BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 512, 26 October 1912, Page 5

BOROUGH LOAN PROPOSALS.

RATEPAYERS' MEETING. MAYOR REFUSES AMENDMENTS. RESIGNS THE CHAIR. The public meating in connection with the proposal of the Te Kuiti Borough Council to borrow £21,000 for improvements to the town was held in the Town Hall on Thursday evening. His Worship the Mayor (Mr E. H. Hardy) presided and the majority of the Councillors were also on the platform. The meeting was a thoroughly representative one, and the keenest interest was manifested in the proceedings throughout. The Mayor in opening proceedings referred to the phenomenal growth of Te Kuiti and the consequent necessity for carrying out works to provide necessary facilities. Loans had ""•-i already been raised in the borough to the extent of about £38,000. Of the special loan of £27,275 which had been borrowed by the first council,

there was still an amount of about £2OOO available. The first loan had been expended under the regime of Mr Spencer. Whether it ha'd been spent wisely or not the council had done is best for the ratepayers. The present proposal was to raise £21,000, spread over three years. The council had duemed it wise to await the report of the new engineer as to the necessary works, and this had nuw been published. It remained for the meeting to give its views on the subject and he invited any of those present to speak on the proposals. Mr H. A. Ellison requested to know if the North-eastern portion of the borough was required to contribute to the loan seeing that no provision was made for any expenditure in that quarter. The Mayor explained that the idea was to complete the necessary work in the business portion of the town. There was still an unexpended balance of £SOO from th 6 old loan to be devoted to the locality referred to by Mr Ellison. Cr Somerville said there was still certain sums to be expended on the Mangaorino road, Rata street and Tawa street. Referring to the proposed loan the speaker said the council had considered the various f aspects of the question, including the stringency of the money market. The Joan had to be raised at a rate not to exceed 6 per cent., including sinking fund, and if this was done it would be a good thing. Concerning the proposed bridge at Sheridan street, the speaker expressed the opinion that it was a mistake.—Ap-plause.—-The report had been rather hurriedly adopted by the council and he, for one, had thought the matter could be adjusted at the present meeting. As a reasonable way out of the difficulty, Without upsetting the loan, he suggested a footbridge at a small cost, and the addition of the remaining amounts to other necessary items. "I am right up against the bridge proposal." Applause. Regarding the old council, he would like to say that the estimates prepared by the late engineer had been cut down somewhat by the council. If those amounts had not been cut down, and the crusher paid out of loan money, the whole original scheme could have been carried out. In addition certain resolutions passed by the new council when it was elected, had resulted in work being held up. Regarding the breastwork, of which much had been said, he did not think Mr Spencer had a fair deal over the matter. It was well known to the council that a deviation of the stream was the only permanent way to deal with the trouble, but that was going to cost too much and a temporary work was > desired. The work was approved by ; the council and carried out according-

ly. Mr W. Franklin said, as a large sum had already been expended, he thought the particulars of the expenditure should be given to the meeting. The Mayor said the figures had already been published and quoted "> from the schedule. Continuing, his Worship said regarding the Sheridan street bridge, Cr Somerville did not see as far ahead as some people, I he bridge might not be required to-day, but in three years' time it would certainly be necessary. Mr Trinnear wished to know if the Mayor was prepared to receive an amendment to the proposal. His Worship said he was not; the proposal could either be affirmed by the meeting or referred back to the council for further consideration. The way to object to the scheme was through the ballot-box. Mr Trinnear said that such a procedure indicated bad management. If the Mayor was corrent in his ruling, where was the use of holding the meeting. Many people objected to the bridge but agreed with the loan in general In order to defeat the bridge proposal they would have to vote against the loan proposal altogether. He supported Gr Somervilie's suggestion with respect to deleting the brTdge proposal. The speaker referred to the smallness of the votes on some of the streets, and considered the Government should provide a subsidy for the river deviation at the bottom of the Awakino road, as the railway was endangered by the present state of things He wished to move a motion o the effect that the meeting while annroving of the raising of a loan of S P IToO emphatically protested fgainst providing £I2OO for Sheridan •"m? d !!" Turner seconded the motion, and said he trusted the.council would not jeopardise the loan t>, retaining the bridge proposal. Cr Julian: Are vou a ratepayer? - Mr Turner: I am; 1 own a couple „f sections in the borough and if 1 Is a member of the council I would not endeavour to expend the rateOvers' money so as to enhance the P 1,7* of those particular sections. rSSnuing the speaker referred to JStaSS rf the council in not apply£l for a reduction of insurance pre-

Rjiuma now they had an up-to-date water supply and fire brigade. In this and other ways the council could benefit the business people greatly and help to pay interest on the loans. Cr Julian said he had not intended

to speak, but as he saw some people who were responsible for th« proposal, squirming round, he thought he should tell the people how matters stood.

