PLAINS INSPECTOR.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5459, 9 August 1929, Page 3

PLAINS INSPECTOR.

RESIGNATION DEFERRED. POSITION AND DUTIES. At yesterday’s meeting of the Hauraki Plains County CouncT the inspector, Mr W. White, tendereJ his resignation, to take effect from August 31. This was considered in connection with a report presented by the clerk, acting on instructions, which was as follows :—

“The inspector’s duties are as follows : Control of traffic and restriction of speeds ; collection of dog tax; inspection under the Noxious Weeds Act, 1908 ; collection of heavy traffic fees; collection of plying for hire licenses ; collection of billiard saloon licenses and hawkers’ licenses • inspection of buildings and issue of building permits; supervision of county pounds and rangers and poundkeepers ; supervision of ferries and collection of ferry fees weekly; record his daily proceedings and furnish the clerk with a copy of same monthly ; and any. other duties that may be demanded of him from time to time. Taking the above duties in turn, I shall briefly state the progress made by the present inspector since his appointment.

“Traffic Control.—Before ratification of the amended by-law restricting speed limits the inspector prosecuted several offenders under the regulations under the Motor Vehicles Act. This process was not successful in the absence of any by-law. The bylaw has recently been ratified by the Minister of Transport, and in the event of any future prosecution a magistrate would fine for breach of by-law.

“Dog Tax.—Almost the whole of the dog tax collectable was collected and handed in by the inspector prior to March 31 last. In past years this has dragged on through the whole year and a good deal has been missed. This branch goes a long way towards paying the inspector’s salary. “There is no result in £. s. d. visible in the inspector’s efforts towards obtaining the eradication of noxious weeds, and one has to be in constant touch' with the inspector to realise what a tremendous amount of work he has put in in this respect. In every part of the county beenficial results have been obtained, and this is a branch which for the future good of the district requires constant supervision.

“Heavy Traffic Fees.—There is not at the present time an unlicensed motor lorry in the county. A schedule further on in my report will show the increase in collection. Fees are now payable quarterly instead of annually, as before, and the absence of any inspector will most certainly mean a gradual loss of revenue to the council until its collections will fall from in the vicinity of £3OO this year to what they were in 1926, namely, nil. “Plying for Hire Licenses.- —As far as can be ascertained, these are all to hand. There are one or two suspected cases of persons plying for hire without a license, and these the inspector is investigating at the present time, with a view to prosecution. Here, again, it would be almost an impossibility to collect these fees, which amount to approaching £l4O, without the services of an inspector. “BilJir.id saloon licenses were all collected for the first time when due, (i.p.. April). Hawkers’ fees are collected when itinerant traders visit the county. No fees were collected prior to Mr White’s appointment.

“Building Permits.—This branch has been closely supervised by the inspector 4 a»id reported on monthly. F’om a point of view of public health this supervision is a vital necessity, although not revenue-producing. It is only within the last week or two that a cowshed was erected immediately adjoining a public thoroughfare during the inspector’s absence on leave.

“A ranger has been appointed for the county hut it is necessary to have a connecting link between the office, wher" complaints of stock straying are received, and the ranger. The in* spector acts in this capacity, and also takes action at law where necessary. “Ferry Fees. —It is necessary at law to collect all ferry tolls at not longer than weekly periods. A re sponsible person must be employed for this work, otherwise tbc accounts would soon be muddled. The inspector has this to do each Friday and after reconciling cash with tickets sold, hands the cash collected to the treasurer. It is also necessary, in view of past events, that a careful supervision should be kept over ferries and ferrymen. During rush periods, such as holidays and race days, it is essential that an inspector should attend at the Pipiroa ferry and control the ferry traffic. Sir.ce the institution of this control the volume of traffic has been handled without undue delay, with a corresponding satisfaction to the public at such times and increase in ferry revenue. “The inspector’s diary of his movements is at the disposal of the council at any time. “ I append hereto a schedule showing the licenses and fees with which the inspector deals and the amounts collected from 1925 io March 31,1929. Licenses and Fees.—Heavy traffic : (1925-26) £l4 12s, (1926-7) £l4O Is 6d, (1927-8) £179 18s Bd, (1928-9) £257 3s 7d; motor drivers, £B6 10s, £llB, £l5O 13s 6d, and £147 6s; plying for hire, £3O ss, £4O 10s 2d, £6O 10s, and £126 0s lOd; dog registration, £1 2s 6d, £B7 2s 6d, £lOB 12s, and £lB4 10s ; billiard room, £l5, £l5, £l7 10s, and £26 ; hawkers, —, —, —, £lO (1928-9) ; fees and fines, —, £4 10s, £l9, £lO 9s lid. Totals: £147 (1925-6), £405 4s 2d (1926-7), £536 4s 2d (19278), and £755 10s 4d (1928-9).

