HOROWHENUA COUNTY COUNCIL.

Shannon News, 2 June 1927, Page 2

HOROWHENUA COUNTY COUNCIL.

The Year’s Operations. RATES LOWERTHAN DOMINION AVERAGE. SHOULDER WOEK AND FILLING The annual meeting of ithe Horowtbenua County Council was held in the County chambers on Wednesday, there being present: Crs. G. A. Monk (chairman), Barber, . Whyte, Ryder, Bryant, Kilsby, McLeavey, Gatlcy, Jensen, Messrs Hudson (Clerk) and Anderson (engineer). TREASURER’S ANNUAL REPORT. The County Treasurer (Mr. F. H. Hudson presented the following reportl tflor the year ended March 31st, 1927: “The past year has been full of activity in all branches of the Council’s responsibilities and undertakings, and an earnest endeavour has been made to keep pace with the varied requirements of the County. Income and Expenditure.—The total income foT the year amounted to £94,070, and the -total'expenditure reached £90,069. County Fund Account with the Bank of New Zealand. —The year closed with a debit balance at the Bank of £5603. If certain /transfers could have been made from the Main Highways construction account prior to /the 31st March, but which were held up, principally due to subsidies from the Main Highways Board not being in hand, the County fund account with the Bank

}i{, ‘ in credit 'to the ex- | ; ately £5266. I .ways Constraotion. i?, nding feature of the iom has been 'the carryr ■ ■of l’-e. Main Highway xony Motion -'Ogramme, and the work so rr’ far done 'has reached a stage where * fV indication is given iof the c i r we are to have when the whole of tno programme is completed. .eatlv ito sav that the now road is go ‘ ing to meet the wear and tear of the rapidly increasing traffic for all tune, there is, however, sufficient evidence of its stability to.remove any doubt as to it .being possible to .maintain the ‘ same at a minimum of. expenditure in ' » i.„ rp voare The position in respect *;■ . L tihe expenditure on the undertaking C,, since tihe work was commenced is as ■V» 'follows: — i Estimated -total expenditure £IW,OOO > Expended to ,31st Marcli, 1927 *58,807 V Unexpended /balance • • I. • .m l Highway. i ;l Waikanae to Otaki Bridge. v ; ated -total expenditure, 3 ’ 9 £ J O J ’ CJ(j2 . pended to 31st March, 1927, ' tmexpended balance, £29-3. . - Otaki Bridge to Waikawa Stream. _ Estimated total expenditure,;£22 207, BT;~ expended to 31st March, 1927, £79OU, *1 unexpended balance, £14,307. . ~ . Waikaiwa Stream to Levan south boundarv and Levin ’north boundary to Wirokino bridge.—Estimated. tota ,K expenditure, £36,022,• expended to 31y ly y March, 1927, £13,483;' unexpended balance, £22,539. . No. 60 Highway. ■''' Levin' to north boundary, Wirokino Riding.—Estimated total expenditure, . £24,084; expended to 31st March, 1* , '> £11,625; unexpended balance, £13,4t«• " North boundary, Wirokino hiding, ; ’ north boundary -Tokomaru hidin ■ Estimated total expenditure, £39,<3-, : • expended to Sl„t Ma>g., « 27 - ilo6B ' ' • unexpended balance, £3B,oba. Approximately 17 miles of •highway have been completedyto date, - out' iof <a total length of 46 miles. O the total loan of £7,8,000 which was sanctioned by (the rate - payers to provide this. Council £! share ;: -. of the undertaking, the sum of £44,000 V. has bfeeri borrowed to date, . le^ vl “L balance of £34,000 to be raised when ?■- required. In this connection it will be • immediately necessary tlojnake loan ;. arrangements for the current year s /■. w?rk lo the, extent df £27,000, which is half the sum estimated to be expended ‘ ," Ma^ 6 Highways Maintenance. The total expenditure on maintenance during (the y« ar High- ‘ ' £7663, of which Hl | or wavs Board, contributed. £45Q3. to r/nrevious year the expenditure .was Mucll Plajrt Account, • ■ "TS from lire of mactawry • ' raised /TO<*£ uenditure amounted to £16,902. A± King for interest, etc., there is a surplus of £1260 to catry forward for renewals. Rattes and! Rajte collection. During the year considerable work has been undertaken in eonneetion 1 - with rates,, and, as a result of the as siSitance granted by the r. imptoittant branch has been placed <m r much better footing. Unfortunate- - ly the way of the rate ha» f been fraught with many difficulties for the past few years, especially in. rural districts, and the same has been ', * particularly intensified during the year r undeT review. , „ . - The rates (levied, collected and outr (standing f.or the past three years are s ; as follows: .. ; . - out-

