MELROSE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 3445, 28 May 1898, Page 4

MELROSE BOROUGH COUNCIL.

The monthly meeting of the Melrose Borough Council was held Thursday night. Present —His Worship the Mayor (Mr C. T. Browne), Councillors Baylis, Wish art, Webb, Key, Clark, Tail, Frost and Brunskill. The recommendations of the Public Works Committee were adopted:—(l) That works be carried out at Kilbirnie in accordance with the report of the inspector of works, viz., formation and metalling on the Wellington road and the formation of the footpath in Bnsaco road. (2) That the Wellington City Council be asked to erect electric lights ; one at the intersection of Aro street with the Holloway road, Mitohelltown, and the other at the intersection with Entrance street, Taitville, upon the same terms upon which lights were erected on the Ohiro road. (3) That it be an instruction to the clerk to take legal proceedings in any case of deposit of building or other material upon streets. (4) That sumps be placed in the Hamilton road, Kilbirnie, to connect with the concrete culvert.

The Finance Committee reported that the unimproved value of the borough as per Government assessment was £203,329, which at one penny and forty-three onehundredths of a penny in the pound will produce an income for general rate purposes of .£l2ll, This amount, being equal to a rate of 15-16ths of a penny in the pound on the capital value, is the limit of the Council’s rating power under the Municipal Corporations Act, 18SQ. It was stated that the amount required under the hospital and charitable aid rate for the next financial year would be £l9B, requiring a rate of 1-Gth of a penny in the pound on capital value, a considerable reduction on previous rates. The committee also furnished the following details of the estimated receipts and expenditure for the year : Revenue General rate of 1 43-100 d on £203,329, £l2ll i hospital and charitable aid, £198; Government subsidy on general rate, £242 j publicans’ licenses, £BO j slaughterhouses, £10; rents, dog tax and sundries, £72 : £lßl3. Expenditure—Repairing streets, £1144; advertising and printing, £3O; salaries, £225 ; cleaning, £11; lighting. £ls; hospital and charitable aid, £l9B ; law costs and sundries, £100; rent, £9O s £lßl3. The item £1144 for repairs to streets was £BOO in excess of any previous year’s similar expenditure. The allocations to the different wards are:—lsland Bay, £278; Kilbirnie, £412; Ohiro, £423, all being substantial increases. It was also recommended that the two oldest employees •receive a permanent salary of £2 8s per week throughout the year, and the others 8s per dhm. The report was adopted with the exception of the last clause, which was amended in the direction of payment at the rate of Is per hour instead of 8s a day.

It was also resolved that the rates for the ensuing year be :—(a) A general rate of one penny and forty-three one-hun-dredths of a penny in the pound on the unimproved value, and { b ) a hospital and charitable aid rate of one-sixth of a penny in the pound on the gross or capital value (in each case) of all ratable property in the borough. A special meeting of the Council is to be held on Tuesday, June 28th, for the purpose of making + ho foregoing rates, which will be payable in one sum on the 12th day of July. Mr S; Stockbridge wrote complaining of the nuisance caused by cattle being allowed to roam at large in Brooklyn, and it was decided that the clerk should avail himself of the services of two employees to impound the animals. The Clerk presented a report with reference to the formation of Hayes and Adams streets at Brooklyn, which, after discus-, sion, was referred to the Public Works Committee,

Accounts amounting to €195 were passed for payment, and after transacting other routine business the meeting adjourned-