MAIN ROADS FINANCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18813, 13 September 1924, Page 12

MAIN ROADS FINANCE.

AIM AWKWARD POSITION.

RIDING FUNDS IMMUNE,

NEW RATING. SYSTEM NEEDED.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN

WHANGABEL Friday.

An awkward position in regard to provision for the maintenance of main Government roads under the Highways Act was disclosed at to-day's meeting of the Whangarei County Council, and its solution, it was considered, would demand enabling legislation. The greater portion of contributions to be made by the county as its share toward maintenance and reconstruction on Government roads undor the Highways Act, "were being met out of the county main roads fund, but according to section 131 C, such expenditure is prohibited by reason of the Highways Board having declared certain of the county main roads to be main highways and Government roads under the Highways Act. The Under-Secretary for Internal Affairs, Mr. G. P. Newton, "» "PUr *> the council, recently wrote that tho charges in relation to main highways must, as the law stood, be debited to the general account of a county as a liability of the county as a whole, in the same manner as if the main highway were a declared main road. The Whangarei county clerk, Mr. H. C. Hemphill, then asked whether, under the altered conditions, it would be legal for a riding to contribute riding funds to works on main highways under the Main Highways Act. In reply, the Under-Secretary pointed out that under tho existing law there appeared to be no statutory authority to do this. It was pointed out during the council's discussion upon the subject that it would involve great alteration throughout New Zealand in the present system of levying rates, and in the administration of general and riding funds. The difficulty was attributed largely to the lack of co-ordination between departments. It was finally decided to draw tho attention of the Counties' Association to the position created, with a view to a remedy being found by an amendment to tho Rating Act.