£ The sum of £2856 was. received auring the y«at on account tof drears of *■-: rates, leaving a balance of £3151 stil • dne to the Council. Judgments have been taken for ithie major portion of ; the balance outstanding, and the pro- " cess of fixing the liability on the land : - is. in some teases, toeing undertaken, it ia pleasing to record 1 that difficulties in v ' re'spect to certain Crown lease-holds J 1 are gradually being smoothed out, an instances soldier settlers 'have squared &' up their liabilities to date. W' Government Subsidy on B^tes. fii. A; maximum subsidy of £2500 was obs,*’ . tained for the past year. Heavy Traffic License Pees, v;. The sum of £1436 was received dur'i£ - ins the year ,as this County’s share of heavy traffic license fees for the past two years, and .the isamie has been disV- tritouteid to the Hidings on the (basis, V- „ of mileage of metal roads and capital * s :, value. ■f-ja. Biding AccOttfljfcs. :?-■ Toko-mar,u Biding. —The total _reeeipts for .the year amounted to £4251, kl' - comprising £BB3 of a credit balance brought forward from last year, share of heavy traffic license fees £360, .and '*v' share (of general revenue and sundries l'-l- £3OOB. The expenditure amounts to l . £2797, which has principally been. ;V" spent on main and district road main-i-V- fenatUce, ' and the year closes with a f/ credit? -balance of £1454. The general ;. J ; rate levied for the year was 11/16d m p. . .the pound. . If: Wirohdno Riding.—The receipts in this Biding amounted [to £6953, eonsistfeC f , dng of a surplus of £1634 from last W- - ymr ) £4721 share of general revenue, and £598 share of heavy .traffic license r£ - 1 fees. On the expenditure side the sum jp~- of £3044 was spent on district (roads, £1289 for share of Main [Highways k'( maiutfenance/ Ghau West Road GovernB' ; ment grant £212, share antecedent Jiatofeility repayment and interest £833,

share interest and sinking fund on loan expenditure for Main Highways construction £SJ6, making a total in all of £5904. ’The year therefore closes with a credit balance of £1049. The general r'ate levied was 11/16d in the pound. OtaM Riding.—This Riding commenced the year with a credit balance of £415, ,to which has been added during the year share iof general revenue £1687, share heavy traffic license fees £203, and sundries £35, -making a total income of £2340. On the expenditure side it will be seen that the sum of £lO9l was spent .on ordinary, riding works, £346 share of Main Highways maintenance, £94, share antecedent liability repayment .and interest, and share main highways construction loan interest £lßl, making a total expenditure of £1712. The year closed with a credit balance of £628. The general rate levied was 5/8d in the pound. Te Horo .Riding. —This Riding brought forward a credit balance of £1782, to whic/h Was added 'Share of general revenue £1975, and share of •heavy traffic license fees £274, which brought the total receipts up to £4031. The expenditure comprises £2204 for ordinary Riding works, share of main highway maintenance £720, share antecedent liability repayment and interest £l5O, add share of interest on the main highways construction loan £4BO, leaving a credit balance at the end of •the year of £477. The general rate •levied was 5/B,d in the pound. AnWecedeh|t Lftibiljlty Ldan, £9OOO.

