BOROUGH MUDDLING.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 759, 8 September 1922, Page 4

BOROUGH MUDDLING.

(To the Edit)-). Sir,—We, the long suffering public are. like yourself, sick to death of this perpetual mess up and humbug over the lighting system, and many other things controlled by the present Council, I submit, our money is being wasted, shamefully wasted right and left, and judging by the present rate of expenditure of white elephiamts the eighty-five thousand pound loan will be all used up long before the present Council's term of office is through, How the Council hav.e the .face to carry on knowing the stormy feelings of the flatepay. ers is beyond the writer’s understanding. They don’t know a thing about electricity and believe everything they are told by one who knows a little (very little apparently) about it. Anyone who knows anything- tabout the present Council and Mayor could have predicted that the principle result of the inquiry into the recent engine blow up would be on the lines of tlhe actual finding. Why is it that there is always, yes always, and for ever chaos at the power house (power oy name but not by nature) ? It will take more than a motion o»f confidence on the part the Council £o impress the ratepayers that there is expert management in control. The Council know nothing about electricity or engines, and so the public’s costly engines are left to the tender mercies of the “engineer” in charge. And while on the subject* the public, whose money is being blown up, have a right to know whether the Borough engineer is a qualified .and certificated electrical engineer or .only a pseudo electrician? No wonder the power l 'house looks like a secondhand shop. l l/hear that this Borough “engineer” receives a 2% per cent, commissiqn on* allrengines bought, whether old or new,, so, the,more en. gines the better commission account for the engineer. Whewlijlt makes yau perspire to think of it/h, This town has become the laughing-stock of the Provincq, and the legacy -of this wonderful system of advertising Pukekohe e{an easily be predicted—slump in land sales, building,, investments and business and employment of all kinds, and who is responsible ? If the Council flatters iteslf that it is efficiently carrying out it’s office to the satisfUction of the ratepayers (whose money they ,are going up in smoke,, auxiliary pumping plants, experimental artesian boring, luxurious monumental but useless rest room, and useless roajding, etc,) then I say, as do 99.9 per cent,| of the tired ratepayers, they are sadly over-estimat-ing themselves. I think, probably, one or two of the Councillors Have the public confidence, but they are not a majority, and then they retain the confidence only op occasions. Might I ask how much, of the ratepayers’ money* did it take to make the clay road extension (that will never be used) from Franklin Road to Paetfata bridge ? 'he time has come for the indignant*, throtteled' ratepayers to rise up and demand! clean up all round. The Ratepayers’ Association or some other boidy should convene a public meeting and ( conduct a thorough investigation, without delay, before the town is ruined. —I am, etc., . RISE UP RATEPAYERS.