THE RATING SYSTEM.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXV, Issue 62, 18 March 1913, Page 8

THE RATING SYSTEM.

TOWN CLERK’S SCHEME APPROVED.

At a special meeting of the Council hold last evening, the Town Clerk’s proposal was further discussed, and the new system of rating was approved, no dissenting vote being recorded. His Worship the Mayor (Mr .P. Kirkwood) presided, and there was a full attendance of councillors with the exception of Councillor Thompson, from whom an apology for absence was received.

In laying the proposals before tin Council, Mr Kirkwood said he courted the fullest enquiry. He wished ft see the proposals threshed out in ope: Council, as the loan proposals tnu been threshed out, and either he o Mr Skoglund would only be too ghu to answer any questions that migh suggest themselves to Councillors His Worship then moved “That tin principle of the Town Clerk’s pro posals be approved, and that a re commendation be mad 3 to the in cam: in Council in the direction of making tin proposals operative.” in speaking to this motion, the Mayor stated tha the proposal was that the water rat should be increased from 3d in the s to 9d in the £, and that a charge 0 £1 should be made for water closets He pointed out that by carrying on this proposal as made that evening sufficient revenue would bo provided interest and sinking fund, also suftl dent to cover maintenance and an; works within reason that would b required later in connect.on wit water and drainage. Of course i must bo distinctly understood that th old rates would stand. Another mat ter was the increased revenue fror Borough reserves. During the year there had been an increase of £SOO Ir it was thought desirable, that £SO could be used in the direction ot I ftin those rates that were being paid u to the present. There wore olhe purposes, however, for which it migh bo used. As a matter of fact, th principle of the proposal was that tb water should pay for the drainage am water. They must see that water mus be the source of revenue, because ther was no revenue to come from drain age. Mr Skoglund had drawn n prospective cases which showed exact ly how the proposal would work ou in ordinary routine. In laying th matter briefly before the Council, M Kirkwood said he would give counci lors the pros, and cons, of the schen. as ho found it. In the case of 1

small property holder, who lived out side l the present water and drainag area and assuming that he would I later brought into that area, i would apparently lay more heavily o hint, insomuch as his valuation wa a low valuation as compared wit Valuations in some central parts < the town. As far as any scheme wa concerned, councillors might rest a: surod that it would not suit evem body. If, after due discussion, the came to the conclusion that it woul suit the greater number, then it wa their duty to adopt that scheme. fcr'ring to sections hold for specula tlon— land unimproved—His V\ orsh; stated that these proposals wouh let such owners off fairly lightly, a compared to those who had made in provements on their properties. I connection with the £1 charge fc water closets, this new charge woul |)e over and aoove any present late paid, whereas with the present houst boulder who now used the pan sj ste, it would be simply a matter of payin £1 for the water closet installed, a against 19s 6d for removing th night soil. , The Town Clerk’s table was the read. For the purposes of his argn ment, Mr Skoglnnd had worked on the amount of each councillor’s, a well as the Mayor’s, rates for wate nnd drainage under the present an the proposed systems. Ihe rates ui tier the now scheme are given in pai enthesis ;—The Mayor, £22 12s 6 (£23 8s); N. J. King, £5 4s 6d (£ 935); J. D. Healy, 18s Id (16s 6d) R. Dingle, £3 10s (£4 3s); T. Lawsor 5s 4d (12s 6d); J. H. Thompson, 11 6d (13s Gd); J. Boon, £2 9s 2d (£ 10s); J. McAllister, £2 4s 3d (£ 2s); R. McK. Morison, £2 16s (15 9d). Cr. King seconded pro forma. H was of the opinion that the preseii Council should not discuss this prr posal, seeing that in a few weeks tim a new Council would be cons.ituted the members of which might not se eye-to-eye with the members of th present body. His Worship: The resolution pro vides for this.

The Councillor continued that h thought the scheme was feasible, hu ho did not think it would suit tin greater number. W ater and drain ago would soon be laid on to mor> houses, and there would be then somi three-fifths of the ratepayers providec with water and drainage, as agains. two-fifths without these improvements The new scheme would not suit th three-fifths. He reminded Council lors that those people who had drain age at the present time, had gone t. considerable expense, for drainage wa a very expensive item. His opinioi was that a special rate over the are: which was served by the water 01 drainage would be a more equitabl system of rating.

Cr. Morison contended that Cr. King’s argument was as follows:-—One resident has electric light, anothei resident has the electric light wires running past his door. /.The man who has light expects his neighbour in darkness to pay a portion of his lighting bill.

Cr. Dingle asked if there was machinery in the by-laws to comp'd householders to make connections when the sewers were laid past their doors. The Town Clerk answered the question in the affirmative. The whole

success of this proposal depended upon the enforcement of this clause in the by-laws. At present there wore 61 persons who could connect with the present drainage system. His Worship: They have not connected in the majority of cases, because they can’t afford it.

Cr. Boon saw no hardship in compelling residents to connect. He instanced the fact that in many eases, landlords could give their tenants the benefits of the drainage system, but did not wish to increase their outlay. Cr. Healy thought that, seeing sixty residents who could connect had not connected, it was futile to think ol spending £10,500 to lay more sewers, until all possible connections had been made.

The Mayor emphasised the importance of the water and drainage loans. Speaking personally—though he did not like to view the water from a personal standpoint—the carrying of these loans would mean for him increased rates. Ho had drainage, good footpaths, good lights, etc., etc., but other people had not. Ho was quite prepared, therefore, to pay his share that the other man might also derive some benefits from these improve-

ments. The motion was then put and carried.