The sum of £4500 has now been repaid in connection with this loan, and the balance is due to be squared off in annual instalments .of £9OO by the year 1932. ” Adminbstirajtiioin, It may be .of Interest to note that the (Council has held the following number' of meetings during the year':— Ordinary, 12; special, 6; finance com-, mittee, 12 •ordinary, 6 special; works committee, 12 ordinary, 1 special. • With the exception of one or -two instances, the meetings have been fully attended, and the business transacted has been fairly considerable. The various Acts affecting local bodies which have come into operation during reednt yearfs have called for the exercise of much thought and care on the part of Councillors and officials, and the administration of these new enactments" has further required a development of attitude in accord .with the demand of the times. •The question of ‘the cost of 'County administration is occasionally raised, and it 1 may be of interest to know that the administration expenses for the past year, including practically all charges on the general account, work out at £5.72 per cent. According to the Government Statistician’s report for 1926 the average of rates (including special) levied • over the whole (df the Counties in the Dominion amount to £5.48 per £IOOO of rateable capital! value. The Horowhenua County is shown as £4.38 per £IOOO of capital value. In conclusion) I desire to express my appreciation of the kinfd consideration of the members of the .Council, and to the members .of .the .staff associated with me I extend my thanks for their loyalty and support during a very busy year. *

THE CHAIRMAN’S REVIEW. Unfortegeen. Expenditure on Main High-' way. In moving the adoption of the treasurer's report, the chairman congratulated Mr. Hudson' on -the number of -subjects handled and the manner in which he had dealt with them, in the report, which was necessarily some- , what curtailed owing to lack of time. The chairman referred to the fact that the Dominion rate was 5.48, as against 4.38 in this County. * A County which had a very high valuation, isueh as this had, had a' tendency ,to .lower the rate. In the North Island most of the counties were carrying rather a high valuation. The position here was one in which the. Council need not, find any great cause for worry. ’This was a long, narrow .county, except (that it. was Ibtoader in the middle, and it had a considerable amount of roading. Rate collections were affected by the fictitious value .which had been attached to the land. In this district, which had suffered, as much as any—except, perhaps, Auckland —as -far as the land boom wa's concerned, they found ratepayers straggling to pay off second third and fourth , mortgages on an equity which did. not exist in the land. That equity was never there —a fact which made it very difficult foi the settlers to meet' their liabilities. Generally speaking, .the .local body was the hast creditor to be paid. There were cases in which the Council was taking ,tlfe necessary ste.ps to secure the rates, and perhaps eventually the land, in .certain cases, would have to be sold; and he knew .of cases./where the land would not realise the amount, of rates, due on it. They .had arrived at a point in this County where these matters must be cleaned up. This was a year in which the Council would.attempt to clean up the Ibplk if not all 'of them.;

; ; Heayy Traffic AnoinMyi • With regard- to. the heavy traffic revenue, the .chairman said that with the wear and tear occasioned by through .traffic, the .allocation that’ was made as between the counties and the boroughs ■during the past 1 year had not been quite ton 1 a fair basis —-with all respect t'o the gentleman who made the alio-, (cation. ( The counties (were .suffering [-more in'proportion than! the boroughs, and ■‘he portion they received should -have been .greater. This matter had been taken up by the Counties’ Association; which was considering whether , aibasis c'ould.be arrived at that would .work throughout the Dominion. He thought it' was -' readily - recognised by all the counties in this district that they .were notgettimga fair share. The .revenue the-v-received was not in proportion t,o the (wear and tear on the roads.- At present there were 10 service .car lines each way through this county, and he supposed that not' tone : of -those vehicles was licensed in this heavy traffic district, being registered

cither in Wellington ok Wahganui. As this district' was . adjacent .to Wellington, that city must be reaping a goou deal /to the county’s disadvantage. Whether this could be overcome he could not isay; but the ratepayers /were entitled lo know-that the Council .laboured under these disadvantages. The past year had been a very strenuous one, from .the point of view •of the staff, as well as his own. Very early in the year the Cpuuty iwas involved in an action for damages, owing to an unfortunate accident that happened when construction work was going on at Waikanae. This took up a cnsiderable amount of time (and thought, and though the Council was successful in the suit, a considerable expense was involved for' the County. Practically the whole of the staff’s attention was turned to a case like that. Even though the County had been successful in that suit, also in .another ca'se brought 1 against it, the business hlad been somewhat upsetting as far as administration was concerned.

During the year they had the Mhna-watu-Oroua River Commission. Evidence had had to be prepared and stock taken. This, involved a considerable amount of labour, and time 'had to be given accordingly. He did not think they would have any River Commission this year, and he did hot 1 think they .would be involved in any de.gial action, so they shbutd be able 'to cut down their law costs somewhat.

