THE WAITAKI POWER BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22053, 8 September 1933, Page 5

THE WAITAKI POWER BOARD

TO THE EDITOR. Sib, —Allow me to congratulate. you on your clear and unbiased exposition of Waitaki Tower Board affairs. After such a long period of bitterness in connectifcu with power charges it is most gratifying to get the opinion of a paper such as the Otago Daily Times, which has viewed the scene from a vantage point and has not condescended to tactics so often adopted by other publications. The dictatorial methods adopted by the board on receipt of the petition are not what would naturally be expected in an enlightened country such as New Zealand. It savours too much of the temperament of Hitler and such like. The only conclusion that can be arrived at by unbiased citizens is that the board as at present constituted is afraid (aud I emphasise that word " afraid") to allow a thoroughly qualified man to report on the position. With Mr Dalmer laid aside on a sick bed. and Mr Wise, one of the dismissed officials. I ask who is the competent authority on the board or on the staff to draft a reply to such a petition as that presented to the board? The whole question is a closed book to every member of the board and every member ot the present staff with the exception ot the engineer and his assistant mentioned above, aud yet Oamaru is being dictated to by such a board and such a staff today. In the name of democracy I thank you for your sub-leader, and in the same name I ask Oamaru to wake up.—l am, etc., -Fair Pi-Ay. Oamaru, September 0. TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—The sub-committee composed (with the exception of. Mr ' Rutherford) of devoted followers of Mr Milligan, in replying to the, petition of 568 electors, claims that a mandate was given to the board to act as it is doing in discharging two highly-efficient and necessary officials, and, above all, in taking the management out of the hands of Mr Dalmer, who has conducted it with such conspicuous success. The board is now like a ship minus a skilled helmsman, and there is a danger of its going on the rocks like other boards. The Waitaki Boards cost per unit of supply is only 1.35 d, whilst for the whole of New Zealand the average is I.3ld—this is on the authority of Mr Packwood, the eminent engineer of the Waitkai Hydro works, who says (I give Mr Packwood's own words): ' It was a credit to the Waitaki Board to be able to operate so close to the average for New Zealand. The figures bore eloquent testimony to the fact that the Waitaki Board had been soundly advised and capably managed, and its' consumera should be well satisfied with the results achieved. The problems connected with a business so technical and so specialised as electrical distribution were not such as could be translated into simple every-dny language; and ;lt was not overstating the case to say that 99 per cent, was a closed book to anybody but a trained professional engineer. In the face of this testimony the majority of the Waitaki Board have relieved Mr Dalmer from being manager, have reduced his salary, and dispensed with the services of his very efficient assistant. Mr Wise, and the competent repair linesman, Mr Jackman. The management is. now practically that of the office staff, under the direction of the chairman, Mr Milligan. May I inquire whether the Soutn Canterbury and Ashburton a capital debt or have struck a rate?_ lhe Otago Board has a capital debt of £17,000 and shows a loss of several thousands per year. There is-no loss at Waitaki except on account of concessions given' by the board, and there is no rate. Mr Milligan baa been a successful man in civic affairs, both as Mayor and otherwise. Owing to the Government regulation of wheat prices nearly all millers have prospered—Mr Milhgau among them —and the rich have many friends. He does not need a mandate in power board matters as he has a great number of supporters who back him rightly, or wrongly. "An Anonymous Writer, bulled me.up for writing such lies about " that good,, Christian gentleman. He did not, however,, blame me, but " someone who had put me up to it who had a grudge against him," and he signed the letter "Matt, vii: 1-2. "It l» by people of this class that Mr Milligan is supported. Mr Dalmer was, warmly supported by Mr Milligan until be reported that the rate charged to certain large consumers was causing a loss to the board. This'rate has been accepted by persons in Mr Milligan's business at Timaru and also at Oamaru, except by Mr Milligan himself. The pietition was to try to save the board from being involved in loss through- the removal of Mr Dalmer and hjs trained assistant, who have carried on the business of the board with. such, conspicuous success—a business which, as Mr Packwood points out, needs a trained electrical manager to avoid calamitous blunders. Not only the signatories to the petition, but also numbers of members of very influential ratepayers who strongly sympathised