CASH AND CREDIT

Northern Advocate, 13 October 1928, Page 10

CASH AND CREDIT

COUNTY COUNCIL COMPLAINT

SYSTEM CONDEMNED.

Adverse comment was passed- by councillors, at yesterday’s, meeting of the Whangarei County Council, upon the marked difference between authorisation and cash allocation .of grants made by the Government.

The clerk reported that permissible authorisation remaining for £1927-28 amounted to £10,283, and permissible cash allocation to £7910. Up to date the Public Works Department had had authorised, on account of the current year, for its own expenditure, £3497, and the County £4746, making a total of £8243. Fresh proposals were therefore restricted to £2040 for the balance of the current year. Of that amount only £ISOO of permissible cash allocation remained.

Considering the little money remaining, Cr Elliott moved “That no proposals be submitted to the Public Works Department, or Minister, or applications made for issue of monetary authorities, without the authority of Council by resolution.”

Seconding the motion, the chairman thought that if further applications wont in as the result of representations made by councillors, an injustice would obviously be done to ridings which wore unable to secure their fair share. Cr Allan considered that the rest of the ridings were already working under a disadvantage compared iwith those who had secured authority for grants before the last estimates were issued.

Although he himself had been guilty of making representations for grants for his district, Or J. A. S. Mae Kay was of opinion that the Council should have some understanding that each riding should secure an equitable proportion of the money available. “It will also have the desirable effect of preventing ratepayers from going over the heads of their representatives and buttonholing the member for the district, as they have been doing,” remarked Cr F. Elliott. While agreeing with the intention of the motion, Gr L. A, Johnson maintained that it should be. allowed for proposals to be submitted. The ridiculous aspect of the position was that £30,00.0 authorisation was placed on the estimates for the county, and only £IO,OOO cash allocation made. Whether this was for electioneering purposes or, not it was wrong, and if the Government placed £30,000 oil the estimates it should be prepared to .grant the full amount to the Council, which each year was placed in the position of living ahead of its income by spending money that was due to it but Was never received. If the motion was carried an agreement should be made 1 with the Public Works Department not to issue any further grants without conferring with the Council.

Full agreement -with;; the sentiments voiced by tlie previous speaker was expressed by Cr F. McDonald, who thought that the absurd discrepancy between the amount placed on the estimates and the leash, granted should be put under the notice of the Government. No county could bo prosperous without roads, which department the Government 'was starving. Bigger, allocations wore .required all over the ■ north, where,-the ratepayers were already bearing as heavy .a burden, as they could;carry. The chairman said it had come' under his notice that Whangarfei was not getting its fair shpro of allocation moneys. .Smaller councils were' being better treated, and wore receivingmore.

Cr Allan suggested ahat the clerk obtain 'figures setting out the valuations of the northern the amounts allocated to them last year. The motion that no further proposals

he submitted without consultation with the Council was then put and carried.

When the Council resumed after lunch the chairman moved that the Minister of Works ;bo asked to ini crease the county’s cash allocation, and that his attention be drawn to the fact that less than £2OOO (was now available, and that all moneys on the estimates were urgently required for distribution on the roads.

| Cr Elliott endorsed what the prejvious speaker had said. The anomaly of £BO,OOO being placed on the estimates and only £IO,OOO being made I available was very misleading. Really only 6s Sd in the £1 on the estimates was available for distribution in the present twelve months. The resolution was carried unanimously.