HAWERA NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 June 1925, Page 2

HAWERA NEWS.

HAWERA COUNTY RATE. SAME AS LAST YEAR. FINANCIAL POSITION REVIEWED. (From Our Own Reporter.) Hawera, June 20. A rate of IM in the XIOO capital value was struck over the Hawera county for the current year by a special meeting of the council to-day. The rate is the same as that of last year, when the additional rate, struck towards the end of last year, is included. Cr. J. B. Murdoch presided, and there were also present: Crs. T. A. Winks, C. J. Hawken, G. A. W. Williams, A. G. Larcom, B. C. Lysaght, E. A. Washer, and T. Walsh. The riding members were instructed to reduce their tentative estimates for the year by about £13,000, to make their expenditure coincide with the rate struck. The financial position of the county was reviewed by Cr. Murdoch in returning thanks for his re-election as chairman, a position to which he was returned in his absence from the previous meeting. Last year, he said, the total expenditure was £40,293 16s. Administration charges totalled £2150, hospital levy £4213, and wages, material and transport for work on roads and bridges to £24,773. Interest on loans amounted to £5107 and sinking fund on loans and the repayment of the antecedent liability to £3497, and sundry expenses to £460.

The teams and plant employed by the council had shifted roughly 15,000 cubic yards of material. Tar and bitumen placed, on the respective roads in each riding had cost £1934 for the Hawera Tiding, £9OO for the Mokoia riding, and £lO5O for the Ararata riding, a grand total of £3084, less such small amount of tar and bitumen as might be in stock. Although interest and sinking funds, etc., ran away with a large sum of the revenue, it was encouraging to see that the expenditure on roads and bridges reached as much as £24,773. When it was remembered that the rate of this year would return a revenue of £25,500, it would be seen that the ccst of roads and, bridges nearly absorbed all the rates. It should be pointed out, however, that a considerable portion of the £24,773 was made up of loans raised for special works.

NEED FOR CARE. To carry out the work for this year within the rate proposed it would be necessary to go. very carefully with their expenditure on the roads. Last year they ended up too close to their revenue. He did not like to see heavy rates struck, for the burden on the ratepayers was already heavy. Still the people asked for good roads. Comparing the Hawera county’s rates with those of other counties, it would be found that some counties struck rates up to 4d in the £lOO, although this was not on the unimproved, value. Others, rating on the capital valuation, rated up to 2 7-Bd, very nearly up to the legal maximum of 3d To reach anywhere near the maximum would be too heavy a burden on the ratepayers of the Hawera county. The rate equalled 12s per acre on some of the highly valued land, and this was once regarded as a sufficiently high ratd for rent. If the council intended to continue to carry out 'big bitumen works he would recommend that they should be done out of loans spread over a period of years, so that the heavy cost would not fall on the ratepayers at once. Last year the tar and bitumen mileage of the county was increased by about nine miles, all this being done out of revenue. If they wanted to further increase this mileage they should do it by means of loans. The position generally, continued the chairman, was pretty acute. The extinguishment of the antecedent liability cost £2700 per annum, but in four years this would be wiped out, together with the £689 of interest per annum. In nine years’ time the new hospital would be paid for and the levy of £2200 per annum would be struck out. In thirteen years the interest charges of £2767 per annum and sinking fund of £615 per annum on the big county loan would be wiped out, so that in thirteen years the county would be £8971 per annum better off, irrespective of any new works that might be undertaken in the meantime. The debits on each riding account existing at the close of the financial year would be set off by about £4OOO in arrears of rates yet remaining to bo collected.

MORE MONEY ON ROADS. A further improvement would be seen when the special loans, not yet lifted for works already done, were lifted. Last year the council had spe'nt more money on its roads than it had ever previously done. The roads they were laying down were permanent, so why should they not do them out of loans and spread the expenditure over several years? The tentative estimates drawn up were about £13,000 in >excess of tho revenue a rate of 14d would produce, so that it would be necessary to cut down the estimates. Asked if any big works were anticipated, the chairman said the Highways Board was asking them to widen the main highways in the county up to the requirements of the board before they would grant any subsidy. The county had widened the Main South Road in the Mokoia riding at a cost of £1578, and for this work they were asking for a, subsidy of £1 for £l, although the Highways Board had said it would only 1 grant £1 for £3. On the Walin Road there was the same demand from authorities of all descriptions for the widening of the road, and an amount of £2OOO had been placed on the estimates with this in view. For the widening of the Main South Road and the Norin a nby-Oka iawa main highways £2250 and £1370 had been placed on the preliminary estimates. This meant a total of about £6OOO proposed to be expended on the widening of only three roads to bring them up to the requirements of the board, and the council simply could not do it. As far as the Hawera riding was concerned, he had reduced the pieliminary estimates iby about £'6900. Cr. Winks said it was not fair to ask the county to undertake this expenditure. They had good roads capable of carrying all traffic. Let the board expend its energy in places where there were not good roads, he said. Cr. B. C. Lysaght asked if the Highways Board could compel the county to their main roads, and the ehairmarfTTplied they could. The county was paying deal to the board under the motor regulations owing to

the large number of motors in the county, and they wanted to get a fair proportion of these payments back without having to undertake works highly expensive to themselves to get any proportion back in subsidy. They did not want the money they contributed to the board to be spent in other districts which had failed to provide roads for themselves. QUALITY OF ROADS. Cr. Hawken said the Highways Board did not seem to recognise the quality of the Hawera county roads. If all the other roads in the country wer.e brought up to a similar standard, then it would be time for the board to ask the HaAera county to undertake this expenditure. The roads of the county were better than anywhere else in New Zealand, so why should they have to expend this extra money on them? The chairman said the law compelled them to contribute their funds to the board and the county had to spend more money to get their proportion 'back. Cr. Havyken complained that roads were being made for the people who paid very little in rates, qnd already had good, roads, while the Ibackblocks were left without roads. The main county roads were better than the streets in many towns and cities. GENERAL. The National Dairy Association, it is understood, intends to establish a permanent branch of its business in the South Taranaki Winter Show Buildings after the forthcoming show. Mr. A. H. Messenger, officer in charge of the Publicity Department, will be the guest of the Hawera Rotary Club at its luncheon on Friday of Winter Show week, and will deliver an address on publicity. The Hawera County Council to-day considered applying to the Government in the usual annual custom, for grants for various roads throughout the county, and the chairman and clerk were empowered to interview the resident engineer in this connection at Stratford on Tuesday. The first of a series of Sunday afternoon concerts under the auspices of the Hawera Municipal Band was held in the Opera House to-day. There was a good attendance, and the quality of the programme submitted should ensure the popularity of the remainder of the concerts. The soloists were Messrs. J. R. McLennon (songs) and M. Newbury (violin), both of whom were well received and encored. The collection amounted to £7 ss.