PARNELL BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13493, 21 May 1907, Page 6

PARNELL BOROUGH AFFAIRS.

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR.

THE LOAN "QUESTION.

' At the ordinary meeting of the Parnell Borough Council last night the Mayor (Mr. 1 G. W. Basley) gave a statement of the affairs of the borough duiTng the past year. After thanking the councillors and electors for returning him to office for • another term, the Mayor went on to say that -when* ; he took office last year he expressed him- • self that it would be wise to borrow £10,000 to be spent in improving the streets and drainage of the borough, and for laying down fresh water mains. That : proposal was adopted by the then Council, and a poll was token thereon, and it was 1 rejected by the majority of those few electors who took the trouble to vote; but he was still of opinion that money should be borrowed for these purposes. While referring to the matter of improving the borough so as to make it a model borough, he must reiterate what he had on different occasions stated to .be his conviction, that this borough would be sooner or later legislated into Greater Auckland, and it' there-fore-behoved its ratepayers and electors to take time by the forelock and prepare themselves fori the event, so that when it did come, their streets, drainage, and water mains and connections would be in such a perfect state that they would be able-to stand a few years of neglect and indifference. ' ' ; DRAINAGE. . Another matter which was now prominently before the public was that of drainage, and he thought that a drainage board and water trust should be established, which combined' body should control the whole area between Onehunga (including it) and the Tamaki Head (west), bounded from there by the northern bank of the river to and including Otahuhu, thence along. the eastern shore of the . Manukau to a point where the proposed Whauj Canal would come out, and by the line of the canal to the Waitemata, and following its southern shore to the Tamaki Head. FINANCE. The income during the last year had been made up as follows: —General rates, £2303 6s 8d; licenses, £197 14s; Government subsidy, £286 3s 2d ; water supply, £2439 J7s lid; charitable aid rates, £422 9s Id ; special rates, £1466 4s 9d; grand total, £19,902 18s 9d. Expenditure: General account, £2652 2s sd; water supply account, £2494 12s 4d; charitable aid contributions, £451 Os 8d; special rates,; expenditure and; interest on the sinking fund, £1310; extra expenses, £5; total, £6921 15s sd. The estimated preliminary working expenses .for, the year just begun would total the, sum of £2780, which was made up as follows: —Administration, £315; streets and roads, £1659 lighting, £265; refuse removal, £180; fire brigade, £90 ; _ miscellaneous, £77; and outstanding liabilities, £194... To meet the ordinary expenditure the estimated revenue for the year would total £5012, which would be obtained by. a 'general rate at |d in the £, £2231, licenses,- dog registration, etc., £275, Government subsidy £220, rents; etc. £40, arrears .of rates £90, contributions • watersupply £120, and contributions from other local bodies £36. WATER MAINS. Additional water mains and connections were urgently needed, chiefly between the lop of, Garfield-street where it junctions with Manukau Road to near the bottom of St. Stephens Avenue, where it joins the lop of Bridge water Road, the connection from the Hobson Park Road to Grey-street, the circuit at the back of the Blind Institute connecting with the main in - Park Road and the putting of a six-inch main beneath the footpath on the northern side of the Manuka'u Road. It was considered that a sum of £1000 should be borrowed to make these different connections and additions. The foregoing amounts totalis/! £5800, and the interest on that sum could be provided for in the following manner': —By reducing, with the consent of the Auditor-General, the rates payable on. the drains and drains extension loans from 6id to s|d a saving in these rates of |d could be -obtained, which would provide £119 10s 7d annually, and by appropriating Id frem the general rate a further sum of £159 7s 6d would be added, which with the first-named sum would make a total of £278 18s Id. This total amount of £278 18s Id would furnish. interest and a sink-ing-fund on the above-suggested total loan of £5800.

It was decided to discuss the report at a future meeting of the Council.