COUNCIL PROCEDURE

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 36, 5 October 1931, Page 4

COUNCIL PROCEDURE

Sir, — In yotir issue of the 3rd stant, I notice his Worship the Ma^BI in his reply to the Works Commi^K| members' various stateinents regJBil I ing their, reasons for resigning, | ters me by devoting sp.ecial criticiKJ ' to my supposed lack of knowledgeBP procedure. His Worship, being chairman whom I have sat under the past three years, 1 ask: Can teacher put all the respbnsibility B failure on the pobr studerit? B I realise and acknowledge there 8 fundamental rules and principles tfl are hard and fast in committee woB and rarely does a member even S to violate these. At ihe -same tii8 I consider the over-use of fiprocedui8 a weakness, and it depends on 8 wisdom of the chair, to trse it asB good servant; not as an autocr8 who strangles good effort with rB I make no apology for occasiona8 speaking out of turn, Wheii tlB -speaking is in the intereSts of t8 ratepayers. Strangely enbugh, i.'8authority of the Works Committee similar matters to those at pi-esent n8 der discussion, has never befofe be8~ questioned, but it is no secret thB_ there is a sharp differeflfce of opirii8| in the Council, as to whether the prB sent time is opportune for spendi8-; money on heautifying schemes, arB also where Mr Tsehopp's engageme8: hegins and ends. H So far, I have not been shown aw: records to prove the WOrks Cor8: mittee is not the authority in char8; of sfreet tree-planting a,nd uptil 8a®, I shall feel justified in believinBi his W-orship's . interpretation of pr8 cedure is as likely to he wrong aB mine. 8 In the meantime ratepayers caB rest assured that correct procedure oB nq procedure I am not sittiilg silenB when it is a matter of spending eitB zens' money. Thanking you in ahtil cipation. — I am, etc., ■ ALBERT SMITH. 1