WAITOMO COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE’S REPORT.

Waipa Post, Volume XX, Issue 1129, 16 August 1921, Page 7

WAITOMO COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE’S REPORT.

(To the Editor). Sir, —The abrupt ending of the Finance Committee’s report read at the la.st meeting of the Council: “We have now to report that the clerk ha& handed in his resignation,” could have no other meaning but to convey to the public that I purposely held back the letter from the Deputy Superintendent of the State Advances office, for some personal purpose, and that my resignation was the result thereof. The discussion that took place at the meeting of the Finance Committee was certainly responsible for me doing so at yesterday’s (Thursday’s) meeting. I have contemplated resigning for sometime. In fact I tendered my resignation to the Council immediately after March 31st, 1920, which was held over. The chairman and Councillor Johnston ultimately persuaded me to withdraw it, and as the result of an afterthought I re 7 trained from doing so. Again at the meeting when the Council decided to appoint experts to report on the administration and engineering until after the report from Mr Wilson had been received. Contrary to the expectations of some of the councillors, the audit inspector paid a visit to Te Kuitf to audit the County accounts prior to Mr Wilson s visit, and thus eliminated any chance of an adverse report. Realising this fact, and for what I .consider the express purpose of harassing me, Councillor Hargreaves proposed at the July meeting of the Council that a sub-committee, consisting of Councillors Wynyard, Phillips, and the chairman, be appointed to report on the system of rates, books, etc., and general administration of the office, taking into consideration any recommendations made by the expert appointed to report. This report (Mr Wilson’s) did not come to hand, but the Council’s experts prepared their report, which I had an opportunity of perusing a week or so back. It was then that I definitely decided that as soon as Mr Wilson’s report was received I would resign. The present Council are not only

“expert councillors and “expert” engineers. but they must now pose as “expert” county clerks. Why employ Mr Wilson? In explanation to the delay in pro-

ducing the letter from the Deputy Superintendent of the State Advances: I wish to thank Councillor Were for giving me an opportunity at the meeting to explain the position before the Council, but I was so flabbergasted when the Finance Committee’s report *was read ihat I deemel it advisable to crave the indulgence of the public press to make my reply. Firstly, I want to state that I had no object in holding the letter back other than we

d ro* have sufficient money to pay

it. Secondly, I received the letter during the time the auditor was aud-

iting the , accounts. I just glanced at it and did not make myself thoroughly conversant with the contents.

I pinned it to the voucher which I had already made out for payment, and thought no more about it until the chairman asked me whether I received a letter referring to the interest. It was not until then that I realised the seriousness of its contents. Thirdly, the Finance Committee, in quoting the liabilities from the balance sheet, state that the interest on loans is only shown as £3OOO, whereas the amount totals several hundreds more, and that the rect amount,could have been quoted by the county clerk. , As a matter of fact £ke correct amount is stated on the 1920-21 balance sheet. The amount they quote £3oooi is the overdraft on the interest account at the Bank of New Zealand. I paid one instalment of interest, amounting to £1940 12/ on the 30th September, 1920, and had I been able to pay £1568 9/9 before the 31st March, would have made the two payments in the one year which we are required to,make. The fact of the letter not being produced may be looked upon as carelessness, and no doubt it is, but the persons who sat and judged the position make the most of any letters that I have not produced, yet they are acquainted (at least Councillor Hargreaves, late chairman of the Works Committee, and the chairman are) that not one single letter that has been addressed to the engineer’s office from the ratepayers or any one else, since Mr Gould left, ever been read along with the inward correspondence at the Council table unless I have had special occasion to ask for them. They are evidently dealt with in the engineer’s room, yeta mistake on my part must be subject to the wqrst inferences. —I am, etc., P. MORA. <Te Kuiti, August 12th,