WHANGAREI COUNTY

Northern Advocate, 4 May 1923, Page 3

WHANGAREI COUNTY

THREE YEARS' WORK r . —• THE COUNCIL'S RECORD. * At the meeting of the Whangari County Council this morning tho chai man, Mr W. Jones, presented the fo j lowing statement: — This being the Inal meeting of tli present Council, it is opportune that ' should briefly review the work and a< ■ ministration of the Council an County, for a period covering the pas , three years. During the session of 192 and 1922, several important amenc ments and reforms were effected in th many Acts which govern the operation of County Councils. The date of th i triennial election has been altered fron the second Wednesday in November t the second Wednesday in May. ANTECEDENT LIABILITY. Chief among the reforms, however Was the passing of the "Anteceden Liability Act," which, although some what severe in its prompt application was fully justified and is, in my opin ion, a commendable addition to loca! body legislation, particularly as it de finitely limits a Council's spending power in keeping with its yearly in come; consequently preventing a retir ing Council or individual member (in the case of ridings) from running excessively and unreasonably into :ndebt edness to the detriment; of his successors in office. In the ease of this county, your Council elected, as the better financial proposition, to liquidate its antecedent liability, amounting to £7375 12/9, out of general revenue in preference to raising a 365-year loan for the purpose, under which system, at the end of the period (36? years), the sum of approximately £18,000 would have been contributed in interest and sinking fund (taking the rate of interest at 5J- per cent, and .1 per cent, sinking fund), or £10,625 in addition to the amount requiring to be liquidated. During the past financial year the Council , has wiped off £3318 14/8. Personally, I consider great credit is due to the Council as a whole, for it is exclusively the care and attention exercised by each individual membc-r in the administration of his riding affairs that has brought tho county as a whole successfully through one of the most trying years experienced in the history ,of local bodies, and now places it in the position in which we hand it over today to our successors. MAIN COUNTY ROADS. During its teim of • iffice, this Council | has inaugurated'' and maintained a main county ro&ds policy, giving as mueh financial attention es possible to those roads that carry the bulk of nonriding traffic.' * Out or the main roads fund, to which the county a's a whole contributes, the sum of £10,760 has been expended during the three years. The present System is not prfect by a long way: for one reason, it bears unduly hard on some ridings .which contribute to the fund but derive no direct benefit. On the other hand, it must not be forgotten that the county as a whole has a duty in the upkeep of its main arterial roads. We hear numerous and bitter complaints from ratepayers and the general travelling public about the condition of some of our main roads, but do they ever stop to consider the position of the Council ond themselves, and what stato these roads would be in if the majority of Ihe ridings declined to contribute towards their maintenance and upkeep. Unfortunately, our main roads traverse poor country, and the revenue derived from adjoining lands ie hopelessly inadequate in comparison to the mileage requiring constant attention. The following is an analysis of the main roads expenditure out of the general fund for the past three years:— (a) Hukerenui (County bound(Wheki Yalley £2100 ary) to Whangarei £3570 Maungaturoto) £4090 (b) Whangarei to Waipu Gorge (c) Maungatapere - Tangiteroria (d) Mangakahia and Awarua Bridges £500 (e) Whangarei-Oneralii Deviation £500 Total £10,760 People generally do not reasonably appreciate the vast change in the mode of transport which has taken j lace during the past few years. Such a quick change-over in the main means of transport, from tho horse-drawn vehicle to the mechanically-driven vehicle, was never anticipated or appreciated in this county until about 19151916. At the end of 1912 there were rot more than three motor vehicles in the district; to-day the registration numbers reach 755. : The majority of the county roads weie never designed or constructed to carry or withstand the fast and exceedingly severe motor traffic witnessed to-day. To provide for this comparatively now traffic has tecomc a serious problem, not peculiar to this county. In my opinion the burden of traffic taxation is anything but evenly distributed. Here the local bodies arc rendered practically helpiess owing to the want of sufficient statutory authority. Tho new Council will be called upon to review the present system when considering its estiinates for the current year, not losing sight of the Government's proposals contained in the Main Highways Bill which comes in-, to operation on April 1 next. The Central Board under the Bill has, I understand, now been set up, and'is engaged in arranging local districts and forming the local Highway Boards of

