GREATER WELLINGTON

New Zealand Times, Volume L, Issue 11662, 29 October 1923, Page 11

GREATER WELLINGTON

WILL JOHNSONVILLE JOIN ?

CASE FOR AMALGAMATION. STATED BY CHAIRMAN. “LAST OF ‘ADJOINING AREAS’. 1 ’ Amalgamation with Greater Wellington appears to me to to the rext step in the progiess of our district (states ,the annual report of the chairman of the Johnsonvillt Town Board). JohnBonvilli is the last and the smallest of the “adjoining areas’’ to Greater Wellington, and should he taken over before the consolidating rate becomes operative in Wellington as from April Ist next. Our watershed is a purely residential suburb of 'Wellington, from which are drawn all our supplies ; wmh, practically our whole waijje-eaming population is employed in Wellington. The regular daily railway traffic each way is estimated 1 at about 350 passengers. There are about 250 houses in Johnsonville, and there is a complete community of interests. TO COPE WITH EXPANSION. Johnsonville (continues the chairman’s report) is not peculiar in the haphazard definition of its district. The board -holds a plan, approved by the Makara County Council and uw, for a re-adjustment of our respective areas on watershed lines. In the meantime building has been going on in that portion of the Makara County just outside the township boundaries, and on natural watercourses draining into the residential portion of _tho board’s district. On the Wakefield road, there arc eleven closely built houses on one gully. In the Hawtrey settlement there are eleven houses on a . gully oariying water through the back portion or the school grounds, while there are fifteen houses on a gully running into the hoard’s district at McOrae’s corner. The same conditions oocur on the Kbandallah road, and building is going on throughout the whole water-shed area. From a health point of view, the position will require handling in the near future. The city of W r e£unigton has—and Johnsonvillo has not—the facilities for coping with this expansion, one indication of the .Greater Wellington of the future to which His Worship the Mayor referred in an interview with a recent visitor from Wolverhampton. “AN ABSOLUTE FARCE.!’ Again, Wellington is to supply Johnsonville with electricity, and should control the whole undertaking, including house connections, Johnsonville has nor by-laws in this matter, and its by-laws are quite out of date. Even now, it is an absurdity that all the machinery of a local body, with its separate services to and from the State Departments of Health, Labour, Agriculture, Internal Affairs, State Advanoes, Statistics, Audit, etc. should be maintained for some 250 houses; and when the half mile of main (corridor) road is taken over by the Main Road authorities the continued existence of a town board for Johnsonville will be an absolute farce. THE FINANCIAL ASPECT RATES UNDER AMALGAMATION. The financial aspect of the matter is stated as follows:—Although the respective (unimproved) rating values are—Greater Wellington £14,766,432, Johnsonville £88j651, the respective ratepayers will naturally ask, “How about finances?” First, I may say that Johnsonville is not likely to be agitating for cheap trams and other financial benefits from the big brother. During the last seventeen months £6OO has been spent on roads and footpaths, during the present year and last years our rates having been increased to put our house in order. A committee, set up to report on road and footpath requirements, advised in July last that very little required attention, and its recommendations are being carried out; so that it is not for the foregoing reason that we are advocating amalgamation. To arrive at an approximate estimate Of our rates under amalgamation, we kb all have to -get a parity by increasing our April Ist, 1914, valuation pro rata with the increase in the crEy, that is, by 25 per cent. The total amount of rates struck in Johnsonville for the year ended March 31st last was £3182 3s lOd. Under amalgamation, and basing the rates on a parity valuation (that is on an unimproved valuation of £llO 814), the rates would therefore lie as follows:—General rate 3d in the £ (an increase on this is said to be inevitable next year in Wellington), £1385 3s 6d; special rate consolidated at Id and 91-20Oths in tlie £, £672 Is 2d; water rate at scale, £494 15s; Hospital Board rate on pro rata basis, £263 9is 2d; street lighting rate, £67 13s lid; library rate, £3l 6a sd; fetal, £2917 9s 3d; showing a alight difference of £264 14s 2d.

This difference would he more than set off by the difference in the higher overhead- and other charges of running a small local body’s l affairs. For instance, excluding wages on petrol gas account of £1347 the amount we paid last year on salaries and wages was £SBO, but with electricity installed and the gas plant superseded £3OO would easily cover the ooet to the city which would also have a substantial profit from the sale of electric light. There should be a profit in the difference between rates received a.nd the relative cost of administering added areas. From the above difference woiild also have to bo taken any increase in the amount of the Wellington City general rates, said to be inevitable next year.