MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTION

Chronicle (Levin), 26 April 1949, Page 4

MUNICIPAL BY-ELECTION

Messrs. Croot And Seddon Speak Tp Electors Two of the eahdidat.es for the municipal by-election tomorrow, Messrs;" F- Crpot and W. Seddon, spoke tp' the puxgesses of Levin in the Regent Hgll on Friday liight, The chaitip^h was Mr. H. Rippin and there' was an attehdarice of about 2(? people.' Be'ow are the' mai'n pqipts fropi their addresses. Mr. F. Croot. He di,d not propose to revolutionise " the a,Gfministrarioh of the borough" if "elected, but he would certaiply delve "into the mai-ter and see' why a greater proportion of the funds could not be giveh back to the -ratepayers in .the way ; of public works, remarked Mr.- Croot. For a n'umber ot years, Levin had fceen suffering from growing pains, and so far nq one had effec.ted a cure. -This was a comagious cam-

plaint and opviously some ,of those present wefe conversant with other towns which had gpne through a similar experience. The fi'rst step towards a cure was to f oster without delay a cotnpetept and representative body of persons ,to form a town planning scherpe. When this was done, and providing there was comp ete coordination with those concerned wi^h civic welfare, the borough shou d de-velon along sound lines. The alternative to this would be the continuance of the . methods employed toda.y — temporary activit.ips. He used this latter phrase because it was so realistic, he commented. "We have gone far enough with this temporary business, patching up here "and there, although I do not say everywhere, because that is untrue. Town planning would bring about residential areas, faetory and commercial allotments. We look around us even today and flnd things done without very much Visfon fpr the future." He was particularly concerned with the future * welfare of the .citizens of Levin, especially those who purchased a section in a new subdivjsion and after a short while discovered that light industr.y was springing up next door. He was also concerned with the shopping area. If the town was to encourage residents tp live in the district, hep the shopping area would have to increase proportionately. It was

qbvious that sooner or later the ratepayers would have to shoulder the burden of paying out heavy compensation In order to let the town expand. in consideration, therefore, the past would have to be analysed as one of lack of vision. It was time some definite policy was established so that the public knew just where it stood. Mr. W. Seddon. Criticism was being levelled at the council at pr'esebt, began Mr. Seddon, but this was not right because every person who" was elected to a local body was public spirited gnd would do his best for the town. Howevef, it was by'the exchange of bpinions and the exercise of each other's views that .one was able to make prpgress,' said the speaker. adding that he would conflne himself to the financial and administrative side pf the borough. After givin'g certain figures dealing with -various loans raised arid the ampunt paid off to date, Mr. •Seddon went on to say that the present l,o.cal debt was £90,168 8s ld. "People ask why they cannot get this antd that. The 'present council is no't to blame. It is trading on a legacy left to it by past councils. When it wants to spend 25s it finds it has .pnly got £1 gyailable." After gping into details of the counpil's 1947 balan.ee sheet, Mr. Seddon remarked: "I could not expect the Council to do a great deal .with thef,money it has avaiiable." The various loans raised thfoughout the years were the subject of a lengthy analysis by the speaker. He told the meeting that there was still £22,452 owing on the waterwbrks alone, commenting that if the water works could not be made tp pay, what charice was there pf bagkfng- PthTer municipal prganisat'icris pay. His remedy was to make

a slightly increased charge on the ratepayers so that a sinking fuiid couM be formed. He would say that at present the borppgh was in a state .of bapkr apley and it would require the best brains avail-: able to get Levin out this state 'of5 affairs. Mr. Seddon also discussed the drainage and sewerage scheme and made some comments on the necCssity for a hospital in the town.