MUNICIPAL CONTROL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19505, 5 February 1926, Page 8

MUNICIPAL CONTROL

THE ANNUAL CONFERENCE ) MEETING AT DUNEDIN. ■ i A BUSY DAY. [Per Press Association] DUNEDIN, Feb. 4. The annua] conference of the Municipal Association of New Zealand opened at the Town Hall this morning, the president (Mr H. L. Tapley, M.P., Mayor of Dunedin) presiding over a record attendance of delegates, about 100 being present. Some 90 remits were set down on the order paper, and the conference made good progress with business so much so that the order paper was nearly got through in one day. The principal remits dealt with were, as follows: Electoral machinery.—Mr Donaldson (Mayor of Newmarket) moved: That 'municipal rolls be compiled from parliamentary rolls. This was seconded, but. Air Burwell, of Invercargill, objected on the ground that a borough was on a footing different from an electoral district. The remit was lost. Electoral Rolls. The president moved: That clause *6 of regulations gazetted on November .15, 1915, directing the town clerk to omit persons who have not voted at the last general election of mayor and councillors, be restored or re-enacted. This was carried. Air Wilson (New Plymouth) moved: That section 16 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1920, be extended to provide that where a Borough Council iconducts an election of members of a harbour board or other board or local body, such board or local body shall pay io the council a proportionate part of the cost of making and printing the district electors’ list. The remit xtas carried. The president moved: That in order to assist in the continuity of policy, the pi esent Act be amended on the following lines: “Provision to be made for the general election of Mayor and councillors every three years.” The president explained that the. remit had previously been affirmed. Carried ou the voices. Air Thompson, Mayor of Devonport moved: The term of office for Mayor and councillors be extended to three years and provision made for one-third of the councillors to retire each year. The remit was lost on the voices. l\lr Warnock moved an additional ciause to the disqualification clause, providing that interest in any contract entered into with a council and Sunder which an obligation has been performed before entering the council, shall not constitute a disqualification, though payment had not yet been made.—Carried. National Superannuation. Afr AlcEwan (Petone) moved: That the executive go into the question of a national superannuation scheme and seek the necessary legislation to bring same about. Air Burwell moved: That the Government be urged to provide for registration against the title of sewerage instalment loan agreements for a fee of Is in lieu of 10s as at present, and clearing the title when the loan is paid off.—Adopted.

River encroachment.—Mr Menzies moved additions to the Act (1920) that i councils may, without compensation, enter land so affected for the purpose , oi protective work, and that where accretions occur—provided the land is beyond the original boundary of private lands —such accretions shall be , deemed vested in the council by the , Crown and may be leased or used, but not sold.—Carried. The president moved that Section 335 be altered to apply to the sale, lease or other disposition of holdings.—Carried. Air Alenz.es moved: That councillors i be allowed bands to play on steamers , under their charge.—Carried. Railway Hoardings. Air Anderson moved a protest against the Railway Department for the erection of hoardings regardless of by- ' laws.—Carried. ’ The president moved that the entire evost of rolls in Power Board elections be defrayed by the Board.—Carried. Air Poppelwell moved that no amendment on the increase of powers of Power Boards re rating bo granted till the local bodies affected had discussed the subject.—Carried. Air Poppelwell moved that Power Boards collect their own rates. —Carried. Air Wilson (New Plymouth) moved that councils, being electric supply authorities, have all powers of Power Boards, with the exception of payment of the chairman and special rating powers.—Carried. Air Aynes moved that the Government pass legislation that boroughs need not join a Power Board till a poll of ratepayers has been taken. —Carried. The president moved that the Govern- i mo nt be asked to increase the contribution to fire brigades in proportion to the Government buildings under protection. —Carried. Mr Robinson moved that Section 33 of the Harbour Act, 1923, be amended. The remit, which was carried, will make harbour boards liable for the actual cist of separate elections and for proportional cost of simultaneous elections. Hospital Matters. Air. Lock (Nelson) moved that there be a direct appointment by local bodies of their hospital representatives. —Carried. Air. Lock moved that hospital boards levy their rates direct for maintenance of their institutions. —Lost by a large majority. Air. Robinson (Gisborne) moved that legislation be enacted to doline clearly ratepayers entitled to vote in connection with loan polls, and also the method of compiling special district ratepayers’ rc’ls. Referred to incoming executive with power to act. The president moved that an elector whose name has been inadvertently omitted from the district electors’ list, and who possessed freeholder’s or ratepayer’s qualifications at the closing of the roll for any poll, be allowed to . vote at such poll on production of a I signed certificate from the town clerk, , and upon signing a declaration before the deputy returning officer that he possessed such qualifications, the vote j to be counted at the final count upon ‘ verification by returning officer, and the ] amendment to apply to husband, qx 1

