OTOROHANGA COUNTY

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 58, Issue 4177, 28 April 1939, Page 7

OTOROHANGA COUNTY

MONTHLY MEETING OF COUNCIL. (Our Resident Reporter.) The ordinary monthly meeting of the Otorohanga County Council was held on Wednesday, when the following were in attendance: Crs W. Bluck (chairman), F. Potts, H. C. Grierson, A. Jamieson, W. Thomson, P. T. Crowley and V. W. Simms, with Messrs S. J. Fortescue (County clerk) and G. Jackson (County engineer). FINANCIAL STATEMENT. The financial statement was up to 31st March, 1939, as the complete balance sheet will not be available until the annual meeting next month. It is interesting to compare the Riding Accounts balances at the last meeting of the Council (held on the 7th March), and three weeks later, the comparison being as follows: Credits on March 7th, 1939: Mangaorongo Riding, £BO3 8s 3d; Te Rau-a-Moa, £55 19s. Debits: Honikiwi, £5ll 4s 9d; Waipa, £5 Ils Id; and Wharepapa, £lO6 13s Bd. Credits on 31st March, 1939: Honikiwi, £5B 13s 4d; Mangaorongo, £1371 0s Id; Te Rau-a-Moa, £569 5s 3d; Waipa, £398 15s 8d; Wharepapa, £522 12s Bd. The expenditure out of the Riding Accounts from Ist April, 1938 to 31st March, 1939 are as follows:—Honikiwi, £9ll 10s lid; Mangaorongo, £1582 12s 3d; Te Rau-a-Moa, £9Ol 7s 2d; Waipa, £925 16s lOd; and Wharepapa, £ll6O 5s 2d. The rates collected were the highest on record, the total being £12,780 Is lOd, year ending 31st March, 1939. The most remarkable increase was in the Honikiwi Riding, from £1392 5s 7d to £1827 18s 9d, an increase above the previous record of £436 13s 2d. Other increases and records are: Motor drivers’ Licenses, £363 15s (previous best £338 ss); heavy traffic fees, £1625 17s 8d (previous best £ll3B 14s 6d), an increase respectively of £25 10s and £487 3s 2d. COUNTY ASSESSORS. Mr H. Rothery was re-elected to the position of assessor for the County. NOXIOUS WEEDS. The County noxious weeds inspector, Mr Noel Smith, advised that in the scheme for the eradication of ragwort since June Ist, 1938, approximately 13,000 acres had been treated with sodium and lime, and approximately 1035 tons of the mixture had been used within the confines of the County. The inspector considered that a tremendous improvement had been made, and every effort should be made to continue the scheme as without the assistance of the Government subsidy for labour, many farmers in the County would be truly “up against it.” He thought that any help the farmers could get for the eradication of blackberry should be taken advantage of as much as for checking ragwort growth. TENDERS. A tender received from Mr H. Vincent for work on Barber’s Road was considered and referred to the chairman, riding member and engineer, to deal with. SAWMILL CARTAGE. Mr Worth, a sawmiller of Hangatiki, applied for leave to cart logs over the County roads to his plant at Hangatiki. After due consideration, the applicant is to be informed that a charge of 9d per foot will be levied and a deposit of £5O is required from him. It was decided to retain the services of Mr Noel Smith as noxious weeds inspector until May 24th pending advice after that date as to the Government’s intention regarding further subsidies for the clearing of noxious weed growth. FARMERS’ CARTAGE LICENSES. On the motion of Cr Simms, the Council decided not to charge any heavy traffic license fees to farmers using motor vehicles for carting their own livestock or goods this year.