DAY-WORK OR CONTRACT?

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 157, 23 September 1927, Page 16

DAY-WORK OR CONTRACT?

CONSTRUCTING CITY ROADS “COUNCIL DOES BEST JOB” TyHEN Mr. W. Skegg set out to ** criticise the City Council regarding concrete road construction, and advocated contracts instead of day-labour, before the Remuera East ratepayers’ meeting last evening, he received scant support. “We have seen how money is being absolutely squandered on the concrete road extension in our district,” commented Mr. Skegg. “It would have been done for considerably less by contract. A member remarked that he had seen a lot of poor quality concrete work by contract.. Mr. Skegg :. It is a matter of supervision. The member: There are tricks in every trade. Mr. Green asserted that the council made a first-class job of its work. Mr. Slyfield stated that it may not pay a small local body to do concrete work, but the city should be able to do a better job at a favourable price. “We might be ill-advised to criticise the work until we know just what it has cost,” cautioned another member. Councillor F. W. Brinsden stated that the council had had its fill of letting big contracts, and quoted several instances especially in connection with W r aitakere Ranges dams that had cost the council many thousands of pounds. The concrete roading work had been so successfully carried out by the council that several outside bodies had asked the council to carry out their work for them. Mr. D. Lundon remarked that they must remember what the season had been, and that the council had kept the men going in hard times. A contractor would have put them off in the wet weather, even if he had to pay a forfeit at the end of his contract. The question was then dropped.