REVENUE OR LOAN?

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2871, 8 September 1916, Page 7

REVENUE OR LOAN?

IMPORTANT POLICY MOTION

DISCUSSED

CR; FROST'S PROPOSAL REJECTED

At last evening's meeting of the City Council, Councillor G. Frost moved:— . , (1) Tnat the council's policy of constructing large permanent works out of , revenue is not conducive to tho good government of the city, inasmuch as it entails a heavier burden'on toe

ratepayers than is consistent wiul the general maintenance of the city's r upkeep, and is responsible in some considerable measure for the exceedingly high rents in the city. ; (2) That • tho policy of the council in V future be that all such works bo' provided for out of loan moneys, :• suoh loans to be repayable by a .sinking fund to redeem the loan at the expiration of 40 years. \S) That the.Finance .Committee be rev quested to .■ prepare a schedule of •works to be approved by the council in order to enable the same'to be submitted to the ratepayers immediately the money market is favourable for tho raising of a loan. "The following list of works''is re- ; commended, to be included in the schedule:— • , "1. Wood-paving Featherston Street and Tborndon Quay. 2. Road construction to ; Vogeltown,- Roseneath, Northland, and' Wudestowii. 3. Completion/of reclamation and sea wall at' Oriental Bay and Kilbirnie,- also construction of culvert, Kilbirnie. i.' Completion of Central i Park; levelling at Lyall Bay; formation : of esplanade at Island Bay, and.also a sum'for Town Belt 5. Construction of tunnel, Orongorongo. fl ; Provision for bettor access to Hataitai. ' and North Kilbirnie for vehicular traf- ' fic. 7. Construction of passenger lift, Wellington Terrace. B.' Erection of fire station. Constable' Street. , 9. Erection of ■ . clearing, house for milk. 10. Completion ; of drainage and-water service to outlying districts. 11. Other necessary worte" in moving his motion, Councillor Frost referred to tho lica,vy _' rates . which were chargeable in Wellington,' ■ and consequently the; heavy, rentals which figured-so.lately in the heavy cost of living, making Wellington the dearest city to live in in New Zealand. •He did not ..see why the citizens of tho ■ present should have to cary the heavy' burden for new works that wore going ■ to benefit tho : people for all time. '■ Though Wellington was tho geographical centre of New Zealand,' and tho ihief. distributing port, it was for the reasons stated not. a manufacturing centre on account of the cost of business places. ! Ifj the, rates and; copse- ■ quently rents, wero . reduced it. might : lead'to greater activity in the future in that direction. Ho had been on the council for. twelve years and never once had there been any steps taken _ to reduce the - rates—indeed, they might : be said to have increased. '• If at'any time they had been decreased (the rate in the £) they had been increased by . reason of the increased valuations in the lump sum. By using tho money raised by rates for largo works,' and not for maintenance only, they could never hope to .reimburse the district ' fund, for the expenditure on such works. .'Business/men -undertaking big new works 'invariably raised a loan to carry them out, and .he maintained that they should go upon commercial lines in such undertakings just as a private individual,did. Councillor Frost ; alluded to the state of the roads in ! Wadestown, Eoseneath and Vdgeltoivn, .• 'which were by no means a credit to ■ the city. (A voice:.. "What about Brooklyn?") Councillor 'Frost said • laughinglyo Brooklyn hadalways been well looked after. ■ It. was now proposed that the Qrongorongo. works should be done out of the water rate. He did not think that waß a fair charge, as it was going; to benefit the people for all time. Then there was the lift'for the Terrace. Tho Mayor : That is provided for out "of tramways, money, . ' Councillor Frost: "Yes, just the same as the . Constable Street work, but the tramways are working on an overdraft in a way." Continuing, he said that he did not objeot to the works if the consent of the ratepayers was obtained; Councillor Luckie: And if we don't get it? Councillor Frost: Then the works ; will have to stand over.' '•* The Mayor interposed at this stage with tho announcement that, taking the rates in globo, they .wore less today than. they were five years ago. Hehad : tho City Treasurer's authority for '• that statement.''. ... Voices: How less?