Coming to the riding accounts, (the Chairman said that ini the previous yeiar it had appeared as though they could cut the rates down. In his own riding, the Te Horo riding, they had done, he thought, ato unfortunate thing in cutting the rate down, with the effect that this year it has reacted, so that they had to find wha't they cut off last year, together with the corresponding increase this year. There was not much chance of a reduction of rates as far as this county was concerned, and this would 'have .to be taken ve'ry catrefully (into consideration in framing the estimates. Highway Construction.

Regarding Main. Highways construction, the chairman .said he wished to refer particularly to the Waikanae to Otaki bridge section. This was .estimated to cost £23,955, and 'the cost to March 31st - had'been £20,962, leaving a balance of £2993. (For the completion 1 of that work, as from April Ist, an estimate had been prepared by the engineer, which Was on the liberal side.' The engineer stated 'that when that length was 'completed, it would probably exceed the estimate by between £2OOO and £3OOO. This had been brought about ‘through various reasons. One reason was that it was /quite easy to under estimate the amount of stuff likely 'to go into land -such as the swa'mp. Ain'ot'her 'reason was tha't, since the original estimate had .been formed, for the shoulder w.drk, a' considerable expenditure had been- involved. The (Te Horo length was about nine miles, and it would run into, perhaps £2OOO. Since they had been running the, crusher, .they "had had to raise the price iof the mlctal. . The Council had decided tha‘t the machinery had to earn its interest and shaking fund; they had also had to establish a renewal fund. This particular section would exceed the estimate, (and-, possibly ,tihiis would apply ito the wholejob. It iwas for the Counted to say, in case the expenditure wa's exceeded, wh'dre th'e money was to come friom. The oh airman, in (offering a solution of the difficulty, 'said 1 that the Council knew, when they took the loan propo'sal, that ithey .always' hlad the right to raise 10 per cent over and above 'that. This, with the subsidy from the Highways .Board, (would give the equivalent of about £16,000. Provided that the Board paid nothing towards administration 'and engineering, it Was possibly (going to cost the Council about £6OOO for 'that particular portion. That would leave 'them, out of any mohey they might' raise, £IO,OOO. It was not until a complete section of road wias laid down that’'the 'Council could make a review. Ho thought it'bo work was so (far ahead that they could take stock and form an idea as ,to whether or not the work could be done for the money. suggested. He believed there Were (Valid reasons why the estimate had bean exceeded; tJhetefe reasons were unforeseen to Borne extent. Taking everything into -consideration in the work that was being done, the Council was actually giving a stronger road than (would otherwise have been provided.

Question of Road Shoulders. Or. Galley said .that the shoulder work should not have been .undertaken if it was not in the original estimate., The chairman: As far 1 a's f can (see, there is no 'other way o lit of it. The point is whether the Counted" is (prepared that' that particular section shall be completed. It. is on the cards to ibe completed straight away—tihalt ,is, that the construction work goes on, and the filling is to Ibe done in the spring. It is believed that the estimate will be ■.exceeded by £2500, which -the riding, of ’eou'rse, will have to pay. The position! I w,ai:/t ; to put is that we don’t want to take' away 'the loan .{money fr'om where it justly belongs. Whilst we could have decla..ed. our roads main roads and not have kept riding accounts, it 1 would no, have affected the .position; b.ut we desired that each riding should bear its own burden. We have .spent so much on construction n(ow that to make our job economically sound we must .spend, the .balance. I think Otaki are going to come out of it all right. The Council have <to oonsidet whether my figures are. sound enough to justify the completion of that work according to the programme;' I am satisfied, the job is ' worth, it, even, though it is going to cost the 'extra money. There is another point, and it would have lightened the' burden a good deal a’s far as the highways are concerned —that is> if Mr.'Anderson, when' estimating for. the/ metal, did not estimate that this mafehiue'ry had to be paid for in this time, it was bound to throw him out. I dtill think that that is sound. If -that £l2;'blitter to pay interest a'nd sinking 000 for .machinery is wiped off, it is

fund on the road than e a machinery. On the road you have (the result^ for all time.