Cr Lusk: You don't know. You were not at the meeting. Cr Julian: I was present when the minutes were read, and councillors had evidently been got at by the ratepayers, and were squirming round. It was useless to say the proposal could be altered. To re-advertise the thing was the only way. The meeting should express its opinion and make the council do what- was wanted, The Mayor said he could not take the motion. The council had placed the matter in the hands of the engineer and adopted the proposal. The council was in the position of a Government with a policy speech. If the people did not accept it, he. for one, was prepared to go out of office. Cr Somerville, in explanation of Cr Julian's charge that the councillors had been persuaded by ratepayers, gave that statement an emphatic denial. He had spoken to Crs Tammadge and Walsh on the matter as they were leaving the room, and subsequently had been assured by the Mayor that they could amend th 9 matter at the meeting. He had suggested a resolution on the subject.

The Mayor read the motion proposed by Cr Somerville in connection with the proposal to take a poll for the loan, which said nothing about deleting the bridge. They could not blow hot and cold and it was going to be hot as far as he (the Mayor) was concerned, otherwise they were not fit to be in charge of the affairs of the borough. A Voice: Nobody said you were.

C»" Tammadge supported Cr Somerv'ille'd statement in respect to the bridge proposal. Ci Walsh said it was a great pity the councillors had not agreed upon a definite policy before coming to the meeting. He did not think it wise to come and play to the gallery. He corroborated Cr Somerville's statement and advocated the carrying of the' loan. Unless the work already in hand was completed much of the money already spent would be wasted. He was entirely in favour of the loan with the exception of the bridge. As to squirming round he had no axe to grind and had no object in advocating anything except in the interests of the town.

Cr Floyd, in referring to Cr Julian's remarks concerning councillors having been "got at" by ratepayers, and not having acted as men in the true sense, said such an insinuation was ridiculous. Surely the ratepayers had every right to approach the councillors if they thought fit. He admitted freely the Sheridan street bridge had escaped his notice. When he saw the mistake he asked the Mayor if it could not be altered. The Mayer said "No; the people are th° high tribua'." The speaker therefore inferred the matter could be adjusted at the meeting. Regarding the loan, he strongly supported it apart from the bridge proposals, and advocated an early start with the work in order to take advantage of the summer. Mr C. Boles enquired as to extent of footpath intended for Awakino road, and was answered by the Mayor according to the schedule. Mr J. Boddie requested the Mayor to furnish them with particulars concerning the financial aspect of the proposal. He said he was in no way hostile to ■ the council, but was present as a ratepayer to share with others the efforts to do what was best for the town. He pointed out that £SOO for Carroll street appeared to be a large expenditure on a street which paid no rates and was held by the Government.. The town clerk, at the request of the Mayor, furnished figures in connection with the liabilities of the borough as follows: Total loans £38,365, necessitating a rate of 3d in the £on the capital value. The proposed loan of £21,000 would mean an additional rate of about one penny in the £.

Mr Boddie drew attention to the fact that on the figures supplied the ratepayers were called upon to provide in special rates over £4OOO per annum, and in ordinary rate 3 about £2OOO making a yearly total of about £6OOO. In view of the position the speaker ad"ocated caution in incurring further liability. He considered the borough should go slow and only borrow what was neessary for urgent works. He had grave doubts about the council's ability to float the loan under the conditions proposed. It. was intended to arrange the loan in one sum and only raise £7OOO each year, while the maximum amount of interest and sinking fund was fixed at 6 per cent. The Mayor said they anticipated no difficulty. When they raised the lighting loan they had been able to do so without trouble. Mr Boddie -said the Mayor hardly grasped his point, which was chiefly the difficulty of raising the loan in three instalments, with a fixed limit for interest and sinking fund. They would have to go to the open market and pledge the whole of the security for the first instalment. In view of the conditions it was extremely unlikely the money could be raised. In respect to the Sheridan street bridge he felt convinced the ratepayers of the borough were not going to allow this or any other council to spend £I2OO on this or any other unnecessary work. Concerning what had been stated with regard to little being shown for the work carried out bv the late engineer, Mr Boddie said such statements were unfair. The majority of the work was underground; and the people had a water supply and a drainage service. A great deal of good work had been done, and under the circumstances very few mistakes had been made. In conclusion, the speaker advocated small loans as they were required to

