DRAINAGE ACT ANOMALIES

Waikato Times, Volume 87, Issue 13268, 25 August 1916, Page 6

DRAINAGE ACT ANOMALIES

SYSTEM OF CLASSIFICATION. . /RATING ON ACREAC.K BASIS*. NEW DRAFT NECESSARY. The drainage boards operating in this part or the Auckland Province are not satisfied with the construction of the Land Drainage Act, and with a view to having some or the exiting anomalies removed, a large conference of drainage board representatives, convened by Mr R. Johnson, engineer to a number of boards in the Thames Valley, was held at Hamilton yesterday. Mr .1. *• Clothier, chairman of the llungahunga and Elstow Drainage Boards, presided. Among the delegates pr-senl were: Messrs West utaua . H-nt ,Aka Aka\ Clarkin Eureka . Swaync .IVnroiirl i, Andrews llaulapu , .lane and Marshall iOhaupu\ Banb> R..|.i Manuku Bertelsen . l'pp"r Mangapiku . Clnthier (Hungahunga . Luxtoii Waihekaui. WagslalYe and Walters Wailoai. Aji«irews Suuth llaulapu , "lie, n Baupo, Northern Wairoa . Buckland Tua Tua Moan i . 11-riie Klsh.w . and liim.ll (Kirikiriroa, Preshlield. Hillside. Woodlands and Napolo ■ .Mr Clothier said I e \\a- g'ud I" "'''' Blu >h an exeellenl ivpr. s.-nlati.-n. which vvas |,|-,„,f ol Hie tilt - r. -I taken 111 the gubjeets which r.'i'in-"l H, e agenda paper. Drainage |...iinis. he said. pla> - ed a proinineld pal I m Ihe d. v. li.p:neiil Of the i-i.mit l> and as -■ i: r ll> speaking, meiohel's „f draillau- hoard- \W|V level-lie.ide -:i. air decisaais arrived at ||,.d ii.-i> nmdil he r< - n-dfil ■••• Hi" (leeisinM i,f respnllsilde Mien, who were aopiainh d wdh l ae uper-iIMUs of Ihe At , t Their <.;■ in:>■ 11- -lead I therefore Cari'V some Weigh!. I'b' C were 111 III) Haws in Ihe Vet whirl, w:v causing riinienlties in drainage operations. . nd it W as lo try and iv.n.-d\ liiese that the conference was ~-M'inide i. Unfair Rating System. M, llnahes lltlll-a I lull- • "•'■' l l '" present system uf r diiu w. - grossiv unfair, as in Ihe ei- uf I • llnnua H Unw , settlers il had been found Hial th,. mi n whii mi|>r.i\' d their pr 'pertii's mus t were rated highest, whih the ■ others who did nothing simply c>ntfPM'l on the lower valuation. lbrating mi Ihe ..<•*•■ ag. basis would rP.Wd> this anomaly. .Mr Uaiiln said Dial in bis distriel the highest valu-'d land was L'lOi an acre and Hie low.-M t:i 10s. The latter, vvhieh was I ir-i-l> Iml I by siieeiilalors, was Ihe land vvhieh reipiir- ,.,| nnmev spent mi it. How would Ihe rating en (he acreage hasis operate in this Case. Mr Hughes >aid Ihe (dassilieation would still exist, lull instead uf rating per t the ratiiu vvniild he per acre. Mr Swayne could no| see the difference hetweell rating oil He value and rating on acreage, as Ihe r.nverniuenl Valuer fixed Ihe values and Ihe drainage board then classified the areas according! >. Mr Hughes said the difference vvmild lie a| preeiated where a man li id pul in a 10l of iinjiroveiiii'nls. Mr West considered lli.it a limit phoilld be fixed In Hie amount levied p Pr ;,cre. The utaua Board had in Ihe Bill recently placed before Parliament and rejected, fixed Ihe maximum rale per care for tie olaua distriel al is per acre, so thai ; n could go on improving In- land t« any extent Inwished, in the knowledge that his drainage rale would not rise above is per acre The reason given h> Ihe Premier for the refusal of the Local Bills Committee to pass the measure was thai the Tab-re Bill had proved an absolute failure. Mr ihiekland l.elieved thai the suggestion was on all fours with rating on the unimproved value, hut he did not Hunk there was any hope of having a clause to the effect mentioned put in the Act. B" considered Ilia! provision Should be made In place Ihe option of rating on Ihe acreage within the acceptance of the ratepayers of any drainage district. As a bard and fast rule it might prove a hardship in many instances Vr Clothier said dial one of II b-jtn-lions to rating on the acreage basis was thai it might be dillicull to obtain loans, as loans were usually raised on capital values. Mr Buckland said boroughs did not pledge their improvements in raising loans, and the acreage basis was practically the unimproved haws.. The meeting afty-ined the principle of rating on the acreage hasis, the ratepayers of each board lo have the option of deciding which of- the three systems they will adopl. Subdivislonal Representation. The question of sub-divisional representation on drainage boards was mentioned by Mr Home (Klstow), who described the present system of electing drainage hoard members as entirely unsatisfactory, as it was possible for one end of a drainage area to have all the representation to the exclusion of the other portions. He thought drainage districts should be cut up into wards, and that the elections should be on the system adopted in the county areas. Mr Walters, in seconding the mo- ■ tion, considered the proposal an excellent one. Mr Buckland thought the fixing of .' • the boundaries of the wards would h&ve to be done by Order in Council, as if left to the boards to define the system might be open to considerable abuse. Mr Jane (Ohaupo) {isked if there ; ..'would be separate under • > T'*Vh« Chairman reptteji In me afflrma- . -twerr-". ■ ' i y 'Mr West said the, sistem was a good 'ope, and operated MftH w the case of H th? -qld road b*&/ i|; - ' jf £ Wagstatt tfought that in detf'j fijning the haimrim, the watersheds vlyttittn eonsideraih«r, >n/l JeMlmiin- would probably A/jff define the lx>un.jfcSsaFtlw engineers to the flpsidered ■I loans should also Rhe areas, ■■ limited in

DRAINAGE ACT ANOMALIES.

