THE BOROUGH FINANCES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 1, Issue 16, 26 June 1912, Page 4

THE BOROUGH FINANCES.

THE COUNCIL'S DILEMMA. Shall All Works be Stopped ? At every meeting of tho Pukekohe Borough Council the query is : " How are we going to pay this account ?" Every meeting accounts roll in, but the wherewithal to pay is still a thing of the future. When the passing of accounts was reached at Wednesday night's meeting the Mayor reminded Councillors that there were a number of accounts which had been passed for payment, but had been held back, and now they were getting unpleasant footnotes at the bottom. The only thing ho could see to do was to pay them out of tho general account for the time being. The Mayor then proceeded to draw the Councillors attention to the seriousness of their nnancial position. There was £4OOO to pay out. Cr. Lawrie: Nearer £SOOO. The Mayor: WelLI did not want to make it look too BftJ. The Council would have to consider whether they should engage a foreman. Cr. Comrie: Or in other words stop all works? The Mayor: Yes, for the time being. Cr. Lawrie objected to such a course. They bad to attend to the main roads. The Mayor: But what are you going to do if you have not got the money ? Cr. Comrie said that at a pre|jg|3 mooting lie had urged stopuM works, and holding a public It was not too late to hold Ifjrablic meeting now. He moved, That all works be stopped, except the most important ones. There being no seconder tho motion lapsed. Tho Mayor said they might be forced to adopt Cr. Comrio's motion whether they liked it or not. " I don't know what wo are going to do, I'm sure," he added. Cr. Lawrio pointed out that a portion of what tho Council was paying would come out of the loan account. The Mayor: You'll be spending tho whole of your year's income before you get it. Cr. Johns: We can pay off tho overdraft from the money we borrow. The Mayor: Where are wo going to borrow from ? Cr. Johns: Wo might see if Mr Bouiston would allow the work on his road to remain till the spring. The Mayor: We've got his £2OO in hand. Cr. Hamilton : And he wants his road dedicated. Cr. Johns: Well, we'll take it over. Finally, after further discussion (during which a heavy shower of rain caused the remarks of the speakers to be inaudible) it was decided to leave this question in abeyance for a weok.