; carry out the necessary works. He 3 asked the Mayor to accept the follow- - ing motion: —"That this meeting reI spectfully requests the Borough Council to reconsider the proposal with a view to raising only such sum as s is necessary to do the urgent works, ■ and which, in the opinion of the en- ; gineer, can be profitably undertaken during this season." Cr Lusk seconded Mr Boddie'a : proposal. Speaking in reference to the work done by the old council and old engineer, Cr Lusk said he had an intimate knowledge of all that had been done since the creation of the borough. He contended the work done was good, and there was very little waste. He admitted the breastwork had not been entirely a success, but it had never been regarded as other than a temporary work. In any case much of the damage had b9en caused by the Railway Department running their water through. A great deal too much had been made of any small mistakes which might have been made. As to the proposed loan he was in the peculiar position of being the only councillor who really objected to the big loan. His proposition was to borrow £7OOO with the intention of borrowing a similar amount yearly for two years. He considered it wise in the present state of the money market to confine their operations to urgent works. Mr Mostyn Jones said it was apparent a certain amount of dissatisfaction existed. As far as he could determine by reading the Act the meeting could merely direct the council to take a poll. He did not think the council could be prevented from doing so, but took it that they would be guided by the feeling of the meeting. He agreed generally with the loan. As a property owner in Sheridan street he was prepared to say the bridge was not required at present it should wait. The borough was in the position of having to go ahead or retrogress and he favoured borrowing the amount proposed. Concerning the money market, many financiers were of opinion the rate of interest would continue to rule high for a long time. There was a good deal of money in the country for investment, and he favoured getting it while the opportunity lasted. Mr Mabbett asked if it was intended to have all the works specified put in hand at once. The Mayor: The intention was to borrow twenty-one thousand pounds and levy a penny rate to cover it. As to Mr Boddie's remarks he was throwing dust in their eyes. The distance between Sheridan street and King street bridge was eleven chains, and not four and a half as had been stated. Mr J. B. Young asked if the Mayor ; was prepared to accept Mr Trinnear's motion or Mr Boddie's motion. The Mayor: No. The only motion he could accept was that the whole proposal be referred back to the council for further consideration. Mr Young proceeded to criticise : various points of the scheme and advocated a bridge at ths end of < the town. He considered the ratepayers' meeting should be a deciding factor. The Mayor said he had seen no argument to induce him to change his : opinion. The proposals regarding the grass lots in the widest streets would affect a considerable saving in expense. A similar motion to that pro- ' posed by Mr Boddie had already been discussed by the council and . rejected. They were not going_xt6 stultify themselves by accepting''it now. 1 Mr Trinnear said ,fcrfat in view of the Mayor's ruling he would move < that the whole matter be referred back to the council for reconsidera- i tion with the recommendation that < the Sheridan street bridge be struck out.

Mr F. Langston seconded the

motion. The Mayor asked the mover to delete the recommendation from the motion, otherwise he would refuse to accept it. Mr Boddie at this point mounted the platform and addressed the meeting. He said in all his experience he had never felt in such an unpleasant position. He had never seen a" A body of reputable ratepayers so insulted. It was the duty of the council to endeavour to give the people what they wanted. If the Mayor refused to accept any of the resolutions proposed he would move a resolution asking him to leave the chair. The Mayor said he would not accept anything illogical. He would leave the chair. Major Lusk, as senior councillor, was votad to the chair and took his seat.

The resolution proposed byM r Trinnear waß then put to the meeting and

carried. Mr Boddie again proposed his motion, which was seconded by Cr Tammadge. Mr Trinnear proposed as an amendment that the full amount of the loan be raised with the Sheridan street bridge deleted from the proposal. Mr Mostyn Jones seconded the amendment, which was put to the meeting and lost. The motion was then put and carried and the meeting terminated.

THE MAYOR INTERVIEWED. | AFTER-MEETING ILLEGAL. Interviewed by a Chronicle representative after the meeting Mr Hardy said there was no necessity for the fireworks display by some of those present, nor was there any danger of the council attempting to force anything upon the people which they did not want. Had his suggestion been adopted, and the proposal been referred back to the council for reconsideration, the matter would have been settled. Evidently some of those present were determined to teach the council how to eonduct its business. If the council could not carry out its business without interference of that sort it should not be in existence. His action throughout as chairman had been logical and consistent and he failed to see how he could have acted

otherwise. The meeting after he had left the chair was quite illegal, and anything that had transpired thereat was ultra vires. In reply to a query as to what course he intended to adopt, Mr Hurdy said he had called a special meeting of the council for to-night, and the matter would be considered. The council only desired to give effect to the wishes of the ratepayers, but was not going to be dictated to by individuals as to the manner of its procedure.