l'he Mayor:' Less inHhe pound! Councillor 'Wright • said * that they night be less in the .pound, but the moroaso in the Government valuations had made them more in the total. . The Mayor:' Not in all cases. Councillor W. J.- Thompson seconded the motion, provisional,on the following oeing.'added:—

- That the next loan proposals also include a loan of .210,000 for the purpose of reimbursing the amounts advanced by the District Fund and . ..Other funds for the purchase of land v- "and the executioij of works, which . .should have been carried cut by loan !•■.-money.' The'loan to be for the purpose of repaying tho money ext'siSv* liended on the following Williams Park; Day's Bay; land purchase, at ■ Lyall Bay; -Constable Street tramGil w ay to Kilbirn\o; culvert at Island ici Bay; reclamation at Kilbirnie;' fj Oriental Bay sea-wall and esplanade; £ Lyall Bay Reserve;- and streets' widening. The amount to be utilised for the redaction of rates 6pread over the * ensuing' four years. Also to include in new works—Woodblocking of Jervois Quay and Wakefield ; Street to Clyde Quay; extension of Town Hall offices, and the widening of the. Evans Bay Hoad. The abovo motion not to affect in anv way the. construction of works already authorised and provided for in this year's estimates.". Councillor W. H. Bennett thought tho time had arrived when a limit should bo placed on tho amount of money spent on new works sut of revenue. ' ' Councillor Hildreth, while congratulating Councillor Frost, 6aid that by closing liis eyes, he could imagine that ho was addressing a largo hail of eleotors; There was 1 something in the soliedule for each, district, hud for i those lie liad overlooked there were the words, "other necessary works." , Thoy were returned to represent the burgesses of Wellington, and if they were not capable of saying \ what moneys should bo allocated for certain. works they should not bo there. He would go as far as to say that fhere were some matters .that should not bo left to the ratepayers. . Could Councillor Frost say what schedule of works tho ratepayers -were going to sanction —they would vote for the work to be dono in' their own district, and would throw out tho rest. . Councillor Luckio supported Councillor Hildreth, and pointed out that serious consideration _ should be given to the motion, as Councillor Frost sought to tie the oounoil down to a definite polioy; which would remain in _ force until the resolution was rescinded. Wero they to stay their hands in the matter of tho Orongorongo tunnel, the clearing house for milk,, and the Constable Street fire station because the ratepayers might turn it down? Ho moved that the whole matter he referred to tha Finance Committee for foil consideration. Councillor L. MTfenzie seconded the amendment. Ootmcillor Barber said is preferred

to vote against the motion straight out, but perhaps it was just- as well that they should deal with it oil a roport from tho Finance Committee. They were wasting time by discussing it at all. Tho total amount represented by works in the sohedule readied a Quarter of a million, and what earthly chance had they of gotting tho ratepayers to agree to the raising of such a sum ?

Councillor Frost said he was quite prepared to accept the amendment, but Councillor Luckie objected by stating that "his amendment was quite antagonistic to tho motion. Ho would withdraw..l(is amendment to which proposal Councillor M'Konzie agreed.

Tho' Mayor said that ho did not see why a certain sum of money' should not be spent each year on improve/ments. He also referred to the Orongorongo work, which could be done at an expenditure of £25,000, and would incroase the water supply for the city by 100 per cent, The present water supply might do them for years to comc, but last season was very dry, and thoy had had an; anxious time. Who was to say when they would have another dry season?- The one thing he.-objected to was that Councillor Frost should have brought down in his proposal a schedule of works that had been carefuly and faithfully considered lfy the council, and which had only been deferred from being put to the ratepayers because of the disturbed state of things. The Mayor, also referred to the Island Bay culvert, which, had cost ±18000,- and which would have cost £20,000 had it been dona in the ordinary way. Councillor Frost', in his reply, dwelt upon the Mayor's response to several deputations when promises had been made of reductions in the rates, and remarked that tho Government Statistician, in his reports, had'referred to tho . rates as being, 'a _ contributing cause in tho rising cost'of living in this city. If the motion was defeated, it would bo one that would have to be faced sooner or later by the council. The motion, on being put, was lost by eight votes to three. The councillors who favoured, the motion were: Councillors Frost, Thomnson, and Wright. .. . •* '