Mt. Roskill Refuses to Join the City

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 189, 31 October 1927, Page 9

Mt. Roskill Refuses to Join the City

NARROW ADVERSE VOTE AfOUNT ROSKILL will not fol- ■*“ low the lead of Avondale and several other areas and join up with the city. This decision was made by a narrow majority of ratepayers at Saturday’s poll on the amalgamation issue. the voting turning down the amalgamation proposal by 85 votes. A total of 961 voted against the proposal and 876 for it. Details of the voting on the official count this morning showed the following interesting results: For Against Chamber of Commerce ISS J*f. Richardson Road .... 77 5 Road Board Office .. 1?4 201 Royal Oak 1 is.". Greenwood’s Corner .. IS;* 343 Dominion Road .. 131 ISI Votes by declaration .. 13 11 Totals 576 061 The ratepayers’ roll numbers 2.461. a number of these having more than one vote according to the valuation of the propert3 r or properties owned. In all 1,813 votes were recorded, the number of ratepayers who voted not being available. INCONSISTENT VOTING On comparing this result ■with that of the poll taken on May 7 on the question of rating on unimproved values, there appears to have been a switch-over of quite a number of unimproved value votes. On the earlier date, when 1,100 votes were recorded for unimproved value rating, only 961 votes on Saturday stood for independence. This inconsistency is further exemplified in that on May 7, when 659 voted against unimproved rating, 876 favoured amalgamation on Saturday. In other words, while unimproved rating was carried by a majority of 411 votes, amalgamation was rejected by a majority of only 85 votes. Mr. E. F. Jones, chairman of the Mount Roskill Road Board, remarked that he had observed strict neutrality throughout the contest. “Now that the die is cast.” he sale, “I sincerely hope that the opposing parties will bury the hatchet, and pull together in advancing the general welfare of the district.” Under the Act, no further poll on the amalgamation question can be taken for two years. The returning officer, Mr. J. Y. Warren, put up a creditable performance In declaring the result at C. 20 p.m., notwithstanding the fact that voting was going on up to 6 p.m. DETRIMENTAL DECISION Mr. J. W. Shackleford, chairman of the amalgamation committee, consider* that the decision will act to the detriment of the district, and that its progress will be delayed, especially as the district has now little chance of getting trams in the near future. As to the adverse vote at Greenwood’s Corner, Mr. Shackleford remarked that the ratepayers in that district had their trams and other facilities, and, more importantly, had effected improvements on their properties, so that they could expect a lowering of their rates under the new system of unimproved rating. The tramway position is indefinite, so far as Mount Roskill is concerned. Cr. J. A. C. Allum states that city voters obviously do not desire to undertake tram extensions outside the city area. “I desire to emphasise that we are only putting forward proposals as the result of petitions from the districts concerned,” remarked Mr. Allum. Tt is open to Mount Roskill to petition for trams/’ _