COUNTY COUNCIL AND DRAINAGE

Southland Times, Issue 23544, 25 June 1938, Page 12

COUNTY COUNCIL AND DRAINAGE

AMENDMENT TO ACT SOUGHT POSITION OF PROPERTIES OF CROWN Various questions affecting county councils came before the conference of Southland local body representatives and members of Parliament yesterday. They were raised by the Southland Council. The county clerk (Mr H. C. Gimblett) forwarded the following memorandum on the Southland Land Drainage Act, 1935:—“The council is taking steps to have an amendment to the Southland Land Drainage Act, 1935, submitted to Parliament. It is anticipated that if the proposed amendment is given effect to, it will facilitate drainage of farm lands, and give the council wider powers. A farm drain is described as a drain servicing an area of less than'2ooo acres, and it is proposed that the council should have power's to force the cleaning of farm drains annually. It is also proposed that the act shall bind the Crown. In the past considerable difficulty has been experienced, in Southland in dealing with properties in which the Crown is interested as owner or mortgagee. The Crown, up to the present, has not recognized its responsibilities in the drainage of land in which the Crown is interested and several necessary drainage works in Southland have been held up because of Crown interests.”

It was decided that the league would investigate the position. On the Mortgagors and Lesses Rehabilitation Act, 1936, the following memorandum was received:—“As a result of the operations of the Southland Adjustment Commission the loss to the Southland County Council in rates which have been written off as at May 31, 1938, is £5122. This writing off has occurred in properties in which the Crown is interested as owner or mortgagee, • and this council feels that the local authorities should be compensated for this loss as a result of the operations of the State lending departments. This council deems it desirable that the local Members of Parliament should be acquainted ; with the position. Up to January 31, 1938, the total amount of rates written off in the Southland county was £4206. The amount of county rates in this amount totalled £2478, and from a return furnished by the Counties Association, the total of county rates written off in New Zealand to January 31, 1938, was £6006; more than one-third of the loss in rates to the rural local authorities in New Zealand had occurred in Southland.”

Mr G. W. Whittingham said that the council had had to strike higher rates this year than last and with the amount of rates written off it would have ,to continue to do so. Mr J. McNeill said that the commission appeared to write off rates more readily when the State was the mortgagee than where there was a private mortgagee. The Hon. T. F. Doyle, M.L.C., said he could not see any possibility of the request being granted. Discussing the question of rates lost as a result of sale or forfeiture of lands in which the Crown is interested as owner or mortgagee, the county clerk stated:—“A considerable number of properties has been dealt with by the State lending departments during the past 12 months. Loss has occurred when the State has sold up the farmer and taken possession of the land and has either resold or relet the property. New occupiers have taken over these properties and rates accrued due have not been protected by the State lending departments. The loss to this county as from April 1, 1937 to May 31, 1938, has been £650. It is felt that the amending legislation should be enacted to protect the position of local authorities for their rates bn lands in which the Crown is interested as owner or mortgagee. At the. present time the Crown accepts responsibility for special rates only, and in rural- local authorities the amount of special rates is usually very small.” Mr Whittingham said that at this time last year the county had a credit balance of £BOO. This year there was a debit balance of £9OOO, which indicated the present drift. An application for the straightening of the Orawia-Clifton road was made by Mr E. K. Sim, of the Wallace County Council Mr Sim said the provisional estimate of the cost was £lOOO. “I think there are no more dangerous bends than on the roads of Southland,” said Mr D. J. Wesney. The Hon. T. F. Doyle, said if they could eliminate nine dangerous bends at the cost of £lOOO he was prepared to support the request.