THE COUNTY RATES.

Shannon News, 18 June 1926, Page 3

THE COUNTY RATES.

SPECIAL COLLECTOR TO BE APPOINTED. As a result of a decision taken by the Horowhenua County Council on Saturday special attention is to be paid to the collection of rates by the appointment of an assistant to the County Clerk, whose work has been greatly increased by the m»in highways scheme, the Motor Registration and similar Acts, and the rapid increase in the num ber of special districts. The Finance Committee reported: —

“With a view to facilitating the more; prompt collection of Tates your commit- j tee recommend that an assistant clerk bo appointed for a period of one year at a salary of £5 per week, such position to be reviewed at the end of the term of engagement. ” The chairman (Cr. G. A. Monk) said the committee found the matter a difficult one to deal with. It was fed that it was due to the County dent that he should have some assistance. The suggestion had been made that the Council should vote a certain, sum of money annually for the precision of

additional clerical assistance. ,V" meant that Mr. Hudson "would still. be in direct contact with the ratepayers. At present the difficulty was that on some davs in the tveek, particularly marketing days, the clerk had scarcely one minute at his desk owing to tne constant stream of callers, resulting his being unable to concentrate on raßecollection or any other work he might be called upon to do. This proposal would cost the Council £260 this year. They took the risk of getting the right man, and if at the end of the year it was found that this extra assistance was costing .the Council too much, tney

still had the power to try another method. It was not just that tne County Clerk should be called upon to work night after night till 10 o’clock. The business had grown, but that was no reason why the County should ask the Clerk to ’ bear the whole burden, and if he were overloaded :t, would not be possible for him to keep up with it.

Cr. Catley asked what the amounts of outstanding rates were at /the end of the last three years. „ The chairman replied about £b,'Jol on an average, that was, £S,UuO last yeai and about £6,000. for the year just, past The County appeared to have arrived at the stage "when 'this could not be reduced until it was concentrated on. The Council were fully cognisant as to who was responsible for it. Continuing.' the chairman said very strong pressure would be brought to bear on the Government as to the capitalisation of it

turned soldiers’ rates. Some people thought these rates should be wiped oil: by the local bodies, a most uniust of view, because many of the soldiers had struggled to pay their share while the others had allowed theirs to accumulate, a position Unit could not go on much longer. Some of riiem ]iist allowed one year’s. rati sto be added to another, and the bigger the bill became the more it became ulent to the man that he would never overcome it. Cr. Catley said he would like to have the question of assistance deferred for.

say, one month, to allow the Council to fully consider the facts and circumstances. They should not be stampeded into a decision. Y. itli regard to increasing the clerk’s salary, it seamed to him as cutting both ways. , Ihe speaker knew that the clerk had more

than he could be rea onably expected to do, and he was always extremely busy on market days and there was always somebody at his desk, but that, in the speaker’s opinion, was part ox the clerk’s duties. CCatley said he would like td have fme in which to think over the matter, as it was going to add to’the administrative costs, lud it was doubtful whether the results were going to justify.; the added expenditure. He had said in the past that the clerk should not be taken away from, the office, and the chairman had been the chief offender in this resplct in taking the clerk away to County Association conferences. It was one of the speaker’s little grievances that the chairman had never asked Councillor* to take on these duties, and the speaker believed it would have been a, distinct advantage had this been done, instead rf allowing the elei'ff go. Ihc clerk had gone over tc 'fox ton to a conference regarding the deviation. The chairman: Hr. Hudson has never been to a Counties Association

conference. , . _ Cr. Catley: Well, he has been to other conferences. It would broaden the views of Councillors to go to conferences. We are tjie people who should, if possible, be represented there. I am only putting that out as a

SU The Chairman: I would like you to point out any particular conference, at which Mr Hudson has been presen toi Which lie should not have gone, j Cr Catlev said Hie engineer and clerk went to the Foxton conference. All the Council table should have been

exhausted before they-went. The chairman: You are wrong there, Defaulting Native Land-Owners. Or. McLcavey drew attention to the matter of £120,000 worth of “active •nropertv, the owners of which were partng'io rates. If the *f, distant lao appointed, e lot of this money eonld he tol " c rt cd | ,,.b ffi ;"\ not see any except the appointment of someDouy do this work, as the man who paid his Stes and thereby kept tie pot ho.hng had to do so f “ r bas ‘«"ainst increaseTl this repsect. He was ag , , expenditure as much as y Z,’ if a suitable eollector eonldl beed and his salary saved it would b Inin said the Council wouM save nothing by deferring the, <pestiO g which had been discussed at the p ous meeting. He was inclined to *‘give it ,a go,” and he had not the least doubt but that the Council would collect a little more in rates, if it _ was possible to concentrate on the collect--IDThe chairman said he thought that if a man could follow up the rate problem, and get into touch with the Native

