HOSPITAL BUILDING SCHEME.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 18818, 5 March 1931, Page 7

HOSPITAL BUILDING SCHEME.

DECISION TO HOLD UP WORK. DISCUSSION BY LEVELS COUNTY COUNCIL. At the last meeting of the South Canterbury Hospital Board, a motion was brought forward by Mr R. S. Griffiths that immediate steps be taken to have the balance of the work in connection with the Timaru Hospital building scheme proceeded with, but after a full discussion, the mover agreed to withdraw his motion.

Reference to the decision of the Board not to proceed with the remainder of its programme meantime was made at yesterday’s meeting of the Levels County Council by Mr C. E. Kerr, who said that members would no doubt be aware that the Board had decided not to do any other work for twelve months after the completion of the administrative block. The Council’s contribution per annum on the balance of the £37,000 of the Hospital Scheme would be approximately £2Bl. Already the Board had spent £BOOO or £9OOO on the administrative block, which, practically speaking, was of little use.

The chairman (Mr T. B. Garrick): “I understand they can make use of it.” Mr Kerr: “A little use, perhaps.” Continuing, he said that the next block which it was proposed to build, that containing wards, would provide accommodation for an additional ninety patients. So far as the county ratepayers were concerned, the Council would have to cut down its rates, but they would still have to contribute to the hospital scheme, for they had agreed to it in the first place. The suggestion he had to make was that representations should be made to the Unemployment Board to find the interest and sinking fund, for say two or three years, and in the event of that being done, there would be no need for the Hospital Board to hold up its programme. At present there was practically no building going on. and there was going to be a large number of men out of work. If the £15,000 on the second block was going to be spent in the district, it would mean a big thing. The chairman: “What wou}d be the proportion for labour?” Mr Kerr: “Quite a good deal. There would be the demolition of the old build' 'gs, and the removal of the material.” He went on to say that he considered it would be a good plan if the Unemployment Board would find the money for two or three years until the economic situation improved. The chairman: “Absolutely. But how are you going to get the money?” Mr Kerr: ‘“By means of debentures.”

The chairman: “The last £IO,OOO worth of debentures were sold in two or three days.”

Mr Kerr: “We are coming to the stage when we will have to consider effecting economies. One body which will have to cut down its expenditure is the Harbour Board, which is spending too much money. We know what the Eastern Extension is costing, and then there was the reconditioning of the tram line. All this work has been going on, and is being paid for out of revenue.”

Mr D. Grant: “And court cases.” The chairman: “I consider it is good finance.”

Mr Kerr: “It may be good finance, and I am not saying anything against the members of the Harbour Board. I think they do their work to the best of their ability, but at a time like this, economies will have to be effected. All the Harbour Board is doing is to levy the ratepayers, and the manner in which they are doing it is against the law. They have no right to do it.”

The chairman: "I think it would be a fatal mistake to stop that work now. We have spent £9OOO on the tram line, and that had to be done because the line and the trucks had got into a bad state of repair. The work we are doing is absolutely essential.” Mr Kerr said that the Board’s levy on local bodies amounted to £10,680. Even if that was cut in half, the Board would still be able to carry on. The chairman: “Cut it in half?” Mr Kerr: “Yes.” The chairman: “We would have to put it on to ships’ dues and harbour dues.” Mr Grant: “You will have to repair the accident first, and the damage to the Extension was an accident. * Mr Kerr: “We cannot get money from our ratepayers, and yet the Board comes on us.” The chairman: “There are many things we should let slide before that.” Mr Kerr said that if the Board cut down its levies by half, it would help contributing bodies very much. The chairman: “We couldn’t do it.” Mr Kerr said that in 1928 dredging cost the Board something like £16,000, and he asked if there was any necessity to do the amount of dredging that was being done. The chairman said that the dredging

that was being done at present was in the nature of an experiment.

Mr Kerr: “If you could curtail by halving what we have to find, it would help us, and would not stop your to any great extent.” The chairman: “We are up against it in the matter of harbour finance. I grant you the present dredging is an experiment.”

Mr Kerr: “I want to make it clear that I am not saying anything against the Harbour Board.”

The chairman: “What are you doing then?”

Mr Ken*: “I am suggesting that you could ease our burden by cutting your levies in half.”

The chairman: “It costs as much to keep the dredge idle as it does to keep

ter working.” Mr Kerr: “It is the wear and tear

which causes the damage.” Mr Grant: “And the Dunedin trip.” The chairman: “That will have to go.” Mr Selbie: “You advise us to cut down our rates, and yet you suggest this work should be proceeded with.” The chairman: “You advocate that the harbour should stop, and the hospital should go on.”

Mr Kerr: “No. The harbour work could still be gone on with. Is it necessary to build the extension as high as is being done?” The chairman: “That is what our engineer says. If it had been done seven or eight years ago. as I suggested, it could have been done for £7000.” Mr Kerr: “What will the cost be now?” The chairman: “If we stop when we are round the bend, it will be £23,000 or £24.000.” Mr Kerr asked if it would not have been better to procure a loan. The chairman replied that the Board had found that revenue was coming in sufficiently to enable the work to be done without a loan. Mr Kerr asked how the Council was going to keep its own business going. The chairman: “I consider the harbour more important than the roads.” Mr Kerr: “You take the work on the Extension.” Mr Grant: “That is essential.” The chairman: “The Extension has made Timaru.” Mr Kerr: “You could easily cut down on that work, for £SOOO would not break the Board. It certainly would help us.” He went on to say that the Board should only levy on local bodies to meet interest charges and deficiency in ordinary revenue. The chairman: “It is very expensive floating a loan.” Mr Kerr: “So far as this Council is concerned, our contribution to the Board is £1900.” The chairman: “We are short in our rates to the extent of nearly £3OOO, but I think a lot more will come in yet.” Mr Kerr: “That may be so.” Mr Grant: “Ratepayers must have been tied up in some other way, or they could have secured an advance to enable them to pay their rates.” The chairman: “I will represent this to the Board at the next meeting.” Mr Kerr: “I do not say that the Board is not working on sound lines, but I think they could help us.” Mr Selbie: “A lot of people do not realise the position. They simply say ‘Let’s eat, drink and be merry.’ ” Mr Kerr: “Our ratepayers do not realise that we have to contribute £3300 to the Hospital Board.” The chairman: “If we could get the Unemployment Board to pay the interest and sinking fund, it would be a good deal better than the useless work we are doing now. I do not think thjy will do it, though.” Mr Selbie: “It can’t be done.”

Mr Kerr: “The first essential of any community is the health of the people. If an epidemic should break out, we haven’t sufficient accommodation at the hospital.”

Mr Selbie: “It broke out before and we got through it.” Mr Kerr: “You talk about a saving. I do not suppose there is another centre in the Dominion where there are two base hospitals such as we have at Waimate and Timaru, and a paved road between the two towns.”

In the course of further discussion, Mr Kerr said that a big saving would be effected if the next block was proceeded with now, because there was plenty of labour available. If the work was postponed, the cost would be a good deal heavier. Mr Grant said that supposing tenders closed this week, and next week there was a charge of Government and a change in the Arbitration Court awards, the contractors and not the ratepayers would benefit.

The chairman: “There is something in that.”

The Clerk pointed out that the Council paid their levy to the Harbour Board and to the Hospital Board on the understanding that the rates would come in, but they now found that there was a deficiency of about £3OOO. They should pay out only on a pro rata basis of the rates collected. There was no further discussion.