WORKERS' DWELLING SCHEME.

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1921, Page 2

WORKERS' DWELLING SCHEME.

Tho Whangarei I Jo rough Council seems to have found )■(■> workers' dwellings scheme a ra'her difficult problem, for the questions that arose at the special meeting held last night were numerous and intricate. The provision made for the prevention of speculation in dwellings erected under tho scheme was obviously very necessary, but wo are by no means sure that the Council's action in regard to other matters is so satisfactory. It is proposed that a worker who purchases a dwelling under the borough scheme should pay interest on the money advanced to him at the rate of 5J per cent., together with one-half ■per cent to provide for tho cost of administration of the scheme and 2 per cenjt. for repayment of the principal. He is also to be subject to an odditional charge of Is a week unless he pays up promptly. The Municipal Corporations A.e* ( however, expressly states that in •ueh cases "interest shall be paid at a : - ate not exceeding five and a half per .'•onturn per annum," and that overy instalment pa-id "shall consist partly f principal and partly of interest." Apparently there is no provision under which the Council could add one-half per cent, for management expenses and Is by way of penalty for late payment, though it is certainly desirable thai: some means should be adopted tc encourage prompt payment of dues. Under tho Housing Act ir.stfilments of purchase money and interest arc made pvyable at regular intervals, and the purchaser who pays before a certain date is entitled to "a refund of onetenth pirt of the amount so paid by him a--, interest." Perhaps tbe Council would do well to look into the two Acts 'hat we have mentioned and ascertain whether the proposals that Avere adopted last night are in conformity with its powers If tho Council has to pay 51 per cent, for <tho money borrowed to assist workers in making homes for themselves it certainly should be empowered to charge a higher rate of interest as a means of recouping itself for the expenditure on the administration of the scheme, unless, of course, it is possible to make sufficient profit out of the Pukenui Forcsv transaction

. -- f :o cover nil expense.:. Diffi&uliy, kov- . =ver. seera.3 to have arisen ija ca&nec- j rion' with financing thi- part of the j IU-iiiO-rf, wiili i lie result ".hat ibe Hi.Tin<ll jn-oposi's 1o "\tend the contract rVr culling the limber, if the eoi) J.rae•i r* ai'j ; -iHM-rilii". As w-i understand ii, the position i-i that tho fotitr.'ict pro- _ vide*, for the cutting out of Hip limber by the PJitl of next, sunimor. It is a question whether the whole of the timber will bo required so soon, and --Mint is :i question which the Council alone cm answer. 11' it is not required the Council, ur.dor Hie contract, will be s.-mIiII.-T with a large quantity of timhor. for which it will have '.a pay and from which it will for some time re-. c-.mvp no return. To rai-o money to pay for thi* timber would probably be a difficult matter, and woul'l mean an un-i.p<:!'«s-.uy tax on the ratepayers. The propo--:il' T»' forward by the Mayor, tin a adopted by the Council, if. that the cutting oi the limber should be spread over :" loi per p.*r.iod and the financial burden should Ihur, be eased. It i? a sound, yrar-tical nugqcsMon, and the Mayor and Council are to bo congra-t.iiVite-1 on its a k.ption. H they continue to deal with the workers' dwellings scheme in the same spirit 'the results should be very satisfactory to lisp borough.