ASHBURTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2279, 13 November 1889, Page 2

ASHBURTON COUNTY COUNCIL.

Tho following ia the conclusion of our report of yesterday's sitting :

WATEK OHARG.BB, la plcoo of the motion of whioh ho gavo notice at la.t maetlng Mr Wright moved: —"Tbat a committee be appointed to enquire aa to the best moans to be adopted to cle*r oil tho Indebtedness of tho Watei? Supply system, amonntlng to £3181 11a 51 on the 20 September laat, tho committee to constat of the Chairman and Messrs JSViedlander, Brown, Ooator aad the movor, and farther to report wbat step 3 aro neooaaaiy to equalise tbo Income aad expondlture for the future In conneotioa wl?h tha County's wntar Eupply," Ho said that In giving notloe of this resolution ha felt that the time had arrived when It would be necessary for tho Oounoli to put its accounts In order. Thoy hed allowed tho oollootlon of the wator rate to drift from timo to tlmo, and at tho present mcmmt the water supply account wai* indebted to the general account of the Oounty to the extent of £3181 11a sd, He would give figures showing ths rooelpta and expenditure on the water supply toooant :— Prom October I 1886 to M*roh 3L 1887, the reoeipta wore £10 Isa, and tha exjej?dU tura £916 12a 4lj foe the year endm^ Maroh 31 1888 the receipts ware £68 3i lid, and tho expenditure £1361 17 . lid; for the year ending March 31 1889 the receipts ware £858 6s Id, and the expenditure £1576 4s 9d, while for the period from the Ist April to September 30 1889 tha receipts aggregated £692 2j Id and the expenditure £956 2s 6i. From this statement It would be seen that the reoeipta t&ll far short of the expenditure. In addition he had only quoted tbe aotuj.l expenditure, not tiklag Into aoooont the on ta tan ding liabilltloo fn connection with the Holmes case which would not fall far short of £600. Tbe reason of this large Indebted oess was partly owing to tbe f«ot that during a oouplo of years they had struok no water rate whatever. The Oounoil'd overdraft at the Bank, as shown by the bankbook, was £3765, out of which the w*ter supply acomnt was reepoaalble for £3181, so that praoilotallp, wlih .ha exception of less iban £600, the water eupply aocount owod tha Council tho whole of the overdraft. It wis not far to the general body of tbo ratepayaro that such a system as this should be allowed to continue. It had bjeu aa'd that wmn the raoesj which are now exempt from obarg.a, came under tbe op&ratlon of tbe water ra'e tho Indebtedness of tho system would ba wiped out. This would not be the oase ; tho exempted races would not bo suffioleDt for Bach a purpose, as the revenue from them would be Inadequate to meet oarrent expenditure. Mooutlme the Council wa3 pa/fng In'er. st for the benefit of those who ohould be paying a water rato. Tlee was another asp9ot la ooaoectlon with this ma'tir. Until the accounts bad been put on a proper footing tha Auditor-General would cot tcogolse t>o separate R'dlng accounts, md It would bo Impossible to edj \at their relatfva liability. The figures qaoted wore, he tbou.ht, Biiffiy.ently striking fo c mmand the attention of the Oounoli. He was aware that to double tho rate would ba very onpopular, and It would be more autlafaotory to the rate-

