THE MUNICIPALITY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19137, 21 October 1927, Page 3

THE MUNICIPALITY.

PUBLIC-SPIRITED WORK. MAYOR LONG IN OFFICE. ■ The Borough of Ashburton will not celebrate its jubilee until next year, and when this is considered the progress of the Borough must be regarded as remarkable indeed. The Borough was constituted in 1868, and few boroughs, of the same size in New Zealand can claim to have kept abreast of changing times so assiduously, or to have looked after the affairs of its residents so well. There is an excellent high pressure water system on which upwards of £IO,OOO has been spent, and a complete and up-to-date drainage system serves the borough. The Domain is under the control of the municipality, and a good public library, municipally controlled, caters for the reading tastes of the residents with periodicals and books, Mr Robert Galbraith, who has over 25 years' of municipal experience in Invercargill and Ashburton, has held the position of Mayor of the Borough for nearly thirteen years. Of the advance the town has made during Mr Galbraith's term of office too much cannot be said, and it is a town which now enjoys all the advantages and conveniences which are to be met with in any-big city. The boundaries of the town-have been enlarged by the amalgamation with tho Borough of the greater portion of what was the H ampstead Town Board district. The streets have been vastly improved, extra lengths of concrete side channels have been laid, underground drainage has beeii made, a splendid high pressure water supply installed, the whole of the town lighted up at night by electricity through the Electric Power Board's plant, and a start has been made with forming bitumen roads in the main thoroughfares. The water sunply is obtained from wells sunk to tne second stratum in the Ashburton river and from this source is obtained an unlimited supply of as pure water as it is 1 possible to get. .The householders pay a very low rate, and there is no restriction whatever placed on the quantity used for household purposes,' or even tor the watering of gardens during certain prescribed hours, the only restriction 'made being that during, the hottest and driest weeks of the summer householders should show a little consideration, and not needlessly waste the water. Financial Strength. _ A sound financial position is revealed in the prosperous borough. Following are some figures that indicate clearly the _ result of careful financial undertakings in assuring the position, (unless; otherwise stated the figures refer to the position at the end of the 1926-27 financial year, March 31st last):—. .

The license fees collected during the year ending March 31st were £793 10s Bd. Wagec for that year amount to £.861 2s 8d to tho administrative staff and £5183 7s -id to the other staffs, a total of £6044 10s. Tho value of new buildings erected for the year ending September 30th was £25,129, a very substantial increase on previous years. There are 1150 dwellings in the borough and 1453 ratepayers on the rolls. Of the 21$ miles of streets in the borough, there are 45 chains laid down for the full width in bitumen or tar, and when further street improvements now in hand are concluded in a week's time, this will be increased to nearly a mile. The War Memorial. It is only a matter, of months now until Ashburton will have a war memorial that will be a credit to the district. A memorial obelisk, 50 feet in height, was chosen from the many proposals submitted in a competitive design scheme, and the memorial is even now being shaped in the Christchurch yards of the contractors. The memorial will have a splendid site, that now occupied by the band rotunda near the centre of the town. The rotunda will be removed to the Domain when the memorial is erected. It is being built at a cost of £3OOO to £4OOO and will be unveiled next Anzac Day. New Theatre Needed. The town has long been; in a position where, it should have a suitable theatre, but there has been an immense amount. of delay experienced in pushing this project ahead. This procrastination has not been' the fault of the borough, be it said, but has" arisen through the Town Council's difficulty in finalising a necessary arrangement with the Government. The Minister concerned has not been easily approached,'but there seems some hope of a successful issue .when he meets the Council after the present session . is : concluded. ■ ; ' : • The heed for a good theatre is very , great, and. has been responsible for" ! many theatrical companies failing to include Ashburtbh in their South Island itineraries. 'But -the scheme build a theatre makes necessary an exchange . of „'~sjtes % ;with. v thes Gdv€jrnmeh|,: the CctfncH's'. s^]prop.Osal '.being.. to .offer, the State. ah,,area. of, turn for the East street site at-present occupied by the Courthouse.,.,- ; - This is made .'.necessary '.'through the heed to have shops and offices'fronting i' the' building, to provide an assured re> venue and materially asMst ,jn meeting interest charges. The Courthouse site is a favourable one for such an enterprise, but for some years, no'finality has been" readied with the "Government, despite the Council's" repeated repre- . sentations. '

Value of new. biiildings . . £ s. d. (for year ending Sept..'30th, 192?} . .; ,'..'• 25,129 0 .0 Beyenne for' year ' ... 18,061 19 i Expenditure for year :..". . 18,943.10 7 Bateable value annual 57,718 0 0 Assets at March 31st—' Cash ..' .••■..■• 2,086 0.11 Estimated on build-' ings, reserves, etc. 148,882 16 10 Total assets 150.968 17 9

! Liabilities at March 31st. | I & %. a.; j Total loans raised .. 73,S50 0' 0' 1 | Sinking fund accrue- • ! ment .. .. 12,103 C B j i Amount outstanding on ! loans 60,744 13 4 : Cash payments due ou ! March 31st,, 3,584 13 1 Total liabilities March i 31st 64.327 6 5