INSTALLATION OF MAYOR.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4562, 11 May 1923, Page 3

INSTALLATION OF MAYOR.

- CEREMONY AT PAEROA. k FUTURE POLICY INTIMATED. i ■' prior to the commencement of the ■ ordinary business of the Borough Council last evening the Mayor-elect (Mr W. Marshall) was duly installed ds Mayor of the Borough of Paeroa for the ensuing term. The retiring Mayor (Mr EBrenan), in a few well-chosen remarks, said that as far as his term of the Mayoral office was concerned he had “come to the end of the lane.” In the chair he did so with '■ pain and with pleasure. He was very r proud to say that during, his term as Mayor he thought the Council had achieved a fair measure of success and progress. He took no credit whatever to himself. Credit was due >.O the councillors, both past and present, s' for their loyal help and hearty co--operation during the past four years, s s He was thankful to be in a position to hand over to his successor a veiy BK.sound financial condition of borough affairs. The speaker said he had directed a great deal of energy in reducing the debit balance, which font years ago stood at £4OOO, to a credit r balat.ce at present of nearly £4OO. ' Throughout his term of office the Council, like many other local bodies, -had been seriously hampered in its Operations by the financial stringency that had existed. No doubt he had .. very often incurred the. severe disi pleasure of many ratepayers for the \ seemingly lack of progress, but he was most grateful for their forbearance. ' , Tn vacating the chair Cr. Brenan 5 said if caused him pain when he look--ed over the hard struggle the Council -had gone through and the maty difficulties it had been called upon to face. He could look with real plea- . sure, however, on the various works successfully undertaken in the borough and the co-operative help ac- ■' corded him on every occasion. The speaker referred briefly to the different undertakings in the borough, and • of the. progress made. He said that ~ it haff always been the policy of 4 the - Council to proceed with caution, and » he felt that no departure should be made from that policy. Cr. Brenan then called on the Mayor-elect to make the statutory declaration. After this was done he was welcomed into the Mayoral chair by the ex-Mayor, who said he wished His Worship a very successful terra of office; and extended the same sentiments to the Mayoress. The speaker assured His Worship of the council's-.. lors’ whole-hearted support, and extended to him the hearty congratulations of the members. He said he had no doubt that the members of ' the Council and the burgesses of Paeroa haff made a very wise choice in selecting Cr. Marshall for the dignity and high office of Mayor. The ex- • Mayor concluded by thanking the ■ members for .the help and loyalty ac- " corded Mrs Brenan and himself, and asked for the same to be extended to his successes, and Mrs Marshall. Having taken his .seat,’ the Mayor called on the Town Clerk to administer the declaration required of each councillor. These were made and duly signed, "and the ex-Mayor took his seat at the council table, t Hjs Worship then addressed the W*Council. He said he wished to ex- - press his appreciation of the honour coriferred upon him by the councillors and burgesses of the Paeroa borough. The special preferment and mark jf esteem was highly valued by Mrs Marshall and. himself, especially when they remembered that they had only been, resident in Paeroa fon a ' little over six years. In his own mind - he felt convinced that the distinction conferred on him was not an indication that he was considered to have more than average ability, but was in recognition of the fact that during the time Paeroa had. been his home he had done his utmost to be of constant service in the interests of the public. He had -not accepted the office for the purpose of personal but to try and assist-i the town along the path of progress. - Viewing the responsibilities ’of his new position, the many needs and ? problems of the town, he confessed • to a real sense of his limitations, ani could only say that he would regard his office as an important trust dek.. manding his best service.' He would try to work without fear or favour for the benefit of Paeroa, the prosperity of which would continue when he had givep place to others and the ; early days of the history of Paeroa - had become a thing of the, distant past. His Worship: said that past experience as a< councillor bad taught him that the position of Mayor/was not a one man’s job; Without a capable and loyal body of councillors no Mayor could be a success. He was gratified to think . how the ex-Mayor had been loyally and- ably supported. He had every confidence that so long as he tried to do what was right they i : would be loyal to’ him.’ He already - knew the ' capabilities of his colleagues from past experience. He regarded the fact there had .been no election this year as an indication . that there was nothing radically .-.wrong with the past four years’ adH ministration or policy of the Counici. He thought the policy of the Council should again be progress with caution .and economy. "He thought the Council should not launch put with a greater expenditure than the people could bear the burden of in rates’. The ' burden of improvements would be felt this year in the collection of a 2d sewerage loan rate. Other rates had been redu'ced by %d, yet there was a very considerable increase of 1 3 /d in > the total rates. ' . • The Mayor contended that the town was 1 too spread out in both business and residential areas. There was a . mile of streets and over a mile ">f footpaths for every 100 inhabitants. Those long lengths of streets entailed heavy maintenance by the number of ..street- lights, long lengths of sewetr> L and open drains, and lengthy and ins' adequate water mains. Those features, combined with the : hi gh ferti 1ity of the soil, which caused rapid and strong growth of vegetation in drains and streets, made the admin-

