LOAN NOT NEEDED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 543, 21 December 1928, Page 13

LOAN NOT NEEDED

MONEY FOR WATERWORKS REPLY TO CRITICISM The City Council discovered last evening that there was no necessity for it to get any further authority from the Local Government Loans Board to raise the £200,000 balance on the waterworks loan. Tlie council decided at its last meeting to ask for the board’s permission, and Mr. H. P. Taylor entered an objection, which he forwarded to the board. Last evening a letter was received from the board pointing out that as the original loan of £400,000 had been sanctioned before the first half of it was raised, it was not necessary to take any further steps before proceeding to raise the balance. At the direction of the council the Town Clerk, Mr. J. S. Brigham, reported at length upon Mr. Taylor’s objections. Round a question, “What is the difference between ‘the full estimate’ and the ‘estimate for completion/ ” raised by Cr. T. Bloodworth in reference to objection number one, was centered considerable discussion. Several councillors interpreted ‘estimate for completion’ as meaning the cost to be incurred from the present date until the opening of the dam. The city engineer explained that the original estimate in 1923 was £493,000 for the entire work without the filtration plant. “I would like the town clerk to confer with the engineer and to word the answer to the first objection more clearly,” remarked Cr. E. J. Phelan. It was accordingly agreed that the answer to objection number one be referred back to the town clerk for elucidation. The remainder of the report was received.