PARNELL RETRENCHMENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9029, 16 April 1888, Page 3

PARNELL RETRENCHMENT.

TO THE EDITOR. Sib, Kindly allow me space to enlighten Mr. John Savage as to the duties ox the Town Clerk and Foreman of Works (the latter has to do common labourers work in Parnell), of which he seems to be very ignorant, although a member of the Borough Council for the last two years. lam not aware that the Town Clerk and Foreman of Works are the real managers in any borough; the Mayor and councillors should and do occupy that position. I would ask Mr. Savage how is the Town Clerk to prevent the Council from spending money and doing any work that they may take into their heads ? Say, for instance, could he prevent the Council from cutting down Manukau Road and repairing the collapsed sewer k at St. George s Bay ? Both those works cost the borough last year £713. Why did Mr. Savage allow this large sum (for the borough of Parnell) to he spent on those works ? *He was a member of the Council, and should have known that the borough would get in debt over the work, but 1 am not aware that he raised his voice against such extravagances. If the borough had this money now in hand their finances would be in an excellent condition. Ido not know what he means by illegal works, bat if he means illegal acts to transfer £500 from water loan account to general account in 1884, allow me to tell him that it was quite legal to do so then, and considered by the Council to be sound business principle. The half-yearly accounts in which the transfer was made were audited by Messrs. Thomas and Rawlings, duly passed by the Council as correct on the 19th of May, 1884. Pray how is the Town Clerk to blame for this transfer ? He submits a statement of accounts at every ordinary meeting of the Council. What more is he expected to do ? Surely he is not expected to teach them how to understand the accounts, or to supply that august body with brains to understand them. I will now deal with that magnificent salary of the Town Clerk's, which Mr. Savage wishes so very much to retrench, viz., £150 a year, for which he has to perform the following duties and offices, viz.: Town Clerk, Treasurer, Rate Collector general rates, water loan rates, drainage rates, water consumers' rates. I find that he collects over £3000 a year, all in small sums, viz., general rate in one collection, water and drainage rates in two collections each, consumers' rates in two collections, making seven collections in all. Notices are to be made out and delivered for over 1000 properties. This, alone, at the usual per-centage, would amount to £150, leaving the Town Clerk and Treasurer's work a gift) to the Council, at the same time being under a fidelity bond for £500. It is impossible that one man could perform all the duties pertaining to the offices ; and in order to do the work efficiently the Town Clerk has to engage and pay out of the £150, an assistant at 15a a week. The Town Clerk's salary until last August was £200 a year, and the Council paid the assistant, leaving the Town Clerk liis £200. This year he will receive about £120. Surely this is retrenching with a vengeance. Mr. Savage is again wrong as to the amount of rates paid by the burgesses of Parnell. The rates are only Is 9d in the £1, viz.: General rate, Is; drainage and water rates, 9d. Mr. Savage cannot call what the consumers of water pay, rates, for it is not compulsory to use the water nor yet to pay for it. Those that require water pay for it, as they do for tea or sugar. As to joining the City of Auckland, that would be the height of folly. The finances of the Borough of Parnell are certainly in as good a condition as those of the City. The Borough is much better drained, and I will make bold to say its affairs are much more economically managed.—l am, &c., D. H. MOKB&zie.