low a mark as half-an-inch when the normal requirement is six inches. This department was thus losing many consumers from this cause. This condition had been brought about by tho fact that, when the works had been moved from Cook Street to Napier Road, sufficiently comprehensive programme of main laying from the new works to allow the gas to travel in the reverse direction for which the original layout had been planned, was not carried out. Air. Lcarmouth tackled this problem immediately and the result is that to-day right down on the south-western boundary of the city, a pressure of approximately six to seven inches could bo guaranteed. This programme, along with other necessary capital expenditure, had cost in the last four years, approximately £16,000. Mr. Tennent dealt with other aspects of tho gas department and said the position could bo summed up by saying that, while it has not yet been able to meet all capital expenditure out of revenue, it had been able for tho past four years to meet its interest and sinking fund. He was certain that, run on the lines on which it was now being run, this department which at one time looked hopeless, would gradually strengthen its position. Electricity Department. The policy adopted by this department had been: (1.) To give the consumers the best service possible at as reasonable rate as possible. (2.) To meet any capital expenditure out of revenue without recourse to loans. In 3939 rates for power for motors were considerably reduced and in 1940 domestic heating current rates were* reduced by 33 1-3 per cent, to a halfpenny per unit which, until the latest reduction by Wellington, was the lowest figure at which domestic electricity for heating, cooking, etc., was sold in New Zealand. Mr. Tennent quoted comparative figures showing Palmerston North’s favourable position and stated that for the year ending March 31, 1910, a sum ; of £29,000 was transferred to the council’s general account, thus reducing the general rates by that amount. Water. 1 Speaking of the city ’s water supply,

Mr. Tennent said the reason why we so j often get dirty water from Tiritea i 3 that our reservoir is simply a damming of tho stream. We have no means of allowing the sediment in the water to settle and when any fresh occurs in the stream, such a strain is placed on the filters that they cannot possibly handle it. Tiritea can provide all tho water required for many years to come (for a population of 40,000 if further storage is provided by means of a second dam I and provision made to by-pass tho flood [water around the lower dam). The cost of such a scheme would be £104,960 and could not be considered while the war

was on. If further additions to tho water supply -were necessary, we could [sink further artesian wells in tho south I and western parts of the city. The cos’! lof such a scheme would not be heavy laud could well carry us over until wo wore able to go ahead with the major I scheme. The Pohangina scheme was [one which would supply all the water this city -would require with a population of 100,000, but its cost of approximately three-quarters of a million pounds made it otit of tho question for many years to come. Future Policy. Mr. Tennent next dealt with future policy while the nation was at war. “This city has always been well to the fore in any war effort in New Zealand and I can assure you that, if elected as Mayor, I shall strive to tho'limit to lead this city in an even greater and more united war effort than it has yet done,” he said. “I regard this as perhaps the greatest and most important duty of a Mayor of such a city as Palmerston North can perform to-day. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with our waa effort and the ability of the individual to contribute his share to war finance. For this reason the affairs of our city must be run on lines of most rigid economy. Only those development works which are of vital importance must be undertaken and every endeavour must be made to prevent any increase in rates. The past council has done very good work in not increasing rates, particularly when one considers the great increase in working costs, and it will be my endeavour to maintain this standard. Useful Work Available. “However, any man in office to-day must have an eye to the future and have a long-distance plan to put into operation as soon as this war is over. We must have some constructive plan to provide works which will assist the Government in its difficult task. During the last depression the City Council sot aside certain sums of money known as the Mayor’s Relief Fund which, together with money from other sources in £he city, was used to assist those in distress. This fund was used to allow ratepayers to work off their rates and light. While the social legislation of the Government has very large!v eliminated the need for such a fund, this fund is still being used to render assistance. It has helped many worthy citizens through difficult times and has had the support of all councillors. But in any scheme for dealing with unemployment we must remember that never again can we have men spending their days digging the grass on the side of the roads to let it grow and be dug again. This scheme not only wasted thousands of pounds of money for which we received no permanent value, but the worst aspect of it all, in fact the tragedy of it all, was that it caused hundreds, even thousands, of men to lose their greatest asset, namely their

self respect. They were brought to feel that they could no longer make anv worth-while contribution to their country’s progress. Therefore, any

scheme to deal with this question must fulfil two important functions; (1) Give us some worth-while and permanent results for the monev expended; (2) make every man feel that, even though he mav not have been able to find a special niche for himself, he can feel with certainty that he is mnking some worthwhile contribution to his city or countrv and can hold up his head and maintain his self respect.

“One of the first things which appeals to me is public health—our recreational facilities anrl the means by which people can be encouraged to obtain and maintain physical fitness. In this connection provision could be made for improving our swimming and general sports activities hv gradually increasing our reserves.”

Mr. Tennent said one of the first things he would advocate would be the conversion of the municipal baths into tepid baths. The cost on the latest figures would be £6336. This meant that interest, sinking fund, plus extra wages for full time attendants, would cost apnroximatelv £9BO per annum

extra. The city should be the rallying point for all swimmers from a wide area so that the revenue should increase to at least four times its present, amount. On the present figures of population, this should mean an extra cost to the ratepayers of £6OO per annum, an amount which would diminish annually as the population increased.

Mr. Tennent also advocated increasing the city’s reserves and playing areas. He did not mean that w’o should lav out these reserves forthwith. ' That would be sheer folly and would make the rates soar, but wo should make sure that a long term plan was prepared and that the necessary areas should bo set. aside for reserves of the future and develojjed as required. At tho present time the playing areas were adequate for requirements but no more than adequato. They were at times taxed to their utmost to provide the necessary space for competitive games in the various sports. The council must, therefore, plan ahead and gradually develop a scheme which would be adequate for the next forty years. He visualised areas on the far side of Botanical Road and on the northern aspect of Boundary Road, forming a belt of reserves around the city. He also saw possibilities of making a boulevard of Main Street when the railway is moved away and envisioned civic buildings in the years ahead, which would house the council chambers, town hall, library, art gallery, etc.

Mr. Tennent said he felt the position of Mayor was one which should go around to men who had rendered good service to the city. While in Dunedin recently, he found that of all the Mayers in that city, most of them had served only one term and few, if any, had served more than two. Sir Ernest Davis in Auckland recently, announcing his intention not to stand, said tho office of Mayor was one which should not be held for long terms by any one man, and he was standing down to let some other man have the reward for good service. “I trust that you will feel that I am worthy of this honour,’’ concluded the speaker. “If you do aud I anx elected, I can assure you tkat-1

will, to the utmost of my ability, carry out my duties with the decorum duo to the office. ” Question Time. Asked on behalf of the Master Butchers * Association if he favoured the appointment of a master butcher to act in an advisory capacity to the abattoir commitee, Mr. Tennent said that such a step would be a vote of noconfidence in thp abattoir manager. If the master butchers had any grievance the proper steps would be to place it before the council in writing or ask for a round table conference; Mr. Tennent said he was not in favour of w r ater from soak wells by the river being pumped into the mains because of the risk of contamination. A suggestion from the audience that the city’s lights might be curtailed instead of the power for the water, met with a round of applause. Mr. Tennent said that the hot water service absorbed over 50 per cent, of the electric power used in the city and by reducing it 10 per cent., the council had taken the quickest and only satisfactory way of meeting the Government’s request for reduced consumption. It would have been impossible to go around and get people to reduce their lighting load such as by using lamps of a lower wattage. Mr. T. M. IST. Rodgers mqved appreciation of the address and confidence in Mr. Tennent as a Mayoral candidate Mr. S. IT. Snell seconded the motion which was curried unanimously.