FIRE BOARD LOAN

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18961, 11 March 1936, Page 4

FIRE BOARD LOAN

WHY WAS IT GRANTED?

BOROUGH COUNCIL QUERY

LETTER TO LOANS BOARD

A FIVE TO FOUR VOTE

Wire-pulling was alleged by some speakers at last night’s meeting of the Gisborne Borough Council when the approval of the Fire Board’s proposal to raise a loan of approximately £12,000 for a new lire station and cottages was mentioned.

It was agreed on a live to four vote to ask the Local Government Loans Board to explain why it refused to sanction the loan in the first instance and then later gave its approval, it was also decided to ask the Fire Board to make available to the council the letter in which the Loans Board first refused to grant the raising of the loan.

Those who voted in favour ot writing to the Loans Board and the Fire Board were Cits. 11. H. DeCosta, N. 11, Bull, P. W. Buslmell, 11. E. Maude and G. Bradley Smith. Those opposed to this action were the Mayor, Mr. IJ. W. Coleman, M.P., Crs. J. 11. Hall, D. S. 1 hompson and 11. Holmes.

One councillor, Cr. J. Webb, was absent. On a former occasion when an objection to the raising of the loan was discussed, he voted with the Mayor, whose casting vote then decided that a formal protest made should be withdrawn. The council last night spent over tin hour discussing the matter.

Cr. DeCosta, who first spoke, said lie was surprised and astounded when lit read that the Fire Board had persuaded Lhe Loans Board to grant the loan. The council bad done its best to keep down .he rates, he said, and now the Loans Board had decided that the borougn would be involved in the expenditure of ,i large sum. lie maintained that the Loans Board had not been justified m granting the loan, because the Ac! stipulated that once an application was turned down, no new application coul I >e considered within 12 months on the same question, unless some unforeseen ircumstances arose.

FINANCIAL POSITION

“I want to know who lias let us down,” Cr. DeCosta declared. “Wo cannot take this lying down, and we must enter a strong protest to the Loans Board.”

Cr. Smith agreed with all Cr. DeCosta had said, and pointed out that clie Loans' Board refused the application without reservation some months ago. The only information regarding tbo Fire Board came through the press, and as the matter involved the expenditure of £6OOO of the ratepayers’ money, die press should be present at Fire Board meetings when such matters were liscussed. He suggested that the Fire Board appeared to be in the nature of a Star Chamber. The Borough Council representatives on the board should keep, .lie council in touch with expenditure of any magnitude. He said that if toe borough was in a position to have the work done lie would agree, but the timy was not opportune for such expend'ture and since the application was first made, the finances of the borough In I not. improved : in fact,., the position wa* worse, because since then tiie council was faced with j the expenditure of a large suin' on improving the aerodrome The amount proposed to be expended on the fire station would have built -two. aerodromes. - r

Cr. Smith then moved: “That this council requests that its representatives on -tlie-.Fire Board, obtain for the information of the council copies of . correspondence between the Fire Board and tlie Loans Board' with reference to ne refusal by tlie Loans Board of the origi nal application of ■ the Fire Board and to the Loan Board’s recently published approval.”

“OPEN TO (yUESTrOX ” “ Personally,” Or. Smith continued, “I find it difficult to see that there is any ohj(‘ciioii on the pari of councillors voting Tor the motion. Il wo tiro not able to got rltii l correspondence, councillors will ho just iliod in wondering who the hoard is responsible to. Have wo to sit down, anil beat whatever expenditure is thrust upon us?’’ The Mayor said that the press as a rule was not present at the Eire Board mootings, but the press was at a meeting when the chairman of the board made a very full statement on the matter. That was the meeting at which most of the business in that connection was done. It was correct that a further application to the Loans Board could not be made within 12 months, hut this was the same application as submitted previously. The Eire Board wrote to the Loans Board asking that the application be reconsidered. It was proved, on-in-vestigation, that the Fire Board’s estimate that it would cost over £2OOO to remedy the present defects on the lire station was correct, and it seemed a bad proposition to spend over £2OOO on what would lie a temporary job at the best. No businessman would

agree to this. Or. DeCosta: That is open to rjties t ion.

The Mayor: It is not questioned by those who have gone into the matter. Mr. Coleman added that the board considered that the expenditure was necessary. As keen as he was to keep down the expenditure of the borough he would say that the Eire Board was not going one penny piece beyond"what it should.

The Mayor added that he had already asked the chairman of the Fire Board if he would release the correspondence. The chairman had said he did not ,seo why the council should have the letters, nor why one local body should ask for the correspondence of another. ITe had asked tor the correspondence again, and the secretary stated that the chairman had declined to give his consent. • ‘ WHO DI D WIRE-PULLING ’'

There was nothing in the correspondence. to Hide. Mr. Coleman added. The letters merely set out Die decisions of the board, no reasons being given.

Cr. DeCosta : Who did the wire-pull-ing"? The Mayor: You cannot do any wirepulling with the Loans Board. Cr. N. H. Bull, in seconding Cr. Smith’s motion, said he had asked the Mayor to secure a copy of the letters from the Fire Board. The refusal was an extraordinary attitude lor such a body. ••The whole of ihe proceedings of the Fire Board," he declared, "have been shrouded in seereev. They refused to hand to the borough.representatives certain figures prepared by the secretary of the board. These figures purported to show that it would not cost the council any more and that it was a sound business proposition. The council was prepared to let the public judge whether those figures were accurate. It the borough was able to afford this extravagance, I am not against it, but we nave in immediate view a water supply 1 is croinor to involve US in an expenditure up to £60,000. We know that the inhabitants and ratepayers generally are still ‘ feeling the strain, and wo bail within sight, a saving of £6OO because we have paid off an old Fire Board loan. If it were reasonably possible to pu, up with the present amenities lor another 10 or L r > years, we could re arrange our loans, and let them have a fire station." The immediate necessities of the borough, Cr. Bull estimated were water, sewage and aerodrome. Loans such as that for the Eire Board came under the category of a second class necessity.