Fulfure Liabilities. Speaking of finanuee, (the eh airman that the Government maximum subsidy of £2500 was Obtained! during the past year. .The antecedent liability loan vwould (be paid off /by 1932; £4500 . was how being paid; and Hhe balance would (be paid by annual 'in-, stalmemts -of £9OO, land there would be a Wcluetioia in interest each year. In 1932 other loans would commence .to, ■ fall in, so the County would .then have a fair burden to carry. Some of, these Iwere only small loans; but the, Council would gradually have (loans, falling in. Rive yeans was along itiine, to -look forward to,' but In a review of (the p'resdnt conditions it was neces: sary to look forward. , Coumcillorfs themiisellycfs . (the chairman continued) had had more than a busy year; and - one of the matters which he pointed out to .the representative of the Highways Board recently was that, besides, the Council Staff being very active, the Counoilliors had had to put in more-than double 'time owing to .the 'highways scheme. It was done ungrudgingly, he knew; but he would like to isee (the-other : lside give some recognition to those efforts. Councillors’ Comments. Or. Ryder, in Isecondiiiigittoe motion for the adoption of the report,. said that great credit was due td the treasurer; for 1 the statement he' had'.prepared. 'The chief point was 'that touched on (by the chairman-in reference to the Te Horo Riding (main highway. He thought that as the shouldering work was done now,.the job should be finished as laid out; but the .Council should give consideration; (to 'what .the work was to be in the other ridings. They might find themselves am a hole when they reached tlbe ■ e'nd of the scheme. There was criticism as to the shouldering; whether it was the,best method.he could hot say. Als far as the toad wag laid down, he thought it was vetfy creditable to the county, and he saw nio reason wihy it should not be, a firstclass. uoad. Whether the road would stand withornt shouldering,. as in the caise of the Levin .borough, was . a question that should ;be taken seriously into consiideralbiOn Iby Councillors. 'The chairman; stated tba/t the. share of maintenance of main highways paid by the Council Was £3043’ in 1925-26 and £3186 ini 1926-27. They' had not reached the stage when it' would commence to igo down. It had to :be taker into consideration th'dt the county w£ : gdttimg 30s per £ a's subsidy on higi way maintenance. It seemed that if nothing had been done, the maintenance in (the last .two years would have gone up 50 per cent. . Or. Ryder stated ithalt the Council was keeping its roads mudh • better now, and the tfaffic. had increased wonderfully. : Cr. MeLeavey said he had been in hopes that the work would be dome for less than the estimate. He pointed (O'u't that 17 (miles oufc of 46 miles of rOad’had been conatkucted. in (the county, while they had borrowed £44,000 out of £78,000. " The position was beginning to look serious to hiim. If (they had to go back ito the ratepayers for 1 atfoope money, the. fat would be .in the fire. ’ .

Cr. Kdlsiby said he thought the Coun-

cil would have to compromise in some way on some .etheir portion of thie road. They should endeavour ho do the i'eist of the . work (within the estimate.

The chairman ~ explained that at March 31st £12,000 had not been raised, so it'he amount of £44,000 which had-bean mentioned was reduced to £32,000. The Council was only finding half the .cost of construction. If the sum of £12,000 was doubled and added to the balance, with subsidy, they ■would isee how much was available to complete the irload. Cr. Jensen Complained that the rates were increasing from# year to yenT and becoming correspondimglly hard (to collect. He (congratulated the engineer on tiho work so far carried out, which ho thought might ibe equal to any in New Zealand. At the same time he'* felt thdt Mr. Anderson had not been able to (give Ms full attention to the w?r.k, so as to lighten up the expenditure, hero an'd there.' He did not wish to (blame the men for lost time, but they might have been better employed if the engineer could have} paid mo're attention to the work. The Council had " a finance committee and bought a lar/ge quantity of b'itnmen, and they should 1 go on with the work. When the bitumen was purchased thle .committee; (should have been in a position to see what money was available to complete, the wlor’k.