Control. As tho Main Highways Bill outlines the system of local taxation (contributions) for tho construction and maintenance of the various main highways (according to classification) it is most important that local bodies ei should see that vigorous and capable r- people are chosen as representatives il- on the local Boards of Control. I earnestly trust that the policy differie ence at present existing between the I Minister of Public Works and the Ex- - ecutive of the New Zealand Counties Association may soon be overcome, as it is all important t that county councils throughout New Zealand should • actively assist and work in conjunction with the Minister and in an ats mosphere of mutual confidence. e COUNTY ADMINISTRATION. II During the" pas? three years I have 0 been able to make a close and constant study of the work and administration of the county, and although V there Is room for further improvements t in many directions I have no hesitation " in advising that the affairs of the > county are carefully, economically and " well conducted, so far as the Acts * under ■which, local bodies work will

" admit. In my opinion, and I speak > with some degree of knowledge, the ' Acts affecting the administration and " operations of local bodies are not kept 1 sufficiently up-to-date. The latest figures given by tlie Government Statistician show that the average cost of county administration throughout the Dominion is 8i per cent, of expenditure. It is therefore gratifying to be able to advise the rate- ' pavers that the cost of administration in this county for the past year is wjell below the average, being 5.54 per ccnt. of expenditure. I have satisfied myself that the proper and recognised method has been adopted in working out the cost. In order that the ratepayers may have some knowledge of the extent of the present Council's operations, I pro- J pose giving the following figures showing the gross receipts and expenditure under the headings for the past three years (including loans raised and expended).— Public Expen- Debt Receipts, diture. (Loans) ' " £ £ £ 1020-1021 .. 56032 60700 62033 1921-1922 ... '54908 67687 70119. 1922-1923 .. 55995 - 5761 i 69759 . Totals . .£160935 £186007 The, following. is a, statement of . the ridings 'balances ' at the end of each finaiicial yedl- for the last three years, (shillings, and pdnce are omitted):- — Riding. £ £ ' . £ Bikur a iigi <Dr 69 Dr 420. Cr 170 Kiripaka „ 650 „ 320 „ 5 Maunu „ 2898 „ 1214 Dr 8 Mangakahia „ — „ 1516 „ 87 Maugapai „ 332 „ 142 Cr 631 Manaia „ 788 „ 887 Dr 447 Wairua 240 „ 835 Cr 550 Otonga „ 1022 „ 364 „ 84 Waipu Cr 12 „ 261 420 The following is a, statement of the rates and penalty collected during the period under review:— £ £ £ General Spl. Loan 10% Rates. Rate. Penalty. 1920-1921 .. 16520 2595 734 1921-1922 .. 26243 2649'. 90 1922-1923 .. • 27408 3321 445 The following is a statement of current gener&l rates outstanding at March 31, 1923:— Riding. European. Native. £ s. d. £ s. d. Hikurangi .... 187 5 0 51 2 6 Kiripaka 316 0 11 142 16 1 Maunu 477 0 6 128 15 7 Mangakahia .. 435 2 6 315 10 0 Mangapai .... 280 10 6 53 15 6 Manaia 219 3 7 56 3 2 ,Wairu a 239 5 9 395 17 4 Otonga 190 19 0 417 1 8 Waipu 300 13 4 66 S 9 Totals ..£2646 1 1 1632 7 7 Of the European rate, £1200 has been collected since April 1. GOVERNMENT GRANTS. This county has room to congratulate itself on the liberal treatment it has received from th e Government by way of State assistance. The following table will serve to show the extent of the actual monetary assistance given (actually expended):~ Ro.ads & Subsidy Bridges ' , on Rates. ( £ £ 1920-1921 .... 11496 968 1921-1922 .... 6613 1546 1922-1923 .... 14348 2500 Totals . .£32457 £5014 In dealing with Government grants, I would like to express my high appreciation of the excellent services and assistance rendered this county a nd Council by the Hon. J. G. Coates and officers of the district office of the Pubilc Works Department. This Council, I feel sure from our experience, i enjoys th e entire confidence of the < Minister and his staff, and 1 sincerely : trust that the new Council will take every care to maintain that confidence. TAKING AND CLOSING OP ROADS ! This council is 3till struggling with the matter of taking and closing of roads —a legacy handed down by many former Councils. Northern local bodies have been particularly unfortunate in the way the old road lines wore laid off and legalised in the provincial days. In countless instances road lines were so unsuitable that the settlers resorted to and continued to use tracks along easy grades, with the result that today the legal road reserve has never been occupied, and the track has now become the established road. The result is a constant flow of applications to have the used road legalised and the old one closed and given iji exchange to persons affected. During the past three years a serious attompt has been made to deal with

