ALL OVER A RISE

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 381, 15 June 1928, Page 14

ALL OVER A RISE

COUNCILLORS’ HEATED DEBATE ENGINEER GETS INCREASE OF £SO (From Our Own Correspondent) HAMILTON, Thursday. Normally the Hamilton Borough Council is a quiet, dignified body of citizens incapable of descending to the incipient brawling which sometimes characterises the deliberations of those who administer public affairs. Last night, although there was nothing approaching a “donnybrookj” a heated debate took place on the subject of salary increases to the chief executive staff officers.

For the past few weeks the Mayor, Mr. J. R. Fow, has tabooed any discussion. on staff salaries being taken in open council. In this decision he has had a majority of the council with him until last night, when Cr. F. J. Farrell moved, in accordance with notice given, that the council rescined its former resolution not to grant the engineer a rise in salary. The mover insisted on not going into committee. The Mayor said the resolution was carried by nine to two, and he saw no necessity for going over the whole ground again. He considered the increase could well stand over until the result of the loan proposal for waterworks was known. Then any adjustments could be made. In a letter to the council the engineer expressed disappointment at the action of the council In not recognising his services during the year. He pointed out the large number of works he had undertaken, and said that the town clerk was receiving more than he. He thought he had been done an injustice unwittingly. The Mayor said he wished to deny the imputation that he was»hostile to the engineer. He had only advocated prudence as Mayor of the borough. A sweeping indictment of the town clerk and his methods of “putting in” for a rise was made by Cr. C. Lafferty, who criticised the figures laid before the council by the town clerk, as a comparison of the salaries of other town clerks in proportion to the amount of work they did. Furthermore, added the speaker, the public had been told in the estimates that the staff salaries totalled £1,600, whereas in a special report recently submitted by the town clerk the salaries were set at £ 4,000. How could this discrepancy be explained? The town clerk was unable to answer the question, being absent through illness.

Eventually unanimity was reached when it was decided to grant an increase of £SO to the engineer’s salary, bringing it into line with that of the town clerk.