COMMISSIONERS FOR DUNEDIN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17923, 30 April 1920, Page 3

COMMISSIONERS FOR DUNEDIN.

QUESTION OF THEIR APPOINTMENT. DEPUTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL. A deputation from the Citizens' Committoo waited on the City Council on Wednesday night for the purposo of ventilating their opinions on the desirability of introducing civic government by conrmision for the city of Duncdin, and also of urginß the council to deal as early as possible with the problems arising from the need of moro housing accommodation. Mr J. S. Sinclair said the Citizens' Committer represented a fairly largo number of citizens. This committee had been set up some time, prior to the municipal elections. It had called a public meeting at which some of thw various candidates attended. The candidates then gave their approval to the ideals of the committee. One of the platforms of the association was in regard to government by commissioners, 'the association was not antagonistic to the council, but it felt that the present system was going' out of date. No doubt, however, government by commissioners was n good system when the corporation was much smaller. In America the discovery hnd bcon made' that a municipality could be better governed by paid commissioners. It took some considerable time, as they knew, on the part of councillors to become fully acquainted with the ramifications of civic government, and he was quite aware that they could not, devote the requisite time to that government. The nro posed commissioners would be required to dovoto their whole time to the business of the corporation. The value of their trading departments amounted at the present time to something like a million and a quarter. The council had an able officer in •its town clerk, and the committee considered that he should be enabled to give his whole time to these departments. The council, he considered, was too much inclined to go in for piecemeal administration. There were hundreds of municipalities in America at the present time which had commission government, following on the example set them by die town of Galveston. That, in his opinion, was sufficient argument in favour of the system. The committee considered that three or five commissioners should bo elected by democratic vote—by the vote of the people. Tlie term of office would be from three to five years, giving the oommisioners sufficient time to carry out their ideas. He considered the proposed scheme was more deraocratio than the present system, because a commissioner could be retired from his position if 25 per cent, of the electors on petition asked for his retirement. That was a very fine method to keep their commissioners under control. The committee asked the council to give its proposals every consideration. If the council was satisfied that the proposed system was on sound lines then it was not justified in ignoring it An Act of. Parliament would be required empowering the city of Dunedin to bo governed by commissioners. Dunedin was not an ordinary municipality, as it had large trading concerns, and he maintained . that the council could not carry them on efficiently with such a large body of councillors. They would be happy if tfiven the opportunity to further develop their arguments in a round-the-table conference with the council. Mr T. Begg (Anderson's Bay) said the first meeting of the oitizens was convened by the Expansion League, and the committee was then formed. Most of the candidates at the last municipal election had approved of the planks of the platform of the committee. He asked that a committee should be set up by the council, and that those candidates who had approved of the planks should redeem their pledge. The council, he knew, -was doing good work, but they had not the time to carry out the great works of the city. Speaking of the Balniacewen building scheme, he said the •committee desired to know whether the scheme was in the best interests of the city and of those whom it was intended to benefit. Tis committee considered it was not. The property was too far away, and the rock was t°o near the surface, and would thus prevent the growing of vegetables, eto. The land, moreover, was very steep, and he understood that the council would show a deficit per annum of £500 on the operations of the scheme. He believed in the freehold property, the principal and interest to be paid off by, say, weekly sums. If the council followed out its proposals, he maintained that in time it would create slum areas. The committee would also like to draw the council's attention to the Clyde Hill property. They were advised that this land was on the " creep,'' and had also a clay surface. They suggested that the | people should select their own properties, and that the council should finance the purchasea The Mayor said the council intended to reorganise its Standing Committees, so that it would be able to more efficiently deal with their trading departments. • Mr Clark moved—" That the representations brought forward by the deputation be referred to the Special Committee already set up to deal with this subject, and that it report to the council; and that the question of housing be referred to the Works Committee." He thought that in many respects the Municipal Corporations Act was antiquated, and should be brought up-to-date. • Cr Larnaroh seconded the motion. He hoped the committee would go wholeheartedly into- the matter and endeavour to do something at once. Cr Douglas said most of the points raised by the deputation had come before the committee already set up by the council. The question whether the Citizens' Committee should be asked to confer with the council had also been discussed. The committee was at present eoing into the matters referred to by the deputation. The motion was carried.