I the more urgent cases. Some 32 suri veys have been undertaken (chiefly by l tho county engineer) and tho desired i exchanges legally completed. A new difficulty, however, is being experienci ed, in that after the Council has comi pleted it 3 part and secured the neeesi sary proclamation, tho Crown Lands ! and other Government Departments do not issue the necessary titles with jut constant pressure. I do not atc when I say that there are hundreds of roads and deviations of roads in this county still awaiting treatment. At the present time the officials are dealing with no less than 85 cases of taking and closing of roads, some of which date back 37 years. HOSPITAL LEVY. During the last three years the following levies have been mado to the Whangarei Hospital Board:— £ 1920-1921 4789 1921-1922 4909 1922-1923 6034 Total £15,732 There is still great need for some adjustment in the basis upon which hospital levies are made, particularly in the case of this hospital district. The amount of levy to be contributed by the county, borough and Hikurangi town district is .baaed on tho gross capital value -of each district; populalation is not a factor. The total capital value of this county is £4,fi13,095, of the borough £1,023,753, and of Hikurangi £84,415. The Hospital Board levy for the last year was as follows:— County £(i 034, .Whangarei borough, £1339, Hikurangi town £110. In the case of the county, native property totalling appproximately £180,000 m value, and contributing little or no rates, is included in the county assessments. This is a state of affairs nnt experienced by the other contributory districts. I might here give the native rates outstanding during the last 3 years:—l92o-1921', £770; 1921-1922, £1049; 1922-1923, £1032; total £4051. In my opinion the Council should pursue its contention that population and net rateable value should be the determining factors ,in fixing each Contributory body's proportion of the required levy. The population of the borough is approximately half that of' the county. Another feature worthy of note is the smallness of the Whangarei hospital distrirt, a circumstance brought about principally by the narrowness of the peninsula and its geographical features, resulting in one local body being the -chief contributor. Take the case of Waikato, where 21 local, bodies form the contributory district, or the case of the Auckland hospital district, where 29 local bodies are combined to share the annual levy. The burden of those local bodies is in consequence infinitely smaller in comparison. The. biggest evil, as the reduction in Government subsidy—a matter repeatedly put up to the Minister.

"When this county's contribution was £4909 (year 1921-1922) the Government to the Hospital Board was 17/3 in the pound. So soon as our contribution was raised to £6034 (19221923) the grading of the hospital was altered and the Government subsidy reduced to 14/3 in the pound. In nay opinion the system is absolutely wrong, and, as a matter of justice, the State should adhere to the principle, "The greater the contribution by the -people, the greater the Government subsidy." As already advocated, the Government subsidy should be based on a flat rate of pound for pound, leaving any exceptional cases to special treatment. ROAD CONSTRUCTION During the past three years new formation, metalling and bridge works have been carried on continuously, and the amount of work accomplished has been a record in the history of the Council. The work has been so widespread that its extent would not be accurately gauged except by those that arc in closest touch, with the progress of the various works. In order that the individual Councillors may bo fully cognisant of the progress attained during their term of office I have prepared the following summary of works, which may be classed as new and outside the scope of general maintenance: — On the main road West (Wheki Val-. ley.—(Four miles of new formation, four bridges and two miles of metalling have been completed. The formation works are heavy, entailing 42,000 cubic yards of earthwork, with 200 ft of pipe culverts. First class short span bridges to a total length of 142 ft. were erected. Two miles of crushed bine metal (3500 c.yds.l are now completed. On Whangarei Heads Road a new road has been constructed between Watt's (the Grotto Gardens) and Main's at Tamaterau. Between Watt's and Waikaraka the road is entirely new and is of heavy construction, involving 64,200 cubic yards earthwork and 800 feet of pipe culverts of various sizes, and 175 feet of first-class bridges. Between Waikaraka and Tamaterau 1$ miles of lighter formation and improvements has been ef- . fected and 1" miles (3200 cubic yards) of metalling completed. At Parua Bay on the same road some 30 chains of formation and metalling has been constructed. A length of 13 chains of the formation has been protected, by be:ng faced with heavy stone. Lower down McLeod's Hill, 60 chains in length, has been forn.ed (re-formed)