payors and the Council If a Committee were appointed t) oonslder the beet means of exllr.galah.ng this liability. H-, therefore, moved In this dlrostlon. and he thought It would bo well If this Committee wero set up that It should investigate all the ohargoa connected with tbo water eupply ayetem. The cum of £953 had boon paid to four Road Boards for clearing watsr race fords, m addition to tbe amount which had been expanded under Mr Baxter's sugervlsiou. The amounts pa.d In th : s way bad b3en ai follows: — Rangit.ta Road Board, £86 10j ; Upper Ashburton Boad Bond, £33 3i, South Rakaia, • £38 4i, Wnkanul. £56 2s: Mount Hutt, £42 Ha 4d. Thia expeqdituro waa entirely m the ba 'da of the lioad Board olerks, acd the Oounoli had no check oa ft, and had no means of determining whether it was properly expended or watt 2d m piling up shingle m the lowor eWes of the fords. Ho mentioned (his m order that the oommittee might mv. stigafe the whole mater, and m addition to devfs : ng moans of clearing off the liability, also oonslder the expediency of con'iauing tho present system of repairing fords. Whoa there were culverts at croaisinga It was desirable th*t the Boarde *ho aid have power to at once carry cut rehire, a? a broken board m'ght endanger life, but with an open furd ro ham oould attend a delay of a day or two m making repairs which might bo required. He thought it would be exp dient to revert fo the old system, aud tliat the Council Bhould spend the money themselveei ard not depute auy one elso to spend it for them. Mr Brown seconded tho motioa. It would give the public an opportudity of thoroughly undemanding a matUr about whhjfb there seemed tp be a good deal of misunderatasdiDg at iho present time, Mr Harper said that there had been handed to* him a petition signed by 124 ratepayers protesting against;' the proposal contained m tho notice pf motion given by Mr Wrigtt to increase tho v»at.r rate. Tho petitioners believed tbat tbe amount of the present rate was snfiioient, and thoy suggested that the system of levying It should be altera 1 by substituting acreage for ohalnaje. Mc Hirpor said that tlie petitloq was prlpoipally signed by ceop.g Ilylog ia the Ashburton. R»ka» d strict, and why lie should be favored with the duty of presenting it he did not kqow. IJe intended to oppoeo Mr Wrights. pvoptf»l t principally on the ground that the settlers were now taxed as heavily as tbey ooald bear. Ie might bs that they ha<? got Into difficulty through having faljecl tp levy a rate fow t> oooplq of years, but If the Council had thus neglected its duty In the past It was hard that the ratepayers should bo now taxed In this w*y. He was under (be Impression when the races were flrat made that their cost woujd he defrayed out of an aoorued fund and that tbe ratepayers woflld pot he taxed for construction aa well aw ro«!nteuan«e, He qbjofeed to tbe mattor balng relegated to a Boleot Committee • if thore waa to be a Committee It sbould oomprlao tbp whole Council. As to a matter that had been mentioned m connection with tho clearing out of fords ho was sorry that the expense waa so heavy, but It was In consequence of a fault iv tho oopstrqotlon of the f orda first made. Those were square excavations, which wejvi regular traps for silt during windy weathor f but the fords latoly oonsti noted were msde on a better plan and ihe . oxpenao of cleaning them was hat slight. Ho was deoldedly of opinion that the Council would find it quite aa economical to allow tho Road Boards to attend to the maintenance of those forda as to employ mon Itielf to do tho work. Ho moved as an amendment that the Committee proposed to consider the question should comprise the whole Counoil.

Me Oott r seconded the amendment,

Mb Weight had no objeotlon to the amendmonfc. His desire was to got the matter Investigated, and whether a Committee of live oi a Committee of tbe whole Oounoli did the work was a minor nutter, He would like to point out that the subject matter of the petition presented by Mr Harper wes not In order. The petitioners aakod the Oooooil "to prevent tho Imposition of suoh an unfair t>x," while all that he proposed to do was to flak those who had derived benefit

from tbe watar supply to pay their debts, Tho petition stated further "we bslleva the preaent tax li quite aufifolent for the purpose, and we objeofc to tha money raised being expended lo any other direction," The vrltev wm nnder a most «M,n»* f "- haPßWiop, it was not deilied

rstes on any other obj-.0-. Tiia h_d never been dono, v the cppo&ite was the case, money from the general fand having been expended on tho races.

Mr Frledlander s*ld that the matter tv»3 one that noe dud the moat ojreful Investigation. The Chairman also agreed tbat the aubjcot should bo investigated as fully as popelblo, It waa premature to say muoh either as to how the dsfioloncy had aoorued, or aa to how it was to bo met. He would say thia muoh, however, tbat other oountloa which enjoyed a water supply paid a much higher rato for it than Asbburtou. Ths charge bera was £1 per mile, while In Selwyn county It averaged Bometbing like £2 10) per mile. The charges were thought suffiolont at the tlmo thoy were osloulatod; A great deal of ths deficit wsb duo lo certain extraordinary charges whioh had bocn paced to the debit cf tbe account t -gotber with tho faot tbat no rats had baan Ir-vled for two ye;rj. Ho agreed with Mr Wright that the matter wao one of the groatoat Importance, and that tho ritap-iyerfl should kcow exactly the whole position. Mr Harper asked If it was not a fact tbat m th 3 Selwyn oounty greater privileges were enjoyed for the higher wator rato iban wen enjoyed here. The Chairman said tha*. on the portion of the system last constructed the privileges were the same aa ours, and the charge aa he had stated. The motion waa then put to tbe meeting ■nd oarried, Mr Wright accepting the amendment that hia oommittee should oompriae the whole oouncil.

