COUNCIL COMPLAINS

Northern Advocate, 17 December 1928, Page 3

COUNCIL COMPLAINS

MORE ALLOCATION MONEY.

THE COUNTRY’S URGENT NEED

Authorisations, their nieagreness and their alleged unequal distribution, were fully discussed by the Whangarei. County Council on Friday. The subject was opened 'by the reading of a letter from the Minister of Public Works, in answer to the council’s request for £SOOO additional to the council’s allocation. He advised that he had inquired fully into the matter, and had given it careful consideration but regretted to state that, | with the funds at his disposal for reading purposes, it was impossible to grant anything further to the council this year. The council wasv aware, of course, that it received special consideration last year by way of an additional £2OOO, on the understanding that charges were not to come to hand until after March 31 last, and as it was distinctly stated that any amounts issued against that £2OOO were to be treated as a first charge against the allocation for 1928-29, the council was aware of the whole position when accepting the amount. Regarding the current year’s allocation, the total sum of £39,767, exclusive of "green items” which were being expended ~by the department:, was allotted to the seven counties in (he Whangarei district, and of that sum the council was allotted £7910 for expenditure, with a permissible authorisation of £10,283, so that, in relation to the other counties in the district, it appeared to have received very favourable treatment. The unexpended balance of authorities, as at March 31 last, was, of , course, chargeable to the amount stated, but the main point was that the sum of £79IG was available for expenditure during the year.

The granting of an additional sum to the Whangarei Council would mean that the system of automatically allocating reading funds to ■ the various, counties throughout New Zealand would be departed from, and in addition, he wished to make it quite clear that the only way in which, further fu.ads would be made available to the council would be by reducing the amounts al'ocatod to some other county. , In this connection, it should not be necessary for him to state that such a course would be practically impossible, as, no doubt, the other counties were in much the same position as Whangarei. He therefore regretted that lie was unable to favourably reply to the council’s request.

Mr W. Jones also received the following communication from the exPrime Minister, dated November 13; "Further to your telegram in reference. to the question of. increasing the grant allocation, the position is that last year £8660 was voted and £9432 spent. This year £7910 was voted, while £12,818 has been already authorised, so that if the county expended grants already authorised to it, fits expenditure would be nearly £SOOO in excess of the funds voted.”

The clerk quoted figures showing grant authorisation and actual distri-’ button among the various ridings. Some wore shown to have received nothing. Cr. J. A. S. Mac Kay considered the figures showed a very groat inequality of distribution. If the council had control of (the funds it had handled them iu an inequitable manner. Many works in undeveloped ridings had been turned down, whereas loss deserving applications had gone forward. This should be borne in mind next year when the allocations were under view, and ridings that had not received fair play given special consideration. When Cr. MjacKay" contended that Maunu was a riding which was badly treated, because it received no grant, Cr. Allan said he lost sight of the fact (that, the riding must have been particularly well treated in the past to have the roads it did. When comparing the treatment of ridings, an average of allocations over ten years and not over two should be taken.

The chairman said’the policy of the council had been to give preference to subsidising Joans. When those were completed, an equitable distribution .among the ridings could no doubt be arranged.

Cr, Elliott could not see why money should be placed on the estimates and then struck off at the direction of the district engineer. The department should not put money on the estimates if it had no intention of granting it.

Other members were insistent that some fairer way of allocating grants should be devised for the future.

Or. L. Webb said that at present the council had no idea of the Public Works Department’s intention regarding - the distribution of money. The department knew what the council was prepared to spend, and both were spending out of the same fund. With a view to providing in the future an equitable distribution of grant money throughout the several ridings of the county, he moved that tlio district engineer be requested to first obtain the approval of the council before making application to the head office for grant-spending authorities, where the appropriation is a charge against the council’s annual permissible allocation. In other words, a conference should take place annually between the district engineer and the council to decide what grant items of expenditure were to be undertaken by the Public Works Department, and what, items were to be expended by the council. In this manner an equitable distribution of the total grants available amongst the several ridings would be properly safeguarded.

The motion was agreed to, "Up to now we have been satisfied with the crumbs that fell off the rich man’s table,” said Cr. McDonald. "It is time we had a cut off the joint. ’ ’ He moved that representations be made to the Minister with a view to securing a larger allocation for the county. There was no way the Government could expend public money to the advancement -of the country better than providing, bettor access for ■settlors to got their produce out and supplies in. Instead of fighting over the paltry apportionments which had been made, it was much better to strive for more to distribute. Every penny of the £30,000 which had been granted to the Whangarei County was urgently required, and yet not a third of it had been ffiade available. The reading policy of the Govorhffieht had iu -the past been no good, and unless .Something Were done to improve it steps shoiild toe taken to approach other councils and secure concerted action.

'Several either councillors expressed similar views, and the 10011011 was carried.