Lands people he would secure a lot of valuable information. There were properties in European hands which appeared on the valuation roll and ratebook as being owned by natives, and. Mr. Hudson had often found that native lands were in the hands of white people; Keplying to the suggestion that^tho

clerk had been taken from the eoiicci tion of rates to attend conferences, the | chairman said was not so. ' ® (had attended'certain conferences, such I as regarding the combined by-laws anci I the 1 allocation of heavy traffic fees, but ! surely that was his job as chief execuItive officer of the 9 0U1 * Cl ;L.^ t T?*

I Clerk liad never been to a ujuuww 1 Association conference Because none j had been held during his term of ottiee, | and he had been asked to go this tune because of the discussion which would ensue in relation to the clauses of various acts relating to local bodies, anu the interpretation of the Statutes, inclerk had taken Cr. Catl'ey's place at Foxton because be was unable to go there. Cr Catley explained that hoi had not felt greatly interested in the objects of that conference. The clerk said he went because none

of the Councillors wanted to go and iwas felt that the County should be repiiesented. , . , _ Cr. Kilsby was of the opinion thathe clerk should go to such conferences as the more information he could gam the better it would be. . Cr. Barber moved that applications for the position of• assistant should imj mediately be called. Cr. Whyte said that all Councillors recognised that the Council would have

to do one thing or the other appomr an assistant for the cleric or a rate collector who would concentrate on that particular work. The Council would be able to avoid an expenditure or something like £2O a year for outside

clerical as'istance. Mr.- Hudson explained, in response to a question by Or. Catley that the tota main highways cost would be £106,00u, but the total expenditure for the n'ext four vears, inclusive of main highways construction and ordinary County expenditure, would probably be in the

vicinity of £276,000. It was, therefore, not very hard.to realise that with such an« expenditure there must be the necessary office staff to ensure everythin* was going right. As things were developing to-day, each session o.t Parliament brought along fresh enactments, and the work of a County clerk to-day, compared with on'e of ten years ago, was more than doubled by the changes in the Statutes. There was

the Motor Vehicles Bill and tnq Join. Counties By-laws,- wliich he had not been able to touch. In addition there were the many special districts being formed, all of which involved a lot ot time, he being the only one who could handle these matters, and it was essential that he have time m which to o-o into the whole question. & The chairman said he had not brought it forward, without giving' the recommendation very l;ull consideration. He was not going to say it wou.d be a success, but they would have to try it and in justice to the office stall the committee thought that something should be done. . , , Cr. Catley: It is worth a trial, then

“Under Staffed and Under Paid.” .The Finance Committee made the following further recommendation:— “The Committee recommend that the County Clerk’s salary be increased by annual increments of £25 for two yearn making the salary £450 at the end _ o two years, and that the salaries of Air. C. Frechtling and Miss D. Dempsey be increased to £2OB and £195 per annum respectively. The increases in each instance to take effect as from the Ist June, <1926.” .. „ , . The chairman said the _ office hai been under-staffed and, in some instances, under-paid. The Council had a staff in which it reposed the utmost

confidence, a condition which dM not apply to all local bodies throughout N.Z.' Some Councils were diffident about their officers who, in some cases were indifferent. When a Council had officers who were of a high calibie, u shouldn’t wait for them to come along and say “what'about a rise m salary.Even with the suggested additional

salaries, the staff whs not costing ax Council as much as the same item cost other nearby- local bodies, and, moreover, the Horowhenua County Council had a staff in which implicit faith could be placed. Cr. Catley: I don’t intend to oppose these increases—for a wonder. I think that Mr. Hudson is both conscientious and efficient. I do tlikik this County can be congratulated on the staff, foi its attention and efficiency, and I always feel like a bantam when anybody savs the staff is lax. The financial report was adopted, it beino- resolved to immediately call for applications (for the .position of as- | sistant-el'crk. r Accounts for Payment.

The Finance Committee recommended that payment be confirmed of Imprest and other accounts paid prior to the meeting amounting to £3159 11s 2d and that accounts amounting to £2632 2s 5d be passed for .payment making a total of £5791 13s 7d.—Agreed to.