LOCAL BODIES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21565, 9 August 1933, Page 11

LOCAL BODIES

THE PRESENT SYSTEM ARGUMENT FOR REVISION NEED OF COMMISSION URGED SUGGESTED LEGISLATION /' A resolution urging upon the Government, through the Town Planning >. Institute of New Zealand, the need of a commission to investigate local tody reform was passed by the Auckland branch of the institute last evening, following an address on the subject by Dr. E. P. Neale, secretary to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce. In support of his criticism of the cumbersome system of local control in the Dominion, the speaker reminded his audience of findings by the National Expenditure Commission. It had been shown that the increase of population between 1915 and 1930 had been only 29 per cent, while the number of local authority employees had increased 76 per cent, the wages 199 per cent, the gross loan debt 191 per cent, total expenditure .224 per cent, and rates, licences and taxes 181 per cent. The commission had no hesitation in saying that a comprehensive investigation was a matter of considerable urgency. Dr. Neale emphasised that local influences were so strong-ln New Zealand politics that the passing of - sary legislation to bring about reform would be a matter of some difficulty. He thought something could be achieved along the lines of a general " Act compulsorily tackling the problem " in broad outline.

Dealing with the county system, the* speaker said the most striking example of counties increasing their subsidies by the process of subdivision was when Selwyn County, Canterbury, was divided into nine separate counties. Selwyn as one county drew in 1909 the maximum of £2500 in subsidies, but in 1931, as nine counties, the area was drawing £9747. The law had been amended so that such a means of increasing revenue did not obtain, but in the past the existence of the provision undoubtedly brought many small counties into being. The time was now opportune to reduce the number of counties.

It was difficult to obtain any single and entirely satisfactory statistical test of the effectiveness of county mergers or divisions, but the percentage of administrative costs to revenue was about 32 in Awakino and 24 in Waitomo. For the combined county, the percentage immediately fell to 19, and it was now only 12. On the other hand, Waiapu County was split into Matakaoa and Waiapu about 13 years ago. The old county had a ratio of administrative costs to revenue of just over 8 per cent. At orie stage, the ratio for Matakaoa reached about .40 per cent, and it was still close to 20, while, in what was left of Waiapu, it had risen to 13 per cent. Similarly, the ratio in. the old Cook County was about 7\ per cent. Since part of the area was made Uawa County, the ratio in the existing Cook area had risen to more than 11 per cent, and in Uawa it was about Id per cent for many years.