Piako Connty Council.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXII, Issue 42766, 17 August 1905, Page 3

Piako Connty Council.

MONTHLY MEETING.

The monthly meeting of the Piako Comity Council was held in the Council Chambers, Morrinsville, yesterday. Present: Councillors Chepmell, N. A. Lamey, W, Ring, Thos. Gavin, M. Keeley, T. Bellamy, Brady, and Jno. McCaw. Cr Chepmell occupied" tho chair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Inward and outward correspondence was dealt with. A communication from the Colonial Secre- 1 tary was as follows: “It was ordered in the House of Representatives on July 11, 4 1905, that there be laid before this House a return showing:—(l). Names of all local bodies that have taken advantage of the increased rating powers

conferred by “ The Counties’ Act Amendment t Act, 1903; (2). the amount of the increased rate; and (3) the year in which it was struck. A letter from Messrs Bremner and McGuire ■was read, saying that they have, no objection to selling five acres on Cambridge-Tauranga road and three acres on Tirau - Matamata road at £ls per acre on condition that the Council securely fence the same. i Re outlet drain at Bromielow; a letter was read from Mr R. H. Bailey, dated August 9, stating that this would be completed at the end of that week. Notes were received from the PaymasterGeneral advising payment into Bank of New Zealand of sums of £2 4s 6d and £l, being goldfields’ revenue brought to credit to April 29 and June 24 respectively. A letter was received from New Zealand Thames Valley Land Co., Ltd., in liquidation, r enclosing cheque for £338 10s, being the amount of rates to March 31st, 1906, plus exchange 8s 6d. Foreman Mahood reported that roads throughout the district had improved wonderfully owing to the dry weather during this month, and that no work has been done except attending to dangerous places. He would ask the Council for information as to who were responsible for the removal or burying of dead or dying stock left on the roadside By cattle-drivers from Thames Valley stock sale. The Chairman said he thought that the owner would bo responsible if he could be got at. /

The Clerk said some of the cattle recently left on the roadside were from a big mob recently driven through the district. The Chairman thought when the police dealt with these matters they buried the cattle and charged up expenses to the owner, or, failing this they would charge the Council. A letter from Mr Jno. McCaw was read, stating that he had succeeded in getting £lO from settlers interested in getting the GordonWaharoa road repaired and asking the Council to proceed with the work without delay, and enclosing cheques totalling £lO. Estimates received from Occleston and Co., •- Hobsonville, Auckland, for socket pipes, etc. Foreman Johnson’s Report: Thames-Wai-kato road, patching done in places near Recreation Ground. Filled up bridge that had settled down. A man has been kept on the road where recently sanded, keeping it trimmed. Several trees came down across the road by Mrs Come’s and Mr Mackie’s, but all had been cleared away. Mr Fawcett had just about finished his contract and had made a first-class job of it. Johnson went over Poplar Bridge with Crs Lamey and Bellamy, and Messrs Allen (4) and decided as per report from Cr Lamey. Cr Lamey, on the question of rates, asked if the rate for the Te Aroha riding was not fixed at at a former meeting, yet he now saw that the rate had been fixed a* •> ; He said that the rates should be the R ame as other ridings. Cr Gavin : Why should a rate be struck which was larger than necessary for the upkeep of the roads ?” Cr Lamey wanted to know why a more equitable rate was not struck in the various ridings. The Chairman said that Mr Lamey did not seem to understand that to do this would necessitate an alteration in the local geography ’ the irregular shapes of the different ridings was bound to introduce some differences in the respective expenditures. Cr Lamey said he simply wished to say that what they wanted was the adoption of the Separate Riding Account System and an equitable expenditure of their money. The discussion was then dropped. Receipt to hand for fee of £2 2s to Counties Association which the Council had just joined. Legal opinions bnd also been received from file Association, touching on questions of direct interest to the Council. ' - These were read, and the Clerk said that they alone were worth the subscription money. The auditor had taken exception to two i items in the balance sheet.

