THE ROADING PROBLEM.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 238, 13 October 1914, Page 4

THE ROADING PROBLEM.

Council and Road Board.

Pukekohe West Rates.

Messrs I. Woods and It. FilkingtoD, members of the Pukekohe West Road Board, together with Mr 11. G. R. Mason, waited upon the Franklin County Council at its last meeting, to discuss the question of the rates that are collected by the county from the West road district and the work that is done with them. Mr Pilkingtcn said it was the opinion of the Koad Board that they should have some little rebate from the rates collected by the Council. In most of their area there were very few county roads, but still the usual rate of 4 : d was collected. If in addition the Board had to impose a rate sufficient to keep the by-roads in order, then the rate would be exorbitant. Some of the districts in the West area made little or no use of the county road at all, and yet the Council collected its three-farthing rate. In Pukekohe East they only collected a three-farthing rate to maintain all the roads, while in the West they maintained all their own side roads leaving only the main road for the Council to do. Ue suggested that the Council should give a farthing back to the Road Board. The chairman (Mr Motion) said that next year they might be able to do something. The main road had come to the county in a very bad state, and the whole of the rate raised by the county was not sulficient to meet what had been spent upon it. Now a fairly good job had been made of the road from Puni to the borough boundary. Mr Pilkington pointed out that in the Board's territory there was a net-work of bad side roads which took a great amount of keeping up. Mr Woods said that on his side they had no county road at all and still they had to pay the three-farth-ing county rate. The chairman said that did uot i seem a fair distribution, but the fact remained that the Council had not enough money. If the rate collected provided a surplus he had no doubt the Council would consider the advisableness of handing the surplus back.

Cr Fulton explained that Mr Woods' case was very unfair so far as it ciniorned that settler; he used Cox's road which the speaker thought should be taken over and proclaimed as a couuty road. If the road were kept by the county it would be fairer to the ratepayers. Cr Wilcox said they had no money in hand.

Cr Henry said the present position went to show that the roads could not be made out of rates, and the only satisfactory-course was to adopt the Council's suggestion and raise a loan. With the assurance that in the event of there being a surplus the Council would consider the question of handing it to the Board to be. spent, and with the understanding that Cox's road would be made a county road, the deputation expressed itself well satisfied and withdrew.