with its object but did not wish to interfere with those in'power on the board, have tried 'to save the board from a course which will probably end in loss due to a false economy and erroneous methods. —I am, etc., . G. Stringer. Oamaru, September 0. TO THE EDITOR. gj B —After carefully considering the electors' petition to the Waitaki Power Board, and the Small Committee's reply, I am, as one who has closely followed the activities of this board right from its inception, more than ever convinced, in the best interests of everyone concerned not only that an independent report from one or more experts in power board nffairs is an absolute necessity in the interests of the whole district, but also that in fairness to the staff, it should be arranged as soon ns possible. It must surely be admitted by all fairminded people that a small committee of unqualified laymen, no matter what ability .they may possess in regard to their own individual vocations, cannot possibly have the necessary expert knowledge to give a. final decision in such a highly technical and difficult matter. Moreover, remembering the acute dissension among the members, of the board, can such a decision from board members be quite free from, unconscious bias? I am also, convinced that the present trouble is. .more than anything else, a sordid squabble as to . who is going to control the affairs of the board—a paltry quarrel among members, in which the unfortunate executive is ruthlessly sacrificed in the heat of the quarrel, and-in fact becomes • the board's " chopping block," and in this quarrel the best interests of the community is quite forgotten, or at any rate, disregarded. This is quite common talk along Thames street, and I am sure that, all those who have the best interests of the Waitaki Power Board at heart view with a great deal of dissatisfaction and alarm the policy of the •' five to four" majority on the board. The present engineer-manager (Mr Dalmer), is probably the most capable and efficient executive officer connected with any power board in the Dominion. Tpe board, under his control, has been carefully, and ably moulded into a highly successful organisation—of which we, in Waitaki County, are justly proud—rendering excellent service to the whole community. The charges paid by consumers are extremely low for both power and lighting, and the finances of the board are in an eminently satisfactory position. Let us then give Mr Dalmer what, after all, is honestly his due—the greatest credit for this gratifying result. It only has been his organising ability, his untiring efforts, his' sound knowledge of proper business methods, together with his complete technical knowledge and experience of electricity in all its phases, that have placed the Waitaki Power Board s finances above the threat of a supporting rate on the property of the people. The members of the board can claim only a small portion of the credit, for they, in common with any other boardj must entirely rely on their manager for the successful functioniii" of the organisation. And does not this apply to all organisations? Someone must be in complete control, and fortunate is the organisation which is under the control of an efficient officer. Would it not be better I to leave the whole matter of the staff to Mr Dalmer, for he is logically the only I one who has the proper knowledge to decide what is the best course to follow? Are not those who are in a majority on the board —more especially when the majority is only one in a board of nine members—taking upon their shoulders, not only a heavy, but at the same time a dangerous, responsibility, in acting against the expressed opinion and report of their manager in dismissing members of the staff, whae he considers it necessary to retain their sexvicea.

Is this proposed economy really worth while, when it can only be obtained at the risk of seriously interfering with the successful control of such a widespread, and, it must be conceded, technical organisation? lam afraid that, at its best, it is only a penny-wise, pound foolish policy, and was not the " two engineers'" slogan merely a catch phrase—just an electioneering stunt? At any rate, now that the serious difference has arisen, why not, in the name of common justice, have an independent investigation made by those who are qualified to decide definitely what action would be in the best interests of the board? The cost would be small, a report Of this kind would be final, and I am sure that the large majority of the people in this district would rather have this done than put up with the uncertainty of the present position. Many people now realise that the " five to four " majority on the board is disloyal to the manager, and not only unfair, but ruthless and unmerciful to the members of the staff affected by their decision which, at its best, is only a leap in the dark and fraught with dangerous possibilities. I ' would remind them that "the unmerciful heart can never do justice." —I am, etc., More Light.