RATEPAYERS’ QUESTIONS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4367, 18 January 1922, Page 1

RATEPAYERS’ QUESTIONS

COUNTY CLERK REPLIES. THE COUNCIL’S ACCOUNTS. ! An aftermath of last Saturday’s indignation meeting was-a statement made by Mr E. Walton (County Clerk) to a series of questons given tp him at the conclusion of Saturday’s meeting. less than a dozen ratepayers assembling in the Ngatea Hall on Monday to hear the statement. Mr J. C. Miller (county chairman) was present. Mr T. Wheeler was elected to the chair. Mr E. Walton (county clerk) said he received no list of objections, but he obtained, from Mr Johnstone a list of questions. The first was regarding the price of the Hikutaia quarry. That was £2750. The list of machinery and plant bought was as follows: Five horses, five drays and .harness, a grader 1 , two ploughs, four punts, a Ford motor-car, a cottage at Waihi, and the engineer’s office. Two motor trucks had be’en obtained on hire purchase agreement, and a road roller and scarifier and a tractor had been bought. The third question was what money had been spent on road work ? ing figures from March 31, 1921, for 10 months the items were: Riding account, Turua, £405 18s, fWaitakaruru £ll4 4s, Netherton £346 10s 7d, Patetonga £203 2s, Tahuna £162 2s Id. Of the loan monies spent were Netherton £5Bl 13s Bd, and Tahuna £lBl Ils 6d., The fourth question was, what land had been bought ? The only piece bought was about 42 acres, comprising the Hikutaia quarry site. The

Council had been negotiating with the Lands Department tp obtain sites, one in each riding (except Netherton). for the purpose of erecting surfacemen’s cottages. There was also an understanding with Mr Quarrie that, a piece of his land could be bought at Ngatea, but there was no contract whereby he was to sell or the‘Council ’to purchase. The amount of benzine bought was not taken from the balanceisheet!, as the greater part of it was for trucks carting metai from Hikutaia quarry since the last balance-sheet was compiled. The amount spent on the trucks was £l2l, and on the engineer’s car. £39. There were some accounts on some road loan, but, he had not time to search out. The sum of £2947 5s 2d was spent for machinery and plant, including a deposit paid pn Hikutaia quarry.

Mr Jphnstone wanted te know what money they owed. Mr Walton: Why did you not ask that on Saturday ? Mr Johnstone : I meant to.

Mr Walton: As to the whole lot, I cannot make a definite statement without going through the books. To March 31, £1230 had been spent out of the County fund aedbunt, and approximately £7OO from loan accounts.

Mr Johnstone : I want to know how much money it would take to square up the accounts of the County and make a fresh start. Mr Walton : Some of the machinery has been bought and paid for and some has been bought and partly paid for. About £2OOO is owing on the quarry, £2200 on trucks, and £2600 on the roller and scarifier. Mr Johnstone : Then it would take about £lO,OOO to square everything up.

Mr Walton: Those are the items and amounts, and you can add as much as you like to them. Mr Johnstone: I don’t think anybody understands me. I dont’s think Mr Walton understands me.

Mr Walton repeated the figures he had just given', totalling £6BOO. The car, horses, harness, drays', ploughs and cottage at Waihi had b'een paid for. The tractor (except about £5O) had also been paid ’ for. Mr Johnstone: What is the bank overdraft ?

Mr Walton: The bank overdraft, as I stated on Saturday, is £7013 10s lid. The £7OOO overdraft was partly ac-> counted for as the Council had to pay the Hospital rate before it could collect it, and the special rates were paid from the bank overdraft. The hospital rate, £3300, had been already paid.

Mr Miller said that several ratepayers had asked why they were called on to pay so much hospital rate. He pointed out that the County had no say in that at all, as an amount was levied by the hospital board, and the county was in that district A sum was levied on the County and the clerk had to make out a rate for the county. He thought the hospital rate was a little lighter than’last year, but was higher last year than the year before. Mr Johnstone: You put a bit mors on to it than what we (the hospital board) ask for. Mr Walton : Last year the hospital rate levy was £3300 and this year £2500. Mr McKercher moved “That this meeting thanks the representatives of the Council for attending and giving the information.” Mr Dudding seconded, and the motion was carried unanimously. PLEA FOR THE LOAN. Mr Miller thanked the meeting for the resolution. It was their duty to give all information available to set-, tiers. Regarding the machinery loan, the Council had taken into consideration the high prices of goods and reduced everything to a minimuiri. The Council would not call for more than £lO,OOO for at least a year. The -(Cotjtinucd in next Column.)

Continued from previous Column, councillors were ratepr 1 , er? like themselves. There was no other way of putting the roads in order, unless they had a certain amount of plant. The Council had to first find the metal and then get itj from the quarry, and it may be a hard quarry to work. Then there must be appliances to crush it and transport it to the roads. The Council was proposing to have hoppers from which the vehicles could easily b,e filled. They did not want any slow or obstructing methods of obtaining and transports ing the metal. It was a big matter, as the metal had to be handled so often, and that was expensive. He hoped they would think out the matter for themselves, and if they' had anything better the Council w.ouji be only too pleased to adopt it. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to the chairman.