POWER BOARD RATING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21994, 1 July 1933, Page 5

POWER BOARD RATING

to’the editor.

Sir, —The'Otago Rower Board basloans aggregating £291,500. Its proposed com version of all loan# to 4£ per cent, makes a saving of £297 only. It has a bank overdraft, of over £6OOO, which has to be paid off,' and thug it has to. strike the same rate as last year to enable it to carry on. The Southland Power Board has loans of over £1,500,000. It i s staL ting a test case to the courts to see if it can pay their interest in the depreciated currency, which will save it £20,000 in interest, extracted from the pockets of the .unfortunate bondholders. The board is asking the Finance Minister to share the cost.of the appeal. It is to be hoped that the Government will not agree to do so, as it would implicate it in a most discreditable proceeding. As in the case Of the Ota^o.iPower Board, a rate has ,to ,be struck, to enable the Southland Board to carry on.. r , vOfcher boards are lucre oi* less involved and are compelled to strike a rate/*-’ 1 ; ■. ■ . v <V

Our Waitaki Power Board is in the enviable: position of being able to pay its way. This is in a large measure due to the very capable and efficient engineermanager, Mr I. Dalmer, who has wisely end without blunders carried on I'he work- of the board. . Besides his qualifications a§ an engineer,; he had nine years of commercial experience before being employed by- the Power Board. Mr Milligan, the then chairman; very soon recognised his ability and moved to have his salary increased. Mr Dalmer had the happy faculty of choosing the right men to carry, on the arduous work with'which he was entrusted,- and in Mr Wise, as director of the field work, he secured a most competent official;with the qualifications of an engineer, but the; pay of a foreman of works. The salaries‘of-Mr Dalmer and Mr Wise did riot amount; to that paid to a company-manager: without expert experience, being less than £IOOO between them. The • general manager of i aim ays is paid £2OOO per year for his expert knowledge. Our engineer manager and his qualified stall have carried orr their work up to the present .without blunders, and without losses, and we would naturally expect them to be encouraged, and rewarded for their good work.* The reverse is. the case—Mr Dalmer s salary is reduced. ‘His able assistant, Mr Wise, is to , receive three months notice. of the termination of his services. A rather strange sort of approval of successful management! What is the reason? Mr Dalmer had the temerity-to-request that the milling -interest# should be charged a payable rate for their supplies of power and, although Mr Milligan strongly objected, stood firm, and the board put on a payable rate instead of placing the ; charge >on the shoulders of • the general ratepayers. Mr ...Dalmer -having incurred the opposition of Mr Milligan, his position has been made uncomfortable to,say-the least, a ? c it? oW assistance of a majority ox the board, Mr Milligan has dislocated’ tne successful running of the various works under the able superintendence of Mr Wise and the cautious guidance of Mr Dalmer. Mr Milligan, as chairpian, will have the direction in his own hands. It looks a doubtful experiment. Mr Milligan is a successful business man, with a dominant personality, and.is also prominent in church affairs, but his principle in those matters seems different from those enunciated by the Divine Man in His Sermon on the Mount. Mr James M’Diarmid was looked on as a man who could be. trusted in public affairs, but seems to have fallen ’under the dominating influence of Mr Milligan. It is to be hoped that the members who voted for this very risky and false economy will, as was necessary in the case of the .linesmen’s telephones, rescind their hasty resolution to break up tho successful work that is being done by Mr Dalmer and his, staff, especially Mr ‘Wise, and thus save the ratepayers frbm the necessity of being rated as in other places.—l am, etc., G. Stringer. Oamaru, June 28.