SIOEM WATER CHANNEL

Purauant to notloa Mr Harpor moved:-— "That the olause In the report of the Stormwater Committee adopted at the last meeting of the Oounoll ( bearing on tbo proposed storm water ohannel 00 . Tlmuu traok, be rescinded," Ha s»ld that the work waa totally nnnecesnary a^d would ia -li likelihood result ! n harm. It waa a dangerous thing to interfere wl'.h the |.reeks it waa proposed to tap. Any overflow there bad been did not come from ihoro creeks, bot from one i farther out In the p!al_s whioh the I channel would lv no way tffcot. The owner of Lagmhcr was about to clear out the ceeka on hia property, and if landholders below the Hno wero to follow hia example all t.e rtllof needed would be tffordod. Tho work was unnecessary and uncalled for, and l{ the Oounoli oarried It out they would be committing a peat error, and rendering themselves liable to future litigation. Mr Frled'.onder, tho member for the dlotrlo., Eeoonded tho ntotlon, ff hioh ho strongly cupported, eaC'O.slng the remarks of Mc Harper, Mr Brown said that he oould not support tho motion, but to meet the opponents of the work he proposed as an amendment that it should not be gone on with till tho Upper Ashburton Road Board hid given their oonaent. Mr Wright seoonded the amsndmant. It merely postponed tho work till the Upper Aahbnr.oE Road Board gave their consent, and he was hopaful that that Board would scon oome to Its semes aud recognise tho benefit which would follow

the ad -ption of the aoheme. The other momte 1 present expressed themaelvea In favor of Mr Harper's motion, which was oarried, the dissentients being Messrs Wright and Brown. FOBD'S CHEEK-.

A deputation of settle™ living In the vicinity of Ford's creak waited on tbe Council and protested sgtinat a water raoe to supply Und m the vicinity of Waterton being taken from the creek, unles? they were consultod and given soma control over the qaantliy of water to ba taken (torn the creek. Mr Wright said that permission to 'ake the race had only been given suojeot to the condition tbat those enjoying the present supply should ruffer no detriment. The deputation expressed themselves eat.Bfiod and withdrew. JAYMUKTS.Accoun's wore passed for payment. O&METK.UES.

Toe Commit'.ee appointed to consider tho mnt T 6r reported as follows :-_— lt Bppears that by the Cemeteries Act, 1882, the C'.'un'y Council is a proper body to appropriate finds for the maintenance of oemoteiies iv existence prior to tha passing of the Aot m 1682, The Committee haß communicated with all the Cemetery B a ds within the County, and find (he following Boards require assistance, v:z : South Rakaia, a grant of £25 ; Kyle, for survey of plots ; Waterton, a grant of £15 ; Barr Hill survey of plots. Tbe

Committee would recommend tbe grants

being voted and charged to the respective ridings, end m the caee of the epryeys the .Engineer be inoti noted to carry, out the rgquott of the Boarde, The Methven Cemetery Board was n-t coastitutad tiil Fo binary 14, 1884, but as its rcqust is' for survey ot_ly tbe Commiltse begs to recommend that that work be authorised. Tbe report was adopted on the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Coster. Vtf ACCENT. " Mr Weight moved ,; That tho Engineer be requested to cay whether the Raggltsta Road Board'B charge of £4Q for repairing for fords is a reasonable one."

Ihe motion was not seconded and lapsed-

WATER RAGES.

Mr Tt Clephane wrote suggesting several modifications m the present system of levying water charges.

BBIDftB,

The fisoqnt Sotnora Rp_d ftoayd asked the Coqnoil to crept a footbridge, at an estimated ' oost of £75, ' over Bowyei'i Stream.

It was decided to carry out the work.

BAKAIA OOBGE _»BID«E.,

The Government Engineer reported that damage to the extent of £400 bad been done to the Rakaia Gorge bridge hy the gale of September 9. Tbe Oooncll was asked to pay fea'f the cost of executing the necessary repairs, the Selwjn Oounty Council paying the other halfThe Coqnoil agreed, to pay half tbe oost of repaUs.

MISCELLANEOUS,

The Wallace Coonty Council wrote suggesting that a Conference of delegates from County Ooanoilo should be held In Dunedin daring tho time of the Exhibition to consider various matters affaotlng looal bodies,

The letter wis acknowledged. t A sum of £5 bonus was voted to the draughtsman of the Exhibition map, for the exoellent oharaoter of the work he had done,

A letter from Mr Morrow, Doric, asking for a reduction of water oharge, owing to defioienoy of supply, was referred to the Engineer.

The next ordinary meeting was fixed for December 11, and the annual meeting for tbe same date — to strike a rate.

Tenders, for dog collars wore ordered to ba invited, to oome In for the meeting on December 11.

TENDERS.

Tenders for the auxiliary water supply from tfos Rakaia wore received, and the following accepted t— -No. 1 : N, Fi'z gerald, £35. No; 2 ; P. Fawoetr, £37. No. 3: P. Fawoett, £25.

The Council then adjourned, to meet again ia Committee on Monday next, to consider the watey obanges question.

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