ANNUAL MEETING.

Waipa Post, Volume 44, Issue 3182, 26 May 1932, Page 5

ANNUAL MEETING.

CR S. C. B. MACKY RE-ELECTED CHAIRMAN. The statutory annual meeting of the Waipa County Council was held at Te Awamutu on Wednesday, when all councillors were present. The following review of last year's operations was presented by the chairman (Cr S. C. B. Macky):— In reviewing the operations of the Council for the past year it is pleasing to be able to report that, in spite of the diffiijult economic conditions ruling, the financial position of the county shows an improvement on that pertaining at the same period in the previous year, while road maintenance has been kept well up to the usual standard. The Council commenced the year witn a credit balance at Ist April, 1931, of £3183 Is 6d, and the credit at 31st. March, 1932, stood at £0440 16s 7d. This may be considered to be a satisfactory position, especially in view of the fact that several of the ridings were able to reduce rates. It must be' remembered, however, that the current year's revenue will not be available for some time, and it will be necessary to again draw on bank overdraft before this comes to hand.

The improved position can be attributed to the policy adopted by the Council of curtailing as much as possible expenditure on new work and concentrating on the maintenance of existing roads only. The position has further been assisted by the Highways Board also adopting the same policy, and thus being able to increase the maintenance subsidy on highways from £2 for £1 to £3 i'or £l. A further factor has been that although the amount of £4380 10s Id was received from the Government as subsidy on rates, to be refunded to ratepayers, only £3268 19s 7d was actuaily refunded, owing to the fact that a considerable number of ratepayers were unable to comply with the conditions imposed, namely, that only rates paid before 31st March were eligible for the rebate. The county fund has the<refore. benefited to the extent of £llll 10s 6d, but a large proportion of this will probably have to be refunded during the current year, as ratepayers are able to meet their obligations. The total receipts for the year amount to £68,027 13s 4d, including the amount of £3183 Is 6d at Credit on 31st March, 1931, the chief items of which are: Rates, general £21,056 Us 6d, special £5526 9s Bd, and hospital £3941 5s 6d, which, with penalties for late payment (£436 10s lid) and a small item £9O 15s (separate rates) total £31,051 12s 7d; Government subsidy under section 45 of the Finance Act £4380 10s Id, arid'the

usual subsidy on general rates £2500; contributions from Main Highways Board for expenditure on highways £10,406 8s lid, plant working account £5647 3s, unemployment wages refunded £2743 14s, riding sales, contributions to works and refunds £2IOO 12s 3d, heavy traffic licenses and fees from p'ool £I4BO 14s 6d, loans raised and contributions to loan works £sll lis 3d, Government grants £1259 3s 7d, motor drivers' licenses £557 2s 6d, rentals from dwellings and reserves £499 5s 7d, the balance being made up of small amounts from a variety of sources. The amount of £2743 14s received from the Unemployment Board shows an increase of £1960 15s 6d on the amount received in the previous year, and it is interesting to note that the sum already expended in the current year amounts to £IBO3 3s lid, practically all of which has been expended on useful " over the fence " work which has been of considerable benefit to a large number of ratepayers. On the expenditure side the principal items are: Riding works £11,618 15s 7d, main highways £13,913 12s 2d, main roads £2885 5s Id, hospital levy £3862 8s 7d, salaries £1783 7s 4d, interest and sinking fund on loans £9471 Bs, plant working £4141 8s 6d, loan expenditure £1325 4s 3d, Government grants £1471 18s, refunds and rebates on rates £3268 19s 7d, interest on overdraft £439 0s 3d, car running expenses £412 Is 4d, and a host of smaller items aggregating £6993 8s Id, making a total of £61,586 16s 9d, leaving a balance in hand of £6440 16s.

An analysis of the expenditure shows that administration costs have been kept at a reasonable level, being only 5.4 per cent of the total expenditure, and that the interest on bank overdraft has been reduced by £IBB 7s 7d from last year's figure of £627 7s lOd.

Of the £l3/013 12s 2d spent on main highways maintenance, £9032 went on the Main South Road, or an average of £295 per mile over the full distance of 30 miles 47 chains. This again shows an increase on the sum expended in the previous year, and yet with all this expenditure it would be idle to claim that the road has been kept to a standard that conforms with modern requirements. To endeavour to maintain the present class of road is clearly uneconomic, and ratepayers would be well advised to consent to the raising of the loan to permanently surface and seal this section of highway. It is evident that the saving effected in the cost of maintenance would be sufficient to provide interest and sinking fund on the loan required to carry out the work, and ratepayers would have the benefit of the better class of road at little or no increase in annual charges. During the past year the FranktonPirongia Road, a distance of approximately 20 miles, was declared a highway by the "Main Highways Board. This should mean a saving to the Council in maintenance in the current year of approximately £750, if the Highwavs Board subsidy remains as at present, namely, £3 for £l. A small saving of about £350 will also be effected by the refund to the Council of 10 per cent of the stamp duty imposed by the Government under the National Expenditure Adjustment Act on interest on loans payable by the Council. A considerable sum was expended during the past year on the survey of the Great South Road. This will not be a recurring expense, and the money thus expended will be available for other work during the current year. It is pleasing to be able to state that a number of the Council's longdated loans are nearing maturity, and will expire in the next lew years. In fact, two small loans have already expired, and others totalling £12,530 will expire between 'now and 1936. The saving in interest and sinking fund charges will be extremely welcome in view of the difficult times. In conclusion, I .wish to cordially thank councillors and staff for the unfailing courtesy extended to me at all times, and to representatives o:t the press for faithful and tactful reports of meetings. Our thanks are also due to officers of the Highways Board and the Public Works Department for their cordial co-operation in matters affecting their particular Departments. The report was received with approval, as also was the engineer's summary (published elsewhere) of works unclercaken in various parts of the county. The chairman next presented a list oi loans maturing in the next few vears. some of which were county loans and others were riding loans. The clerk, who presided, said that before calling for nominations for the position of chaiiiman he would especially like to thank him for his unfai ing assistance and courtesy to the stair. It this friendly co-operation that made the tasks easier all round. Re fe't that Mr Macky had given wonderful service to the county. Crs Church and Peacocke nominated Cr Macky for re-election. Cr Peacocke complimenting the nominee for his very close attention to the affairs of the'county and his ability as a chairman. Cr Livingstone said Cr Macky had the confidence of his fellow members and the ratepayers as a who'e. Cr Clarke said Cr Macky was tac:ful, courteous, and attentive and had a wide knowledge of the county's needs. He was admirably fitted for the position of chairman. Cr Macky was re-elected chairman on a unanimous vote, and in taking the chair he expressed thanks for the compliment, at the same time referring to the help .extended him by the Council and the staff. ~.,., The chairman was appointed the Council's representative on the group conference re traffic control, Cr Livingstone being asked to act as deputy. The following were elected to the finance committee: The chairman and Crs Johnson, Livingstone, Peacocke, Storey, and Fisher.