and metalled. On the freezing works deviation at Taurikura, a deviation 55 chains in length in heavy earthworks was brought to completion and then lapsed for want of contractors. This work is again in hand and will be completed shortly. On the Whangarei side of Parua Bay, at Reid's Creek, a leinforced concrete bridge 22ft in length was constructed. Whareora Eoad. —Metalling has been extended out to the centre of the Whareora district, coir.prising a length of 6J miles of new metal. Mangakahia Valley Eoad.—The metalling on this road has been extended from Poroti to the mouth of the Gorge, one mile below the Awarua Bridges, 1 with the exception of a gap remaining at the Oterau. The length of new metalling is 20-1 miles, and with the exception of the 1-1 mile gap this gives continuous metalling to a distance of 34i miles from Whangarei. At the upper end of this road the gorge was widened to 16ft formation for half n mile, involving some 6000 cubic yards excavation. Throughout the whole length of the metalling the road formation was considerably improved before the metal was deposited. Main North Road. —Between Whaleppara and the county boundary at Hukerenui, some 21 miles of metalling was completed, and between Waipu titkl the boundary on the Gorge Road metalling has been made continuous, involving some 2500 yards of metal. Portland Road—This has been completely metalled from the junction with the main North Road to Portland township, a length of 2 miles and fifteen chains. Houto Road—The two mile gap in the metalling at Holster'.* has been ;joined up to give a through metalled road to Dargaville. Crane's Road at Ngaranatunua is being metalled, and some 1500 cubic yards of metal has been delivered. Bridges.—New bridges erected during this period, exclusive of those previously mentioned, are Waterfall 80ft

and Waitangi 27ft on Kiripaka Road,

Stead's 25ft at Waikiekie, Tauraroa Bridge 80ft at Mangapai, Coward's 160 ft at Otaika, new superstructure McLean's Bridge 216 ft Waipu, Waipu Gorge Bridge 27ft, Miniha Bridge 40ft Helena Bay Road, Lewis' Bridge 27ft Otakairangi. These bridges comprise •a length of 662 feet of bridging. The Mangakahia Bridge at Titoki has been strengthened and made fit for heavy traffic over the large span. Other Works. —Other works completed are: Pipiwai Road, 3| miles dray formation; Punuruku Road, 2J miles Sf.t track; Helena Bay Road, one mile re-forination; Helena Bay Coast .Road, J-milc widening to dray road; Whananaki Coast Road;'4o chains x dray formation; Kiripaka-Ngunguru via Kaitea, one mile formation; Kaimamaku Road, one mile formation partiaUy done by Council; Whakapara-Puhipuhi, 40 chains re-formation and 40 chains new metalling; Tfamwhawha Road, one mile re-formation and improvement and 20 chains metalling; Jordan-Huk-erenui, H mile deviation and improvement, 20 chains metalling;, Jordan-Ota-kairangi, 20 chains metalling; Ota-kairangi-Rama Rama, l*hjmiles formation 14ft wide; Allena Road, 40 chains 14ft formation: Otuhi-l'aungakaramea, 15 chains metalling: Cork's Road, metalling 20 chains; Cove Road, Waipu, 40 chains formation; Mangapai to Caves Road, 2$ miles r.ew dray formation; Hora Hora Plat, new formation 27 chains; Kamo-Ruatangata IJoad has been repaired with 500 cubic yards of metal; Hamilton's Road, new metalling 20 chains in length is just on completion; Kaitara Road, 40 chains metalling; Keay's Deviation. 2 miles new formation drav road: Tokatoka Road. M miles of improvement to formation; Maungakarnmea - Tangiteroria, renewal of embankments and culverts to value of £200; North. River Road, completion of 20 chains deviation; Pukeatua Road, 1| miles metalling; Rama Rama-Puma, (50 chains deviation and half mile metalling; Purua-Moengawa-hinc, ono mile metalling. '

These incude all th 3 most important works completed within the last three years, but there are many smaller works not mentioned, as well as the general riding maintenance works as carried oat by the individual councillors. THANKS. I In conclusion, I desire to thank one and all of you for your unfailing assistance in the conduct of the business of the Council during my term of office,- and for your support and courtesy to me as chairman. It has been muck appreciated by me. Also, I take this opportunity to thank the officers and staff of the Council for their good and consistent work and the faithful manner In which they have conducted the business of the Council and county generally. On behalf of the Council I desire to 'thank the local Press for its generous treatment in the publication of County Council matters.