wife as the case may be. —The remit, which was carried in 1924, was affirmed. Absentee Voters. The president moved that provision be made for absent voters' permits, as in the case of Parliamentary elections or polls. This remit was carried in 1923 and 1924. Delegates objected that declarations caused much difficulty in Parliamentary elections, and the remit was lost. Mr. Hall moved that the Motor Vehicles Act be reviewed with a view to provision being made for local bodies to participate in the net return received from the license fee. —Lost. Mr. Dean (Pukekohe) moved the following extension of motor regulations: (a) That clause 2, classification of motor lorries, be amended to provide for classifications of vehicles which with load weight two tons and under; (b) that clause 11, license fees, be amended by fixing the fee for the above class of vehicle; (c) that the whole of these regulations, except the clauses dealing with license fees, he applicable to all motor lorries and not confined to vehicles used for hire or commercial purposes. Clause o a and b, moved separately, were 1 and clause c carried with an alteration of vehicles to motor lorries. Pines For Breaches. A Masterton delegate moved that all fines recovered for breaches of the heavy traffic regulations be handed over to the prosecuting local authority.— Carried. Mr. Leese (Taumarunui) moved that the Government be urged in issuing the registration numbers of motor vehicles throughout the Dominion, to revert to the prior system of district indication on the number plates.—Carried. Mr. Nathan (Palmerston North) moved that where car owners are prosecuted for breaches of traffic by-laws, the onus should be on the owner of proving he was not the owner. —Carried. Mr. Donaldson (Newmarket) moved that it be made mandatory for all motor omnibuses to be provided with rear exits as well as front.—Carried. Mr. McCurdie (Upper Hutt) moved that the regulations regarding plumbing work be amended so that i» any district where there is no available certificated plumber within 10 miles, a permit may be granted by the inspector to an approved man to do minor plumbing work.—Carried. The President moved that differential rating over agricultural lands be authorised, or as an alternative that special valuations be made of land in a borough as long as the said land is being used for agricultural purposes only. Mr. Norwood moved as an amendment that the matter be referred to the executive with power to act, so as to give the various bodies freedom to deal with dry areas within their borough so as to prevent hardship. The amendment was carried. Moved that where property held under Government loan to returned soldiers reverts to the Crown, the property shall not bo exempt from rates. —Carried. Rateable Property. Mr. Deane moved that the definition of rateable property in the Rating Act be amended to include all land owned or acquired by the Railway Department for the erection of workers’ dwellings, together ■with any buildings erected thereon. An amendment moved by Mr. Brainshy, that the word workers be deleted and thus make the clause apply to any dwellings, was carried. Mr. Runciman moved that section 2 of the Valuation of Land Amendment Act, 1921-22, be amended as follows: i “But so that within any borough in a I town district not more than 20 acres i of and belonging to any one society be I subject to provisions of the Act.—Car- ! tied. The President moved that representation be made to the Minister of Pub- j lie Works for the purpose of obtaining 1 borough representation on the Highways Board. —Carried. The Balance Sheet. A statement of income and expenditure of the Municipal Association for the year ended May 31 last showed ex- , penditure of £B5O 15s 6d, and balance of excess of expenditure over income of £B3 10s 6d. The balance sheet was approved. The application of Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board for membership in the Association was rejected, as they could not be admitted in terms of the constitution. It was decided to accept the invitation of the Mayor of Palmerston North to hold the next conference in that town early next year.