Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1911. ENGINEERS FOR NELSON CITY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 3 July 1911, Page 4

Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1911. ENGINEERS FOR NELSON CITY.

THE COUNCIL'S NEW EaPERIMENT. FROM .having practically no expert '©r professional guidance for several months in the 'direction- of engineering requirements or gas management, the Nelson City Council is taking a . decided step, and is about to, employ a city engineer and a gas engineer, with distinct functions—and also distinct salaries. Applications from gas engineers at au initial salary of £350 a year are now being invited, and a notice of motion has been given to appoint- a- city engineer at £SOO a- year. The two .ani'oiints, totalling £BSO per .annum, are not large as the salaries of individual e.v.perfs, who can command more readily if they be good men in their own lines. But whether Nelson—with its civic expenditure and rates already greatly increased during the last- ten years with little except the legacy of mistakes to show fur it—can stand the <-«.;t remains to be seen. A good deal will depend on the men engaged. They may 'hi! able to justify their appointments, but otherwise they may isiimply heap O.sSa on Pelion. *****

[ With regard to the gasWbrks, and the management of the service, vc have always contended that they -should be dealt with as a business concern pure and simple. That is to say, in the (past, a*>d hu-gely in the present, the management in the hands of the Council, staff at the Municipal Chambers i]ia-.i been and ■is lacking in many business essentials. In the. first place, always there 'has been difficulty in so dissecting the accounts as to ascertain at a glance the expenditure and the prefits. J n a municipal gas service with a capital largely represented by a loan, the latter must be regarded as in the position of shareholders of a company, and the interest paid is equivalent to part of the dividends such a company wouJd yield. The remainder of the dividends should be available for the use of the service, and for the reduction of the general account and consequently the rates. Tha r t the .Nelson service pays the interest on loan money without the general account being drawn on is obvious. That it also provides from its own revenues means to make ex. tensions and repairs is also a fact. Hence, the works pay, and in the past have paid better, because frequently the general account has drawn en them. But no one can deduce from the accounts the per-

centage of actual earnings over expenditure, or whether the usual 11 or 12 per cent, yielded by other .gas concerns is being obtained.

Then, with regard to administration, vested interests .have been considered too tenderly in the past, with the result that -there has not, been the domestic consumption the service" should secure. A service on business lines would not- stop at a consumer's d':or with regard to the- efficacy of his fittings to enable him to use as much gas of good quality as he desires, as the Nelson system has done. Its object would be to furnish and encourage the use of the best illuminant demanded, and as much of it as the purchaser needed. Instead, it- is beyond doubt that, though 'matters have been slightly improved of late ye airs, the consumer finds considerable difficulty in having the condition of interior gas fittings of "his house seen to by the Council. There an ay bo naphthalene in fittings inside a house which a mere blowing out at the meter will not affect, but the- Council will not let tne of its stuff see to it. Consequently, the gas is not used at all in that house, or the consumption is restricted by resort to -ether ilhiminants. Extended -connections, also, mean increased co-nsiimp-tion. . Yet there are so many hampering conditions that many people on the outskirts or in sparsely-populated localities, do not- uso city gas a't all. Moreover, in many streets there are still houses not connected with the gas service, simply because the owners or occupiers cannot or will .not afford to make eennections. A gas company would see that these connections were effected on sufficient -guarantee, and in some places, in fact, even the fittings are put in by the company, the consumer paying over a period, thus, by not feeling the strain, being induced to use gas.

The matters referred to da the fore ■going .sentences are those which a. -good gas manager would attend to and rectify. A gas engineer combining with expert, knowledge business capacity—a rare combination, by >uie bye—might do even, more, and improve both quality • and service, and furnish ga& with a minimum of waste. Should the Council be fortunate enough to get such a man he may save his £350 a. year, and even the- increase he is sure to ask before he has been in the Council's service very long. It remains to *be seen whether this much desired consummation will be the result "of the intended appointment. Hence further comment at this juncture may be 'Somewhat premature.

With regard to the appointment of a city engineer, the position is that as it is not deemed desirable to continue the sick leave of the Council's present official, it is sought to geit a new engineer in his place. In the past the City Engineer or City Surveyor has also had the professional charge of the gasworks and gas -service, but of that responsibility it is now proposed to relieve ■•him. In view •of the important works which must be undertaken soon—the water- supply, the rectification of the errors of the drainage, system, restoration of the streets and various other matters of more icsr less urgency—it might cost 'the city as much to employ a- consulting engineer from time to time as to pay a. permanent •man. Therefore, the continuance of the office is logical. It is also logical that the salary should be such as to induce a good man to take the post. In the past the engagement of "cheap" engineers has furnished a somewhat disastrous experience, and prohaibly more than the cost of a ' dearer" man is niow being paid by the ratepayers. Hence, £SOO for a city engineer is not execssave. But whether the city can stand the strain of £BSO :per .annum for two engineers depends largely on the results achieved. The gasworks, mignt or might not meet the full charge of £350 («r a separate engineer, and the city itself in time might derive lasting benefit from the services of a- really good engineer whom it could trust. M'uo'h—almost all—depends on the men themselves, and on whether the duties, of the two experts can be so arranged that they shall .not clash lor overlap. The action which the Council has taken is largely in the nature of an experiment; hence the most tha.t can be said of it just now is that all hitipa it mav bo a success.