COUNTY MANAGEMENT

Taranaki Daily News, 8 June 1932, Page 3

COUNTY MANAGEMENT

INGLEWOOD COUNCIL MEETS. > PURANGI BRIDGE QUESTION. The Inglewood County Council met yesterday, when those present were Councillors R. Stuart (chairman), A. E. Cowley, G. W. Gibson, H. Jones, F. S. Burson, J. Grieve, W. W. Willans, J. Hunter and F. Lawrence. The Commissioner of Unemployment (Mr. Malcolm Fraser) requested that the council arrange for farmers to supplement the wages refunded by the board with some contribution from their own pockets. Meat, milk, potatoes and, such could be considered as contributions, ,The scheme was primarily for the benefit of the unemployed and any benefit to farmers was incidental to the main object. The commissioner referred chiefly to cases where unemployed labour was supplied to farmers having sufficient means to enable them to contribute a portion of, if not all, the wages paid to the men. who were drafted to work on their properties. Now that the board did not place any restriction on the class of work done by relief labour, provided it was genuinely additional, it would like local bodies to watch the position closely. Advice was received that under the National Expenditure Adjustment Act the general reduction of 20 per cent: in interest did not apply (inter alia) , to debentures or other securities heretofore issued by any local authority in New Zealand, but the Act did provide that every interest coupon on local authority debentures presented for payment on or after May 14, 1932, should be chargeable wtih stamp duty under the Stamp Duties Act, 1932, at the rate of threepence for every 2s fid or fractional part thereof of the amount ’of such coupon. (Duty was 10 per cent, of interest payable, not counting fractions). The approximate saving to the council would, be £2OO per annum and. such refunds were to be applied by the local authority to the reduction of rates, mostly special rates. The Audit Office notified that heavy traffic fees on farmers’ lorries' should, be collected.

The clerk stated that the jtast balancesheet had ■ been tagged because the fees were not collected. •

The chair msn reported the steps taken 'by tiie Taranaki Local Bodies’ Association to obtain exemption for farmers from heavy traffic fees. “Why not do the lot.and ask .for exemption from the petrol tax,” said Cr, Jones. “The farmer is enriching the country.” ‘ Councillor Burson thought the farmer should not pay as much as the professional carrier, hut he maintained that ho should pay something. No action was taken. ■

The Minister of Agriculture advised that the menace of ragwort on sections on the Everett Road was now being minimised by the settlers, who had been taking steps to suppress the weeds. The district engineer of the * Public Works Department (Mr. P. Keller) adwised that he had recommended an authority for £3OO (£3 for £1 subsidy), for repairs to the Purangi bridge. The Stratford County Council, which shares with the Inglewood council liability for the upkeep of the bridge, wrote that it was unable to finance its share of the suggested repairs but was endeavouring to arrange for a Publio Works Department subsidy. In the meantime no expenditure on the bridge would be authorised.

The engineer stated that he had hired gear from other local bodies to support the bridge, and if the Stratford-council would not act the gear would b 6 held up there indefinitely. If the gear did not hold the whole bridge would go down the river and that would mean £BOOO for replacement. He thought the Stratford council should .be urged to demand assistance from the Highways Board. The work was well worth doing, for he estimated that £BOO spent on repairs would prolong the. life of the bridge for 15

years. The Stratford council will be strongly urged to secure funds for its share of the work. Authority was received for the expenditure of £133 (£2 for £1 -basis),, on metalling 40 chains of the BedfordUpland Road, the cost of seven chains to be met by the riding funds, and for £166 13s 4d (£2 for £1 basis) for the Mangaone stream bridge on Tariki Road. In response to Mr, A. N. Franklyn s (Suffolk Road) request for a grant of pipes for a drain the council decided to let Mr. Franklyn have the pipes at half price. The engineer remarked that Mr. Franklyn had" a legitimate claim and the work would be of benefit from the council’s viewpoint. The engineer was empowered to attend to the drains-on the property, of Mr. W. R. Moir (Bristol Road). . The Inglewood Cycle Club was given permission ot hold races over the county roads. . The chairman’s hoporanum was ieit at £B3 6s Bd, to which it was reduced last year from £lOO. Messrs. H. H. Perrett and. J. Lnck waited on the council with a request that Derby Road south of Norfolk Road be opened. The length that needed attention was about 40 chains. They offered to clear the scrub from the road. An effort will be made to put unemployed on the work.