Opotiki News

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 570, 29 June 1933, Page 6

Opotiki News

Our Own Correspondent).

still argu1ng OPOTIia COUNCILLORS CONTINUE THEIR DIFFEREN CES QUESTIONS OF COSTS

(From

During a discussion on the activities of the works' committe'e, at the meeting of the 'Opotiki Borough Council on Tuesday nijgiht, Cr. Short said^that at this point he would like to comment on the minutes and also on a lebber by Cr. Patterson, which had been published in a paper stating that the borough lorry had cost £16 5s 8d in one month for benzine. Thei iaccount referred to did not constitute a payment for benzine only. As a matter of faet £6 2s 8d was paid for benzine. Other items* referred to in the account with G. Anderson's garage were £3 4s for oil and repairs, .and £6 19s 3d for repairs, making a total of £16 5s lld. Another amount of £3 2s paid to Miller's garage was for repairs to a bitumen sprayer and not to the lorry 'as had been stated by Cr. Patterson. The benzine account for the lorry for the three months ending on June 24, 1933, was; £12 18s 6d and oil £3 4s, repairs £7 11s 9d, Wages £49 7s '2d, a total of £73 15s. Taking the time the lorry had .worked, which was 557 hours, this worked out at a cost of 2s 9d per hour, or 22s per day for the cost of runnihg the lorry, whereas Or. Patterson tried to convince the council' that it had cost £16 5,s Hd for benzine alone to run the lorry for one .month. In view of these figures, he would like to1' ask Cr. Patterson for an explanation as to how he got the figures which he (Cr. Patterson) had quoted. Cr. Patterson replied that he had merely taken the amounts from the pay sheet and thought it was all for benzine. Cr. Short suggested that Cr. Patterson as a member of the works committee .should know that the lorry would not cost £16 in one month for benzine alone. The Grader Question 'Continuing Cr. Short said he also wished to refer to a reference made in his absence at a previous meeting by Cr. J. J. Moody to the effect that he, Cr. Short, had been in charge of the works committee during the term of the previous council. He had not been in charge of the works committee; he had only been in charge of the grader. Cr. Moody contended that Cr. Short was not quite correct. He, Cr. Moody, had objected to any one man being, in charge of any particular council work. At the time of making the statement, he had expressed a fear that he might be out of order as Cr. Short was not present at the time. Cr. Short then explained furth'er that he had at one time said that if the grader was working under his supervision, he felt sure it would do satisfactory work and 'had challenged the council to. allow him to prove it. The challenge had arisen from the fact that When it was proposed to sell the grader, Cr. Shalfoon had expressed the view that it was too expensive to run, which to him, Cr. Short, appeared to be extremely unwise coming from a councillor just when it was proposed that the grader be sold. He also asked Cr. Shalfoon if he had not recently stated that the grader had taken one and a half days to do three corners. On Cr. Shalfoon agreeing that he had made this statement, Cr. ^ Short, quoting from the time sheet, said that it took seven hours to do this*. work, not li days and that the figures which he quoted had been supplied to him by the foreman. In reply to a question by Cr. Short, Cr. Shalfoon said Crs. Patterson and Webb had supplied him with his information and Cr. Webb, in support, contended that the grader was on .this work for ahout this time and further that the foreman who had prepared the figures quoted by Cr. Short, had not been present all the time- , i ii. Cr. .Shailfoon then made a lengthy speech, apparently with reference to Cr. S'hort's remarks on the inaccuiacy of the reports put in by Cr. Patterson. Cr. Short regretted that he was quite unable to follow what Cr. Shalfoon meant to which Cr. Shalfoon replied that if he could not follow him, Cr. Short had better go back to school again.