(Continued from Page 6)

In answer to Mr Insou as to how the security for loans would be pledged, Mr Walters said there would be a differential rate. Mr Insoll: Then each ward would have to be a separate rating area. The chairman: Yes. Mr Buckland said it would come down to the county principle of a general rate and a special district rate.

The principle of sub-divisional representation, each v.aid to have power to elect its own representative, was affirmed by the conference. Basts of Classification.

Mr Wagstaffe, dealing with the classification question, said the Waitoa Board had taken in a large area of new land, which would mean raising about £_"7*it>i 1. According to the ruling of Mr Burgess, S.M., however, drainage works, as described by the 1008 Act, must be put in hand before a proper classification of the. land could be made. The rating clauses of the 1913 Act made it compulsory for Drainage Boards to levy all their rates, both general and special, on a graduated scale 1 , according to the classification of the land; consequently both Acts were in direct conflict with eacii other for the reason that, in the one case the construction and the drainage works must be an established fact before the land could be properly classified, and in the other case all rates were to be levied upon a graduated scale according to the classification of the land. It would appear, said the speaker, that the contentious word "supposed," which was the deciding factor in the ruling of Mr Burgess, could lie deleted and substituted by a more suitable word. The classification clauses of the Counties Act Amendment Act, 1913, made use of the word "likely" instead of the word "supposed," which the speaker considered by far the better word.

Continuing, Mr Wagstaffe said, tliat as a land classifier who had bad a largo experience in the operations of the Drainage Act, he thought that the. whole of the classification clauses could he remodelled on more definite lines. He suggested that in new districts and in those where special loans were necessary, it would iie L\v simpler if Hoards had the power to classify the land in anticipation of a drainage scheme being carried out. The proposed scheme of works could ' e first laid out on a plan of the district, which should, of ccurse. receive the r.pproval of the Board. When the works were an established fivt a reclassification could Take place. He suggested that the wording of the clauses should he as under: (a) "All lands likely to receive immediate and direct benefit from the proposed construction of drainage works; (b) lands likely to receive less direct benefit therefrom: <(■) lands likely to receive only an indirect benefit thereiron:: (dl all other lands"'—etc He thought that in the second instance the clause should be worded as follows:

''Within a drainage district, or part thereof, where the drainage works have boon constructed according to the scheme approved by the Hoard, the Hoard shall cause to be reclassified all land into classes, etc."

Mr Wagstaff added that the Waitoa Hoard had had a good deal of trouble over the classification, and an amendment to the Act was certainly

necessary. Mr Jane said Boards had power to reclassify from time to time. Mr Clothier remarked that the t:d>lc n? rating could he altered, but not the »mount. Mr Insoll believed that if the word ''supposed' 'was altered to "likely," as in the Counties Act, it would answer the purpose. Compulsory Outlet Drains.

Tu asking the conference to affirm the principle of compulsory construction of outlet drains to each section of the suhdivis'on of properties, Mr Walters said that at present owners -could cut up their Droportios as they liked, and the Hoard was compelled to give an outlet or lose its rates. «

Mr Hughes said the Hunga Hunga Board had been put to considerable expense in this matter. He had pleasure in seconding the motion. MY Wagstaffo declared that it a settler had to first obtain sanction to his plans before rutting rip his property, he might he hindered in selling. The matter should not he carried to arv arbitarv length. Mr Clothier said the object of the suggestion was that when a man ent up his property,' the subdivision should he so arranged as to provide an outlet. Mr Jonnson cited the practice of the Boards in I;is district, which was to tap all properties with an outlet: only the laufl so tapped wag rated. The question aVosc, however, where a man cut up his lard, as to whether the (jseneral ratepayer should be made pay for the additional drainage. Mr I'anhv said that if a man owned several th©Tj\p.nd acres of swamp and was compelled to drain H\ it would hoard wonld reap the benefit of the rates. .>, Mr Luxtoiw met how a man could h(> .coiApdtled io jtTPWI. his- property while the Board reaped t£e%* l€ *'** Mr "Wagstftffe said the' m6tsj}> '* carried would mean that a man %■<%}& first have tfl i»fike terms Drainage Board, hSefore lie was lftjUk' J t<J sell his propeTfy. M Mr Andrews remarked that H Board was not compelled to drain dfl man's land. If an owner did to nut in an outlet, then they sVH let his land remain as it was. Mr Walters' motion was carriecM Mr T. B. Insoll, dealing furthejfl the matter of classification on the fact that the the Drainage Act was left of Magistrates, who were oFtjß practical men and gave ajfl ions. He thought that clasification of drainage jfl shoulcL.be the Magistrate. jM conference cn^M nufl fereace considers jfl Drainage Act an fl certain of the amendm«fl and that the wH made clear and fl The A <^