NEW POLICY

Hokitika Guardian, 4 October 1923, Page 1

NEW POLICY

FOR PUBLIC WORKS. HON J. CL COATES -MAKES AN ANNOUNCEMENT. NON-POLITICAL CONTROL. WELLINGTON. Oct. 1. The Hon J. G. Coates (Minister for Public Works) interviewed by a "Times” representative on Saturday, expressed himself very much averse to anything in tla; nature ol interference of political considerations in his Public Works policies, and stated that he had already made marked progress in establishing systems to prevent such happenings.

The first step In that direction, said the .Minister, was the declaration of his poliey to proceed with railway, hydro-electric and irrigation works according to definite programme, ha.sc>t on order of importance and urgency, and the concentration of expenditure according to that programme. Next

came the int roduc? ion of w hat is known depart mentally as the automatic system of allocating votes fur roads and bridges to the various Public Works districts. The factors which deicnnino the amounts lor each district are area, population, rates collected, loan charges, mileage of open roads, cost of completing roads fineluding allowance for accessibility oi metal and climatic conditions), am! value of undeveloped Crown and native lands. This system is automatic so far as concerns the provision of items on the Estimates, and each Public Works district's total of items voted is as nearly correct as can be ascertained under that system. NON-POLITICAL CONTROL. The next step was the introduction and passing in 1f)22 of the Main Highways Act, which created a Main Highways Fund and reposed in the Main Highways 1 Board, which lias absolute powers, free of all possibility of political intervention, the control of all works and finance in respect 01 all roads which the hoard declares to be main highways. This scheme may involve an annual expenditure of approximately a million, an amount which will doubtless increase as the reserved sources of income for the fund naturally expand.

But- there still remains a very real oilfield tv in regard to roads and bridges votes when it comes to authorising the expenditure of individual items. A reference in the Estimates will show that, while the total of the various individual voie- is Cl .l'!l3,000, tlie actual cash appropriation provided by Parliament i.- only or 00 per cent of the total of votes. The cash appropriation is. of course, the limit of actual expenditure during the financial vrur; and it follows. there-

fore, that it is quite impossible to authorise every individual vote for expendil arc. If this were done it would mean either that the cash appropriat itin would 'lie over-expended: or, alternatively, that a. most, irritating checking and restriction of work would have to he practised to avoid overexpending. Tile only praetival expedient is the on-' whl eh has been followed. namely. restricting authorisations.

GRAVE ADMINISTRATIVE DH’l'l < d/lIES.

The praitiv" of having ;■ margin '»• Ivei a ea -h appropriation and intal vote is one that Inis oliiained ior very many years, and is to some extent necessary lor the reason that road and bridge work doc- not (ease with the close of the linaneial rear, and expenditure goes on alter .March fUsi against linaneial provision to he made during the next. cii-iiing .-e-sioil nT Parliament. It frequently happens that, although the linaneial year closes on -March Hist, the next, year's provis oils are not made until tlio ensuing October or November. and, on occasion, even later. Another reason for

some disparity is that ii is a common happening that works for which prevision has been made in the expectation that work would he proceeded with are. for one reason or another, tillable to bo proceeded with. This refers particularly to -nb-idy votes. Tt is alwtivs advisable, therefore, to provide appropriations for additional works, which can he proceeded with Jit the event of others nor going forward.

This disparity b.-iucen total vote and cash appropriation has. however, always meant crave (li(limities in administrative con t t'ol —1 he treater the margin the creator the d iflieul t\u On tin- one hand, there are local bodies and communities of settlers aware that votes have been provided for certain works, m I lie pro-cell lion oi which they are i lit ere-.i ed. On the other hand, there are the Minister for Public Works and his department eonI'roil ted villi the fact that they must lines--" the nuthori-ations of expenditure of individual items so as to ensure that the actual expenditure within the linaneial year docs not exceed the cash anp'i'npiiation. It is an ei|tmLion that is not ei 111 : 1 1 ; and it. is. there!ore, Pound to produce Irietion and some dissatisfaction.

