DIFFICULT REQUEST

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 15, 16 October 1945, Page 5

DIFFICULT REQUEST

PROSPECTIVE HOSPITAL LEVY COUNTY COUNGIJJ'S REQUEST When the County Council's formal retjuest to the Hospital Board seeking an estimation of the prospective levy ove'r the next five in the event of the full programme of the Health Department being carried out was read at last week's members were at a complete loss as to how to answer. After a lengthy discus, sion it was decided! that a specific answer was imposible but that the County would be suppliedl with all the data relative to the essential buildings required for the purpose of com. piling the levy on the assumed basis of building expenditure. Mr McCreatly said that the County Council had been surprised when its letter had not reached the but when it had been eventually dealt with by the it was a greater surprise that the Eoard had not submitted something as a

guide. The chairman (Mr L. Buddie) said that had the letter not gone, astray the question of amalgamation would certainly have been discussed at the last meeting. The subject had first) been given publicity to in June when the County Council had obviously been in touch with officers ol' the Waikato Board. Since then a conference between County and Borough had been held and a subsequent trip iby delegates to Rotorua planned. The delegates, returned armed with figures supplied by the. chairman and secretary of' the Waikato Board } and also the impression that an amalgamation between Whakatane and Waikato would be welcomed. Subsequently certain figures had proved to be erroneous and altered the aspect of the position consider-

ably. Mr Buddie stated that lie had since received information from the Waikato Board which showed that the chairman and secretary had acted in a strictly private capacity and not on the Waikato Board's behalf or with any authority froni the Board. Any request for a merger would only be accepted from ; the Whakatane Hospital Board. Mr Buddie added that the Council had held aloof in all its representations from the Board until now, when it asked the almost impossible question as to> what would be. the size of the hospital levy live years hence. The Board was being asked officially to make a guess at a figure. ?t had no information from the Department as to the estimated cost of the bu'ildings'concerned nor of any loan authority or likely Government assistance. It was likewise Avithout any information as to what wages and salaries were likely to be ? or expenses or commodities. Government subsidies also affected population and valuation and these would lie further fluctuating factors. He did not favour giving estimates on such flimsy grounds as estimates had the habit of coming home to roost or of being quoted. Certainjly the Board had been offered a Chest Block at Government cost but it was impossible to gauge, the maintenance of such building. He couldn't tell the Council what next year's levy was likely to be t let alone 1950'5.

He added, that it was now admitted that the proposed antalgamation was going to lower the existing Whakatane rate, but it would have the effect of automatically raising the existing rate throughout the Waikato. He did not think this fact would be very popular witlr the contributing bodies there. It cer-< tainly would not be in Whakatane.

Mr Mullins considered the whole question of amalgamation a most serious business. It meant making the control away from the district. In the question of the removal of the Hospital Rate the County Council required a petition from the ratepayers, before it was prepared to act and yet it had no hesitation '9 " in going ahead on its own in an. other direction and asking the Loard to supply an estimate on pure, guesswork based on projected works which the Board members' were not prepared to vote for in any case. When the Board asked for the transfer of Galatea to the Rotorua district to effect a saving of £12.">00 it received scant consideration. The Board should be most guarded in.

committing itself to any figures. "It would be foolish to refuse to supply any figure ataal p " commented Mr McCready. Mr Suckling said lie was strongly opposed to giving any hard and fast, estimates. The County's guess was as good as the Board's and if supplied with the building the Council could compute an estimate itself without the figures coming officially from the Board. The chairman said that he under, stood, the present session of Parliament would be considering the whole report of the Local Government Commission which, would hav® a big bearing on future Hospital taxation. He moved that consideration be held over until after Parliament disbanded. *Mr Suckling .seconded^ Mr McCready objected strongly to the postponement and moved that as near as possible figures should Ibe supplied. The amendment Japsed for want of a seconder. A further amendment by Mr Mullins that the Board submit a schedule of essential buildings as required by the Health Department together with relative material for the purpose of allowing the Council » to work out its own figures was- tini ally carried.