MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE

Hokitika Guardian, 11 March 1930, Page 8

MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE

J XV'Kite Ait GILL, March 6. /At the Municipal Conference, the report of the r a liners to n North commit.ee on the Urban I’arm Lands Hating .nil was considered. On tlic motim if .Mr ..kog.und, it was added Lluit the Hill he not approved A draft of the proposed Muniein.i Vuthoritu-s Amendment Bill was con ■;idered.

.ur C. A. Troup( Wellington) sai ■;! nt Sir Joseph Ward had agreed t. nake the Bill* a private measure, lm !, ( . Minister o-f Internal Aliairs 1 • aid that it might or might not h mule a Government measure. 1)■ \.\ has been held up during last ■ lion of Parliament, and as a esmt, ■ •••ns before the conference for l.rUr uisideration or amendments, dlmr ,vas no compulsion about the *nsni

no. \luiueipulities could join or ifi inn n out as they pleased. 'i’iie conference decided to suppoi the Hill. Mir Troup (Wellington) moved ••'pi,;,t it be an instruction from tin •onfereii'e to the executive that it p'-e ...re a report for submission to tb • ie>:t conference on the question o deal lu-dies pooling their sinking I nod •nder the control of a hoard of sink big fund commissioners, with a viev i n Hiding sirli sinking funds to 10-n bodies.” 1-Jo su'd that the sink*m '"•Mids at the present t : me amounted t' e.i 000,00 b. and, in a few years’ time they would be much greater. If then sinking funds were controlled by om body instead of oO tliev would be abb to get very much higher rates of in *erest. The borrowing position of tin local bodies was in a very sound wav. and some of the largest munioipalitie. l could get terms as good as or bettei than the Government. England was considering a similar scheme. The motion was carried. It was decided to hold the next conference at Rotorua. The election of officers resulted: President: Mr T. Jackson (Rotorua): vice presidents, the Mayors of Auckland. Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Invercargill; executive committee, the Mayors of Fielding. Masterton, Wanganui and Hamilton, Councillors M. M. F. Luc-kie (Wellington) M E. Lyons (Christchurch!, the chairman of the Ellerslie Town Board and the chairman of the Auckland Transport Board.