“It will be seen that a considerable amount of revenue is dependent on. the existence of an inspector within this c<unty. In. addition, there is an immense non-apparent benefit in money through restriction of speeding and suppression of noxious weeds; also a considerable abatement of nuisances of various kinds, or, putting the

last-named in other words, the council’s bylaw is being enforced. The present inspector, speaking from, the council’s administrative side, has given entire satisfaction, and in my opinion has been a source of gain to the council. He possesses in a marked degree that rare quality, tact, ami his various enforcements of by-laws and collections of fees have been carried out without any unpleasantness or discord.

“It will be seen on consulting the schedule of collections that on the appointment of an inspector untrammelled by other duties there was an immediate increase of £219 6s 2d over the preceding year’s revenue, although the inspector did not commence duty until July, 1928. This is a substantial set-off against the inspector's salary and allowance, which costs the council £314 per annum. Had there been no inspector in 1928-G I venture to say that not only would there have been no increase in collections, but those for that year would have dwindled considerably from the amount collected in the previous year, and the council would have been the loser in revenue far beyond what it pays its inspector. I respectfully wish to point out to the council that . the geographical position of this county subjects it to an* amount of motor traffic far beyond an average proportion to its area or road mileage, and the fact that the shopping centres being outside the county necessitates a good deal of taxi, traffic. The good flat roads are an incentive to speeding, and all East Coast, Thames, and part of the Waikato motor traffic to Auckland passes through this cow ty. It is well known in Thames and Paeroa that an inspector is employed here, and in consequence offences as regards speeding are much less frequent. Regarding collection of taxi and heavy traffic fees, it is almost an impossibility to collect these unless there is a n-ar constantly on rhe' lookout for them. Dag tax, which the law demands should be collected annually, would yield the council practically nil, as in 1925-6, instead of £lB4 10s as in last year. In conclusion, I am of the opinion that it is absolutely necessary and. in the council’s ratepayers’ interests that an inspector should be in stead}’ employment in this county.” Cr. Madgwick said that at a previous meeting he had raised the question of the wisdom of the council changing its policy in separating the offices of overseer and that of inspector. He had nothing whatever against Mr White, but had always contended that one man could act as overs<-cr and inspector. There w*as nothing personal in the matter, and if that had been the cause of Mi’ White’s resignation he would ask him to reconsider the matter. i

Cr. Reid mentioned that the Ohinemuri County would be approaching neighbouring councils with a proposal to appoint a traffic inspector conjointly. Members expressed the opinion that this would not work satisfactorily, and, anyhow, councils would require an inspector for other duties. The question of what other duties could be deleted was then briefly discussed. Cr. McDaff agreed with Cr. Madgwick’s Suggestion that the dog tax was unjustified, and it was silly to enforce it in such a district as Hauraki Plains, where dairy farmers required, a cattle-dog just as much as a carpenter required a hammer. Crs. Harris and Motion were of the opinion that the tax was a necessary one to keep down the number of stray dogs and to identify them. In reply to a question the clerk said that the cost of collection of dog tax Was about £4O a year.

Cr. McDoff mentioned that in some counties the tax was not being collected.

Cr. Reid expressed his regret that Mr White had thought fit to resign. He had proved a very competent officer.

It was decided to ask Mr White to defer his resignation for a month. Mr White agreed to date his resignation from September 1.