Mangonui To Resume Highway Maintenance

Northern Advocate, 13 October 1949, Page 7

Mangonui To Resume Highway Maintenance

KAITAIA, Thu. (Sp.).—From April 1, 1950, the Mangonui County Council will resume responsibility for control and maintenance of the 421 miles of main highways in its area. This was unanimously decided at a special meeting yesterday.

Since 1945. when the council refused to strike a rate for hospital purposes, main highways in the Far North have been administered by the Works Department on behalf of the Main Highways Board. The council’s refusal to provide finance for hospital levies led to diversion of state subsidies on county funds to this purpose bv the Minister of Finance, and later the hospital rate was struck in the area by the Valuer-Gen-eral. This refusal to continue highway maintenance was the logical Outcome of subsidy diversion although to date the council has continued to meet its quarter-share of highway costs. At yesterday’s meeting members considered resumption of local control by the council’s own resident engineer would be more satisfactory to road users, and also that better use of funds available could be achieved by this means. While being far from critical of Works Department methods, they made their opinion clear that departmental maintenance was more expensive. FINANCIAL POSITION The council’s future financial position this year would be determined by the scale of Government assistance towards county roading costs which had recently been the subject of strong representations to the Minister of Works, the clerk (Mr A. J. Mackintosh) reported. Additional requirements for highways maintenance would be four men on the council staff, another road grader and another dump truck. It was proposed to meet the need for an additional grader by retaining a machine which had recently been replaced by a new unit, the engineer (Mr A. M. Theed) stated. The council’s original intention had been to sell the old grader which had, however, been reconditioned. Retention of this unit would reduce funds available by the sum of approximately £1750, which was the estimated selling price. It. would not be necessary to purchase the new truck until next year. UNIQUE SITUATION Councillors were unanimous that resumption of highways control would be in the best interests of the county. The hospital rating position had been the direct reason for earlier refusal to continue highways administration, said the deputy-chairman (Cr I. J. Berghan).

was no excuse for continuing in the previous attitude. “We are probably the only council in New Zealand not maintaining highways," he said. Mangonui was, however, uniquely situated in its large areas of nonrate producing Maori and Crown lands, and this position should be made clear to the Government. It was unfair to expect the council to maintain roads through areas from which no rating income was obtained. Cr Berghan was strongly critical of what he regarded as recent propaganda that the council was insolvent. , He referred to the resignation at the last, meeting of Cr E. R. Matthews (Awanui riding) who had regarded the council’s position as “futile.” “POPPYCOCK” “I disagree with this,” he said. Suggestions that the council was insolvent were “so much poppycock." Cr Berghan moved, and Cr F. Holder seconded, that the council resume highways maintenance in its area. It was high time the inferiority complex engendered around the council table and references to a sinking ship should be washed out, said Cr J. W. Dawson. It had been inferred that Cr W. P. Hales had resigned representation of Herekino riding for this reason, but this was far from the truth. “We know Mr Hales better than to believe he would abandon a sinking ship," Cr Dawson added. In 1945 the council had done a'great job for the rest of New Zealand, and the results achieved were a matter for pride, but it should now resume its former responsibilities, said Cr Holder. The chairman (Cr W. J. Steed) agreed that the council had done the right thing in the past. “SHOWDOWN BORE FRUIT” The hospital rate showdown had been essential and had borne fruit. From highways control resumption the gain might not be large, but value for money expended would be greater. Cr T. H. E. Wilton also referred to the recent resignation of Mr E. R. Matthews. "He should apologise for his remarks," he said. At 1 his stage the chairman ruled that the meeting had been called for a special purpose, and that any comment on the resignation of the former councillor should be reserved until the next general meeting. Mr Theed commented that highways maintenance by the council would not mean cessation of construction work by the Works Department. Cr J. M. Coude (Awanui)supported the proposal. If the financial position was clarified, he would strongly favour local control, said Cr F. A. Geddes (Herekino). It was the council’s contention that it could secure greater value for expenditure than that obtained by the Works Department, said the clerk. An important point was that to carry out work on county roads, council plant was in most cases running unproductively over highways. Much wasted running would be obviated by the new measure. The motion was then carried,

The pegged rate had removed the council’s grievance in part, and there