MANGAWARA DRAINAGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 730, 1 August 1929, Page 6

MANGAWARA DRAINAGE

CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS CRITICISM OF SYSTEM (From Our Own Correspondent) HAMILTON, Wednesday. Strong- criticism of the Drainage Act is conveyed in a an important legal opinion tabled at today’s meeting in Hamilton of the Mangamara River Board. The opinion will be of wide interest to all local body officials and representatives, and particularly to drainage experts. Objections to the classifications of River district were recently made by their properties in the Mangawara a large number of ratepayers at the Hamilton Court. In many cases Mr. Wyvern W T ilson, S.M., who presided, amended the list to provide for substantial reductions,

In their report, the board’s solicitors state that the classifier went to considerable trouble to frame the classifications so as to make the lands draining into each outlet provide the interest and sinking fund on the money expended on the respective outlets. The amendment of the classifications, they add, has entirely defeated this object. “The rate must be increased over the whole area, and the drastic reductions the areas of the lake and Unsworth’s drain must result in the rate collected in those areas being insufficient to pay the interest and sinking fund on their shares of the money expended. Consequently, ratepayers whose lands drain into the Tenfoot and the Old Creek will be compelled to pay part of the cost of the work on the other drains.. “The fault does not lie with the classifier, nor with the court, but rather with the system adopted and the inadequate provisions of the Acts relating to drainage. . . . We have always maintained that community of interest is tlie basis of true co-operation in drainage matters, and that it is impossible to classify lands interested in different outlets against one another. We would strongly advise the board, when forming special rating areas in future, to restrict each special area to one outlet. Such a procedure would so far as the present inadequate law permits—ensure that each special work would be paid for by the ratepayers receiving the benefits therefrom.’’ The clerk was instructed to obtain classification plans from the board’s engineer, and to submit them, with the valuation roll, to the Valuation Department for the insertion of officials \alues. He was also authorised to calculate the special rate required to meet the current year’s interest and sinking fund charges.