GREATER WELLINGTON

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 108, 31 January 1919, Page 3

GREATER WELLINGTON

CNSLQff ASD THE CITY THE AMALGAMATION SCHEME A meeting, of ratepayers of the Ngaio ward was held Inst evening in the Methodist Hall to hear arguments in favour of the. amalgamation of the Onslow I Borough with the city. The Mayor (Mr. i J. M. ]>ile) presided, and Councillors W. 1 Appleton and Topp were also present. I ;."so i\Ja-|Vr saic] that they had had a i definite offer from the city, the principal I condition Iwing that in the event of water and drainage being supplied a special rating area should be created so that those who benefited by such public j conveniences should pay for them. They : knew, also exactly what their rates would I be He went into details of the negotiaj tions with the city, and congratulated [ the ward on having two such active com) rillors as Messrs. Appleton and Topp, who had done their utmost to bring about amalgamation. The council was lijianimoug on the scheme oi amalgamfij tion, and every councillor in'the borough was working ha,rd in favour of it. h< , urged the ratepayers to vote for amalgamation on the terms offered by the city. Councillor Topp eaid thie question or amalgamation with the city was the most important matter that the ratepayers had to face. Water and drainage were needed ] in the ward, and that fact had k-en home to thorn again and ogam, and the only way they could secure si eh public conveniences was by amalgamation with the city. The byrough emild not furnish these conveniences. He n-as vclry strongly in favour of amalgamation as 'the best' solution of the -water and drainage problem. Councillor W. Appleton, the sonior councillor for the ward, who was the principal speaker, dealt with the question of rates. • Re said that he was agree, ably surprised to find that by joinniß the city there would be an immediate paving of approximately 15 per cent, in rates. Even if they saved nothing to would still be a keen supporter of amalgamation, as it was the only way to bring about progress. Tho speaker said i that four years ago he had urged the I electors to consider joining Wellington, ljut the idea was then thought impracI ticable. What seemed insuperable fljmI culties had been surmounted, and Oni slow residents to-day had _ a splendid ! scheme ready for their adoption, laking I the position at the present time tney i found that on a prfesrfy of «iimi proved vnlna ar.d JEBBO capital value the I Tiites payable in, Ngaio were 15s. 7a. Under amalgamation the total cost -von l<l he Is., or a saving of- Ms. 7d. Ngai° stood to save more than the other wards. Nur was this all. Tho cost of administration under existing conditions was I over 17 per cent.' The city's cost was ! under 5 per cent. They should be able to spend considerably more on their roads I or other psseuia* work, besidt* iMbng tho saving on rates. All of his figures ! were official, and could be verified at the i Tmvn Clerk's office. Councillor Appleton | said that he realised that Onslow could j I not conduct its own affairs on n motfe | economical basis. The high overhead expense was inevitable. Apart from tno fact that it was the only feasible way in Which'to get water and drainage, amalgamation offered the only prospect ot cutting down tho cost of administration. Even if they were to secui-e nothing else, tho saving justified them in linking up as part of Greater Wellington. But they had not to look at the immediate present, but at the future. They must have water and drainage; It was impossible to secure any adequate local scheme, ami the only hope of securing these essential services was to join the city. Councillor •\ppleton made it clear that ratepayers would not be put to additional expense in respect to any improvements unless they voted for it. A poll would be taken for any loan, and the opportunity would then be given as to whether the ii.oney should bo raised or not. Amalgamation meant a saving straightway for the services, they now had, but by voting for it they were not committed to any large schemes. It had been suggested that their rates would increase because as soon as they joined tho city their properties would bo revalued and a higher fieuro placed upon them. Anyono jsho' bolieved that Onslow would be tno suburb of Wellington in the near future must realise that values would rise, but past experience in connection with the city shows that those boroughs that liiid ]oiiied had not suffered or been penalised by excessive valuations. To take town as a notable example, they found that in 1807 the unimproved valuo bclore amalgamation was .£127,000; it was only jeißs,:H2 to-day. On tho other hand, the capital value had increased during the same period from .£200,000 to jßfii.iOO, which showed the very substantml W'o*ress the district had made since amalgamation. Ho urged every ratepayer to vote for amalgamation, as by so doing the future of the district would be assured. The alternative was stagnation.