Cr. Cat ley said ,he was disappointed, hut mot surprised. . The County nolt paid ithe attention to the enter-, prise ,w(hich it .should have .done. The cost of the shoulder's, the thought, was more than /was warranted; and as they were (not provided, for in .the estimates a,careful watch should have been kept ovet them. iHe; was not alanmed over Waikanae, because he had always felt that' it iwould .be a very expensive portion ito do. If there was any chance of .stopping a repetition of isuch heavy 'expenditure, it would be la great benefit. The canting for the fillings Waj» very expensive—mior’e so than the making of cuttings. There was room fot keeping the expenditure down, and the Council should have a round-table conference. A great leakage occurred in the time-keeping of the workmen. "When innen wanted work, their capital was their labour; and it depended on how much.they were prepared to give a's to what they Would get in return. He hoped , the chairman would keep in close toueih 1 with the engineer as to ■costs when -the Tokomarh and was being constructed. Cr. Whyte said h'e thought the Council could |be congratulated on the amount o<f rates collected—£l9,4o9, as agaist £17,881 in the previous year. The engineer, had recognised that the Tokomaru end of the road wiould be hhe molatl expensive to construct, and he had estimated for it proportionately- - ' ' Cr. Barber isaid the deficiency would probably be heavier in the Tokomaru Riding on a percentage basis. He was concerned as to whether the area would be able to sitand nip ftp it.

The chairman remarked, in regard tk> the Waikanae section, that the portion frlom Te Hero to Otaiki had looked easy, but iit Was more than counterbalanced by the swamps spcition, anu ■thier'e was a iconsiderabKe amount of •long caiiting'for filling. Further, the

/staff were nJt able to ,get anotal from itjae Waikanao river as they had exipbicted to do for a certain class of the iwo-rk. ©he chairman pointed out taa? if. the iCounciil had done nothing on that road, the .cost of maintenance vvioujtd. certainly have risen ahd -the. ratepayer's would have had that- burdein and no iroad. He added that in his.. review the had nc/t allowted for any / havings on the (work to he done in the future], butt Chad ,putt the dark side ofJ the question. Oa!llinig attention to.;Cr. Jen/sen is .reference tio the stock of bitmaricn, the chairrri’an stated that the - Whole of it was not bought Tier -that length. The engineer had decided, and. ' Wisely, that if that irotad wa's in a fit stafe to finish, ' then he would finish it while the plant was there; he deeid- ’ ed that it was in a state to finidh ufext summer, ail'd the bitumen was itrahsferred to that section.

. Cr. Ryder sa'id. that of there was any possibility ,of a 'tightening up, he tnought 'the works committee would do

: The chairman /said he thought that the engineer could have ( mbre assistance from /the (wlorks commit)tee; they could not. give that? assistance until v they had reviewed the twhole situation. Cr. Ca'tley said he did hot think " ■there was anything - to be alanried about; -the position was mufch brighter •- than (when the Council caTried th.e. loan!, for 'then it Was (Only receiving/ 6s 8d in the <£ as subsidy for maintenance, . whereas later the amount had gone iup to '3os. - ... Cr. Kilsiby said that an atomfeoTse amount of good ciou?d ibe done by criticism of the-right'kind. If i't was possible ito bring about a . cheaper method of working, the works committee must get about and find ouit where compromises could be effected so as; to bring down the costs of construction i'n (certain inisftancies.

In answer to a questioi< by Cr. Barber, the engineer . at ated that; (the length of fo-rmfatilom at? the iTe Horo ,end was approximately nine miles, as (compared w?th Plevlcn miles at the Tokomaru end.

The chairman said he would prefer that the Te Horo section should coat three or four thousand pounds pore than, the estimate rather than that) it should be without' the shoulders. It had. been giuggeteted tha,t the Borough method might be used; but it had to be bO'rne- in* mind that many of ithO borough r'oadfe were considerably more than 18 feet wide,, and they might bP stronger on the sides, as jfche traffic had been running on a wider road. The Council might set apart a section iof the road for experimental purposes. Metal was going to' cost the Council a little more right through. ■Cfr. Catley asked that 'the chairman should not put him down' as one who was m,ot advocating shoulders for the road.

The treasurer Is report wafe adapted,

Levied. Collected. standing . £ £ £ -- ' 1924-25 20,540 17,901 2639 1925-26 21,275 17,881 3394 :r, 1926-27 23,060 19,409 36ol