A COSTLY JOB.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20987, 25 September 1931, Page 12

A COSTLY JOB.

Sir,—My attention has been drawn to a report in the Herald furnished by the resident engineer of the Borough of Mount Albert with regard to bitumen work done by the council at the Kowhai Junior Hi>h School. Acting on instructions from the School Committee "I arranged with the council to have the work done by tho council employees and plant. This arrangement was made in open council with the full consent of the Mayor, Mr. Rhodes, and members of the late council. The matter was left in the hands of tho engineer to arrange details with my committee. -Tito committee had just on £BO in hand for the work, and Mr. Begbie sent the borough foreman, Mr. Murphy, to interview tho three mem-' bers of the Kowhai ground committee, and in their presence I told Sir. Murphy that wo wanted work done to the, value of from £75 to £BO. After that the work was entirely in tho hands of the engineer and the borough foreman, and Mr. Murphy has signed a. statement that tho engineer paid several visits to the school grounds while tho work was in progress and instructed him as to just what was to bo done. The first intimation my committee had that the amount in hand for the work had been exceeded was when we received an ac * count from the council for jnst over £3OO. I immediately interviewed the Mayor, Mr. Rhodes, with regard to the extra cost of the work. Sir. Murphy was called and stated that he had been instructed to do from £75 to £BO worth of work. He expressed surprise that this amount, had been exceeded. Ido not know who was to blame for the extra work being done, but it has given rny committee a considerable amount, of worry and anxiety. A. A. Buckley. Chairman Kowhai Junior High School Committee