WAIMATE ROAD ADMINISTRATION.

Opunake Times, Volume II, Issue 72, 12 March 1895, Page 2

WAIMATE ROAD ADMINISTRATION.

We notice that (lie Hawera County Council, at its last meeting, quashed the petition for merging, and agreed to take steps to declare all roads in Waimate district roads. So far this is satisfactory to Waimate to be conceded the right to manage its own affairs. If all the roads are declared district roads it will do away with the dual control which has proved so irksome to the Waimate ratepayers in the past, but the question which mainly concerns them is to also do away with the dual cost of management. No mention is made of this in the report of the discussion which we reprint from ths Star in another column. When all the roads are declared district roads there will virtually bo no necessity to strike a county rate, as the county will not have any roads in the district to waintain, unless as far as the township of Manaia is concerned, and we do not know whether tire county has power to declare the main road running through the township a town road or not. If it has, then it would he for ths township to consider it

•would be desirable to take over the responsibility without having the revenue accruing from the county rate to maintain it. It was suggested some years back that in the event of a county of Waimate being formed that the town district should be abolished and merged into the county, and this idea might still be given effect to by merging it into the Road District, when this difficulty of retaining a county road in the district would be got over. Before declaring them district roads a conference of members should be held, and a decision arrived at with regard to the county rate, which, in such circumstances, should not be struck. If, however, the proposed change be proceeded with without such an understanding or agreement, then there would be nothing to prevent the Council still striking the county rate over Waimate, although they had no roads to spend it on. The next matter for the consideration of the conference would be what share of county management cost would the district have to bear, and how would it be assessed ? If no rate or only a rate sufficient for charitable aid purposes were struck, we have no doubt this would be a very acceptable basis to make an assessment ou, but if they are still called on to contribute on a valuation basis we fear that there will he very little saving by rubbing out the dual control of works, as they would bo paying fully for their own administration, and helping as well to pay for the administration of the other parts of the county. It is not the shadow of benefit that the ratepayers are entitled to and require, but something substantial. We therefore trust that the representatives of the western end will see that they are not led into a trap, but that they will get the business thoroughly threshed out and put on a satisfactory footing before any final steps are taken.