CORPSE THAT WAS DEAD

“Sonic subterranean efforts have been made.'.’ Cr. Bull continued, "and we should know of them.’ ... A councillor : You mean wu e-pnmin;-The Mayor said that Cr. Bull should not make use of such an expression. Cr. Ball then agreed to withdraw tin remark, hut. contended that the council should have been advised of efforts to secure the granting of the W by the Loans Board. Did the Mavo know that further efforts had been made? he asked. . . The Mayor replied that he knew Unit the Fire Board had not dropped the asked if it was the duty ol the Loans Board to advise the couned that efforts had been made to <-”>d the corpse that had been dead and buried,” or whether it was the duty <> the council’s representatives to report the matter to the council. The Mayor said that it was k m that the board was making Imthu 6 said that had members of the council known that the Kre. Board was still trying to put the. loan through, some further action might have been tl 'Phe Mayor pointed out that- the tune to receive objections had passed. Cv. Bull believed that the Brians Board might still have considered objections.

STATUTORY NOTICE

Cr H. E. Maude said ho did not propose to deal with the rights or wrongs ot the question, hut pointed out that the council or ratepayers had not bee'i acquainted of the steps taken to sect .o a reversal of the decision. He did not agree with the proposal to ask the rue Board to make the correspondence available, but the council should go furthei and go direct to the Loans Board. he working of the two bodies—the I> c Board and the council—was so dose > interwoven, that the Fire Board should have notified the council of actions taken in the matter. The Fire Board had not notified the council of its intention to raise the loan until it was almost too late to lodge objections. . . The Mayor: l gave the st.itutni \ "°Cr C Maude agreed, hat said that as the matter so vitally concerned the council some closer co-operation was - cMral. e. He moved: "That the Loans Boatd he written to asking that if Kindly inform this council why the loan_ proposals x limit tod to it by the Fire Board were not approved in the first instance and w . they have since been approved without notifying! Ibis err,mil as represent mg; he borough ratepayers, who wil he 'all upon to make a heavy contnhu ion aid should therefore he entitled to full kno.vlfidga of the reason or reasons dictating the hoard’s decision. *• Cr. Smith said I hat the Fire Board did not acquaint the council of its intention to raise a loan. The Fire Board advertised in the press. It was the.press announcement which attracted his at ention, and hv the time he brought the matter lip in the council it was almost too late to lodge an objection He agreed to withdraw the motion in tavour of the amendment

OPTION ON PROPERTY Cr. P. W. Bushnell said it appeared an intolerable position that the council was required to share an expenditure for which it fell there was no justification, and on which it could gel no information. It was autocracy in its worst form. The council had been assured that lhe Loans Board was its saleguard. and mouthers of-the eoimeil were pleased when the application was turned down. Now the Loans Board had somersaulted. Some pressure must have been brought to bear. It was rumoured round (own that the Fire Board had been committed to the purchase of land because it was so confident that the loan would fie granted. The- Mayor said that the hoard was not committed to the purchase. Only an option had been taken. The Fire Board had given the council all the information required, and it could not be said that the board had refused information. Cr. Bull said it was Gilbertian and scandalous that the council could not obtain a copy of a letter. Cr. Thompson said that the Fire Board was not responsible to the council but onlv to the Minister.

Cr. H. Holmes said that it was quite within the province of the Fire Board to ask for a reconsideration of its decision, and he was pleased that the loan application was granted. lie complimented the Fin* Board on being able to convince the Loans Board that a new lire station was required. MAYOR’S POSITION Cr. J. H. Hall did not think the council had given the matter due consideration; the council seemed to have looked only :ii the expenditure o!’ £(i()00. The council did not consider that it would be more economical to embark on the expenditure. The question was whether the hoard would be able to carry on a voluntary service or to institute a paid brigade. He was greatly in favour of having a new building. He believed ii might bo, a little premature in the respect that the borough did not have an adequate water supply for a brigade of increased efficiency, while he also thought that by waiting there would be more favourable prospects of raising a loan.

The Mayor; They have been offered a loan at .'U per cent. Cr. Hall concluded by saving that Gisborne was really iti need of a new lire station. The Mayor said he would vole against the motion, for he did mil think the council was within its .jurisdiction in asking the Loans Board to state the reasons for its actions. The motion to write to the Loans Board was carried, the voting being as already stated.

Cr. DeCosta then moved: “That the council write to the Fire Board asking that the letter from the Loans Board Refusing to grant the Fire Board’s station loan he made available to this council. ’ ’ Cr. Smith seconded the motion, which was carried, the lading being as before.

The Mayor said that he might have to consider his position as the conn cil’s representative on the Fire Board, for he felt that the council was not in full agreement with his actions.

Cr. Smith said that the discussion had been on the matter of the Fire Board alone. Had it not been for the Mayor, the council would not have secured earlier information it desired, and there were nil personal feelings in the matter at all.