' Tlie Chairman moved that a proteat be made against the exception to the two items, he contending that the balance-sheet was ! correct, and that it should be returned to the auditor for reconsideration. This was seconded by Cr King and carried. The letter from the Secretary of the Piako Ratepayers’ Reform Association was read ‘ follows : / Dear Sir, —I am instructed by the Piako Ratepayers’ Association to thank yOur Council for your letter of the 24th June last, relative -! to Allocation for Thames-Waikato Road last year,, and to ask you if you would be kind i enough to furnish me with the amount of

money actually paid on this road last year. I * am also instructed to communicate to your Council the following resolutions which were passed at our executive meeting on 3rd inst., viz.“ (1) That on looking over the differen- « tial system of rating adopted by your Council we respectfully request you to consider the advisability of bringing into operation at as early a date as possible, “The Separate Riding > Account System,” and thus secure the honest

>■ and equitable expenditure of their rates within their own districts and boundaries. (2) That 1 this Association respectfully request your Council to give effect to the report of Foreman Johnson at your last meeting re sale of County horses, mid trust the motion proposed hy Cr. A. Bellamy on that subject will be . carried unanimously. Yours faithfully, Robt. A. Labney, secretary P. R. R. A. P.S. —I am enclosing a copy of a letter received from the Taranaki County Council relative to the keepiug of “ Separate Riding i Accounts,” which I trust you will read to your Council.—R. A. L. ■ The Chairman thought that there was toe much of this asking for particular accounts — any ratepayer had access to the accounts. i Cr Larney said the ratepayers thought the Council was in the position of the Native Lands Department some years ago. He said the ratepayers wanted equitable expenditure of their money.

Chairman : We hear a deal about “your” . money —you’ve got no money. Cr Keeley said that Cr Lamey’s riding had, a while ago, more money spent in it than in any other —the amount was £3OO. i Cr Larney: We want to be honest and jfaf straightforward with the other Ridings, and with that view we want Separate Riding Accounts. Chairman: You have had the benefit of a large expenditure and now you want to keep money hack from other ridings. Cr Larney: We have a riding here which has spent an excess of £14,022 over others. Chairman : Yon must not only take into account ordinary revenue, but goldfields revenue as well. . ;• / Cr Larney : I am sorry there is not more goldfields revenue. The following notice of motion was intro- , duced by Cr Larney- In view of the fact, that Cr Koely’s motion was defeated only on the casting vote of tbo Chairman at a Council meeting when only six member* were promt, I hereby give notice that at the next meeting of the Piako County Council, I will move licit ■“ The system of Bejiarate Riding Accounts bo brought into operation within the Piako County,” viz: “That the estimated oxjs'ntoi in connection with administration, flwch a- salaries, travelling expenses to Ci/au-

cillors, office expenses, legal expenses, hospital, dog registration, interest on loans, bridges, and incidental expenses be deducted from the total estimated receipts, and the balance allocated pro rata for expenditure on road works, according to the rates collected in each riding. ’ ( Chairman: You can’t - understand the difference that the irregular shape of the land makes to expenditure ; and any ratepayer can inspect the books. There ir no objectin the request. Cr Gavin: The letters should be thrown into the waste paper basket. Chairman: You (Lamey) seem to want to cut the country up into a lot of small sections, and I move that we decline to supply information to the Association.—All in favour except Cr Lamey. Chairman : The Association is getting a bit out of hand. They asked for the “ honest and equitable expenditure of their money,” and this was an imputation. Cti Keeley: Yes, we are evidently not honest.

Cr Lamey : Yt r e will stand by everything we say. Come to Waitoa on Saturday at my invitation and you will hear what we have to say on this matter. Cr Gavin: The Ratepayers’ Association is only a small comer of the ratepayers, and it is not our duty to waste time attending to these requests.

