ROTORUA SERVICES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22515, 4 September 1936, Page 13

ROTORUA SERVICES

WATER AND DRAINAGE BOROUGH CONTROL PROPOSED [by telegraph OWN correspondent] ROTOEUA, Thursday A recommendation that negotiations should be entered into with the Tourist Department for the assumption by the Kotorua Borough Council of control of the town's water supply and drainage systems was made to the council by the Finance Committee last evening. The committee .also stated in its report that it was of the opinion that the council should be the supply authority for the electrical services.

"The committee is perfectly satisfied that the position is such that the council should negotiate with the department and the valuations are such that the services could be taken over to the advantage of the council," said the Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson. Mr. Jackson added that the GovernorGeneral could be asked by the Treasury to request that the council should take over control of the services, but that, in spite of the obvious desire of the Treasury in this direction, the council was fortunate that it had been able to stave the matter off until it had been able to receive its engineer's report that the services were in a satisfactory condition. The council could now approach the department with its own valuation as a basis of negotiation. If the department did not accept this valuation the onus would then bo upon the department to substantiate its own valuation. It was agreed that the council should meet again, in committee, on Friday, September 11, to consider the report.