RESIGNATIONS OF TWO COUNCILLORS
| $ PROTEST AGAINST MAYORAL METHODS STATEMENT BY MESSRS. M'KENZIE AND SHORLAND • As announced in Saturday's Dominion", Messrs. L. M'Kenzie and J. 0. Sliorland have handed in their resignations as members of the City Council, in consequence of tho action of the council in agreeing'to pay .a fee of ~£125 to Mr. Lawrence Birks for his report on the powerhouse sito question. On being fur- , tlier consulted on Saturday morning, tho Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke) said that there was nothing to bo added to the statement lie had already made in the Dominion, except that the cheque for Mr. Birks had been drawn and forwarded. When consulted about the cause or their resignations, Messrs. M'Kenzio and Shorland said that their action had been dictated, not so much by the amount to be paid to Mr. Birks (who was a Government official), but by the manner in which it had been put to the council by the Mayor and the hurried way in which it was got through, No councillor had received any intimation that the question of paying the fee was to come before the council. The item was not even included on the supplementary order paper. In short, it liad 'been sprun D on the council in committee, and was put and passed by the Mayor himself before councillors could all properly realise what was being done. It was no exaggeration to say that the passing O'.Jn® motion so hurriedly had caused a little sensation. The Mayor himself had admitted that he had not consulted any of tho officers of the council as to the amount of the fee. The only one he had , consulted was Mr. Birks himself• " The two ex-councillors also stated that the proper procedure in such a case was for the matter to be considered by tho Finance Committee, which in due would make a recommendation, to lhe council Their protest was against the method by which the Mayor had pnslithe motion through before councilors C tskefllX'ftey'intended, to stand 1 1 Si in their gold tramway passes to i'i"™ 5I« Uk» " sl ™ ~, **■ nnnroximately iBW. ■ _
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Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 306, 20 September 1920, Page 6
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352RESIGNATIONS OF TWO COUNCILLORS Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 306, 20 September 1920, Page 6
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