FAHLY Hi HD C FTt-i TIIK WOHM. Incidentally, it is a proposition in which the district which yets in tirsl with its plans and specifications for expenditure is likely to cot more than its share of the cash, to the detriment of districts which, hy reason of climatic conditions, cannot, commence tlteir vork until later in the year. The system quite naturally has feat tires which arc unsatisfactory alike to Minister, local bodies, and The detiaftinent. AN ATTFMPTFD SOLUTION.

An endeavour has been made to overcome tin* difficulty already discu.-sed. and a solution has been arrived at: I,ut it is a solution only -n long as all tire parties concerned loyally 10-nperate ii* can-vine it out. Ihe solution t.~ as follows! I n— The total of the individual votes in each Public Works district is set against- the total of votes for the whole Dominion, and the resultant proportion is termed an entitling percentage. <•_>)-—The actual expenditure of votes for the tinaucia! year must he limited strictly to the cash appropriation. The proportion which the i r.-h apnrotu'iation hears to the total vote for New Zealand this year i- III) per cent. (3) —But works can proceed only as plans and specifications can be prepared and approved, as contracts, pin lit. material. and labour can be arranged, and as weather permits: and here, let it be remarked, that the weather. labour, availability of plant and equipment, indeed, many factors, govern the actual prosecution ot work, and its cost : hot there is only one tiling that governs the financial year, and its expenditure 'resit's- '.tons—that is the calendar. There is not much in common between the two. A ('TIMM:RATION LIMIT. £1.400.000.

It is necessary, therefore.. in order that an expenditure reasonably approximating the cash appropriation max lie obtained, to fix a limit to the authorisations; but this limit must lie iti excess of the cash appropriation. The c ash appropriation is £9B-I.SCO, . and the Minister lias fixed the limit ot authorisations during the financial year at £l.-100,000. This means, assuming the actau! expenditure up to March 81st to bo exactly regulated to the cash appropriation of £9B-1,860, that on April

Ist. there would he carried forward a liability against the fund of £415,140, in the shape of unexpended balances of authorities. The £1,400,(XX) above mentioned will lie hereafter referred to as the amount determined for authorisation. 14) The amount determined for authorisation will he apportioned to the various Public Works districts on the basis of the entitling percentage, previously mentioned in paragraph (i). (5) The same entitling percentage is applied to limit the actual cash expenditure for the financial rear. HOW IT WORKS OUT. The following example shows exactly how the sysetm works out. assuming a total vote of £1,000,C00. and n cash appropriation of £OOO,OOO: — Total vote for New Zealand say. £ 1.000,000: total of items for Wellington district, say, £100.000; Wellington's entitling percentage, 10 per cent; amount determined for authorisation, say, £BOO,OOO • Wellington’s quota on 10 per cent, basis. £80,000; cash appropriation for linancial year. 00 per cent, of total vote, £000,00!); Wellington's limit of actual expenditure for financial year—lo per cent, of total cash appropriation £OO,OOO. Unexpended balance of authorities at Alarrn 3151.. available for expenditure until fresh appropriation provided in ensuing session of Parliament, £20.000.

(it) —For the present, and each ensuing year, the expenditure since April Ist., and unexpended balance of authorities held in each district after the appropriations are passed, will he set against the amount determined for authorisation before uotilying the district oi the further amount that will be authorised. EACH DISTRICT GETS PROPER SHARE. Thus each district is assured for the year of its correct proportion of expenditure. The only reason which will prevent a district receiving its proper share will lie its own failure to submit its proposals for expenditure, and carry out the work in good time. It wiR ho observed from the foregoing that each district’s authorisations will hear exactly the same relation to the total amount determined for authorisation as its total vote for the Dominion : and that its limit of actual expenditure within the financial year will bear exactly the same relation to cash appropriation as its voles bear to total of actual amount voted.