Cr Lamey: The Association wants to put the administration of Council affairs on an honest basis and dispense with those who had axes to, grind. ...... A letter was read from Mr F. Cauldwell, Manawaru, asking the Council to compensate him for a cow that had fallen into a drain and was killed; it was a good dairy cow and would have calved next month. Hearing that Mr Allen had once obtained compensation (from the Road Board) in a similar caso he thought Council should grant it in this case. Chairman: In Mr Allen’s case it was different : a mob of cattle was being driven, and the drain was overgrown, and certainly was a dangerous place: the board therefore decided not to oppose Mr Allen’s claim. But in the present case nothing was known about the case. Would Mr: Gavin make enquiries P Cr Gavin: Perhaps it will be called interfering as it is out of my riding. Cr Lamey: What I said this morning was merely a matter of etiquette—remember there is such a thing as etiquette in society, and the Chairman rales that a ratepayer may participate in the affairs of any riding. . It was proposed and carried that Cr Gavin should go to Manawaru with a view to getting the facts about Mr Cauldwell’s case, and should at the same time inspect the bridge at Te Aroha West and make a report thereon. The Clerk said that the trees now under discussion at Mr Allen’s were overshadowing and not overhanging trees. The overhanging branches had been cut down. Referring to broom on the road by Mr Allen’s, it was a noxious weed in the Public Ways Act, but had to be an obstruction to traffic before they could order it to be removed.

Cr Lamey : The broom is a positive benefit in some places, protecting the public from running into the numerous holes there are on some parts of the road. Cr Bellany said he had asked Mr Allen to let him contract for the cutting of them down —it would be only a few hours’ work. Chairman : In a year or two, what could be removed now for a few shillings will then cost a great deal more to remove. We ought to deal the same with everybody. I consider the broom an obstruction. Clerk : There is also titri. Chairman: We cannot compel anyone to cut titri. Cr Lamey : I don’t want to obstruct the Public Works Act in any way, but the broom on that road is a protection to traffic. Clerk : I don’t tliink the Court would hold that (broom an obstruction. Cr Bellamy . There are really only a few small bushes on the right hand side. ~ Chairman : It would be best for Mr Allen to be asked in a friendly way to remove the bushes. Cr Lamey : There is something more objectionable on the road than broom, that is briar. Cr Bellamy : We have trees on the road and won’t cut them down, and yet order others to cut theirs down. Foreman Johnson recommended that road work be done at once. There were two notices of motion from the last meeting, one to fix up the road between the Shaftsbury Bridge and Stanley road. Chairman: It is necessary to give notice of motion in writing, a certain time before the meeting, to each councillor. The Clerk thought it was sufficient that notice was given at the previous meeting. Cr Chepmell put it to the Council whether it thould be dealt with now or not. Cr Gavin thought this ruling might be illegal, and it would be best for the chairman to rale the motion in order. The chairman did not care to do this as there were two councillors absent at the last meeting. Cr Bellamy said he was sorry this had happened as it would delay the work and the sale of horses may come on. The motion was held over.' Cr | McCaw asked if the council would cut down trees on the road by the schoolmaster’s residence at Matamata.

The was moved by the Chairman, seconded and carried. Accounts were then passed for payment as follows. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile, £ll 7s; Gr. Mahood, £l2; T. OrmistonjU^s; Tawhiti, £3 6s; H. England, £9 8s; B. Montague, £4O 6s 4d; John Haeks £3O 11s 4d ; J&s. Lavery £22 14s sd; Treasury, £3; Kantz, and Co, £5; P. Baine, £6oslid; TlmDonovan, £5 ss; A. Fawcett, £10; H. Burge, £9 3s 7d; A. Young, £5; Thos. Jamieson, £4 4s; J. Robinson, 12s 6d; Accident Insurance, £26 18s 6d; New Zealand Counties Assurance, £2 2s; W. Hodgson, 7s; Albert Poole, £2 9s; Jas Finnerty, £2l2s6d; W.R. Johnson, £l2; A. J. Johnson £10; John Orr, £6 9s 6d, M. Carroll, £3 9s Id; M. Carroll and Air; £4 3s 4d ; T. Coad, £2 9s ; J. Carroll and Coad, £4 3s 4d ; J. Orr, £6 18s ; Berghofer, 6s 6d; T. Gaudin, £1 15s ; D. Borne, 14s ’ Theo. G’Willian, £7 lls 4d ; R. Brokelsby, £6 9s 9d; J. Durfer, £2O ; G. D. Duxfield, Ll2 15s; R. Johnstone and Co, L3O 13s 6d ; D. Hickey and 00., Ll 9 2s 6d.