istration of the borough exceedingly difficult. The value of residential areas was low, and the rates were correspondingly light. The burden of the higher value on the business portion of the town threatened to be severe unless steady progress and increased population and town trade took place. Such conditions made it very necessary for. the Council to proceed cautiously. Improvements could only be effected gradually,, or held over until the progress of the town would bring them within reach. The sewerage works were proceeding as fast as money could be raised at 4% per cent. Regarding the street improvements, the Mayor said thejje t were many streets that could not be permanently improved until the sewerage had been completed. It was impossible at present to fill hi all the open. drains. He was not in favour of hastening the expenditure of street loan money at present. He freely admitted that the streets and footpaths, .were in a deplorable condition, and that some measure of improvement, was necessary to assist the progress they were desirous of. He thought it would be wise to secure a portion of the authorised street loan money if it could be obtained on suitable terms. In general administration the Council would have to do its utmost to keep to a minimum all overhead expenses . and economise in every way possible. There were many worthy calls pn the sympathy of the Council and the Borough funds, but every pound spent on administration or grants reduced the amount available for maintenance of streets, footpaths, bridges, and drains. He considered that these items should be the Council’s first care, arid he hoped it would be possible to effecsome slight, improvements to these during the year. s -The traffic bridge was in need of urgent repairs, continued the Mayor, and there was the erection of a publie convenience, and also the erection of a new fire station, which was compulsory or the insurance rates would be raised out of all proportion, to be seen to. ’lt was also necessary to provide a workshop and shed for yie borough foreman.. These items lepiesented some of the inroads that, woind be made on. the revenue. Certainly some of the items would be non-re-curring. He felt quite sure that the public had no conception of the difficulties to be met with and the very limited money that was available. He would see that the ratepayers received 20s in the £ for all money spent. He appealed fon the loyal , help and co-operation of the borough staff. There were several matters that claimed the Council’s attention, chief among which was the outstanding rates : (£200) and water charges (£400), said the Mayor. Steps would have to be taken to- collect these as early as possible. ’ The work of making by-laws had been sufficiently advanced tp enable tenders to 'be called for. printing them. This had been a step in the right direction. The Mayor sd,id he was particularly anxious to see a War Memorial erec,ed in Paeroa at an early date. He considered it was a serious r.eproaich to the borough that so little had been done in this matter. Concerning the Paeroa-Pokeno railway the Mayon said he would do a,ll he could to push construction along, and also the building of a new post office in Paeroa. His Worship congratulated his old colleagues oh their re-election and extended a hearty greeting to Cr. Shand, who, he trusted, would find the work congenial.- In conclusion, said the Mayor he wished, on behalf of diis wife and himself, to thank the Council for their hearty good wishes, as expressed by the ex-Mayor. They were both lookng forward to a pleasant term of office. i DEPUTY-MAYOR.' ’ His Worship said that it had been the usual procedure in electing a Deputy-Mayor to; select the councillor who had polled the largest number of votes at the election. He contended that it was not, always advis-" able to follow this practice.- As there had been no election this year he thought the council could not do better "than to re-elect Cr. E. Edwards to the position of Deputy-Mayor. Cr. Edwards had filled the. position very capably in the past, and his sound judgment and loyal co-operation could at all times be relied upon. Cr. Flatt said it gave him great pleasure in. seconding the Mayor’s proposition. He agreed that Cr. Edwards had rendered valuable service , during his past term'in t,he position, and there was no doubt that he had a sound grip of the administration of the borough’s affairs and would be a sturdy henchman for the Mayor. There being no - other nominations Cr. Edwards was duly elected DeputyMayor for the ensuing term. Cr. Edwards, in reply, thanked the Council for t,he honour again conferred on him. He assured the meeting that he would do all he could to conserve the' interests of the ratepayers and assist the progress of Paeroa. He look the opportunity of congratulating the Mayor on his election to the Mayoral chair, and trusted that he and the Mayoress would enjoy a happy and'useful term of office.