STREETS SUPERVISION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 220, 18 January 1911, Page 3

STREETS SUPERVISION

I WORKING OVERSEER APPOINTED. At the Borough Council meeting o:: .Monday night, the Mayor moved, according to notice given, 'That the Council appoint a working overseer at a salary of Z'.i per week, and that applications be called for a person having a thorough knowledge of formation and metalling of streets, asphalting, and tarring footpaths." In moving the motion, his Worship the Mayor said he did not do so in view of the loan shortly to be put before the ratepayers, but because he had always held the opinion that the Council should have a foreman to take charge of their work under the supervision of the engineer, and if necessary at times to do part of the work himself. At one time they had a foreman; but when that appointment was made, the man was on the stall' for a very short while, but die . was not a success. Since then the Council had done without one. The engineer had said the staff was the best the Council ever hau, but he (Mr. Tisch) would be excused if lie agreed to differ from that view. "Some of the men left off a .job on Saturday night and forgot to come back on Monday morning" —that was how it appeared to him sometimes. The result of the men's incompetency was that people 'wrote to the papers and held the Council up to ridicule, and they had to take the blame. The pay-sheet showed that the Council had about iH men engaged all over the place, and he asked if any councillor would with such a crowd of workmen under .him be content to have only the engineer to look after them when he had plenty of work to do in the ofliee. (Cries of ''Yes!") It was ill his Worship's opinion, absolutely necessary that the Council should have a foreman or overseer. The engineer had been with the Council for six years, and never had a holiday, and if he had to get leave to-morrow there was no one to take his place in looking after the. work. Cr. Wilson agreed with his Worship. Any unprejudiced person must say what his Worship toad said and what, he (Cr. Wilson) thought, but he would say that the work, to put it plainly, was slowly but surely slipping back. The streets and paths were not in anything like the condition they were in three or four years ago. It was not to be expected that the engineer could do what he had to do in his office and exercise supervision over the workmen in different parts of the borough. He had nothing to say as a whole against the staff, but he was entirely satisfied that every member of the staff did not earn the money paid. There were workers and shirkers. Had he go! control he would have no hesitation ingiving notice to leave to a large number of the workmen. The Council certainly should have, -supervision over the men in every hour of tlie day so as to get the money's worth. Cr. Gilbert: Is this a motion of noconfidence in the engineer? ' His Worship: No. Cr. Gilbert: Do you want a working overseer?

His Worship: One who can take charge. Cr. Gilbert: And if the work is not carried out properly? His Worship: The' engineer is responsible.

Cr. Gilbert referred to Cr. Wilson's remark about supervision every hour of of the day. Cr. Wilson: Oh, not too literally. Cr. Gilbert: Has the engineer complained of the work? His Worship: Xo, but he sleeps in the office, so to speak; he is «. willing horse, and it does not do to ride him to death. Cr. Gilbert went on to refer to someone for the billet, to which his Worship replied that he had no friend in his mind's eye to put in. Cr. Gilbert: I am very far from inferring that you have a. friend, your Worship, in any shape or form. Cr. Gilbert said he failed to see, that the Council required an overseer; the engineer would have to go round after the overseer and pass the work liimself. It would 'be a case of two men having to do one man's work. The Council had not much money for street work. He did not take much notice of newspaper writing or even of the reports, as they were not always reliable —they had only to look back a few months and they would see that they were very unreliable. There were a number of people who did nothing else but look round for trilling complaints, but the man was not born who could put down A drain and leave the road the same as it was before. He saw as much as Cr. Wilson of the work of the staff—possibly he knew as much about manual labor as Cr. Wilson did—and lie was sure they would liml very few more capable workmen than their employees in Xew Zealand, with one or two exceptions. It was impossible to get a body of men to carry out their work without a few drones, which werein every hive. The trouble was that these few men were put on to work that they were not suitable for, and they did not'have enough work of the kind that suited them to keep them going. It would be impossible to keep an overseer at the present time; the Council had no money to pay the wages. The engineer had done remarkably good work during the time he had linen with the Council. Cr. West considered the Council were calling for applications at the wrong end of the year, as -shortly there would be nothing'to do. At any rate, the appointment should bo left entirely in the engineer's hands. Cr. Clarke agreed with the motion. The sort of man they wanted would save his salary in a year. He would have liked, however, to'see a draughtsman, or one who had a, fair knowledge of office work, and could work out the levels when they were given to him. Cr. Maimix supported the motion. Cr. Browne said he felt that the engineer was overworked. Cr. Clarke had suggested the right thing in assistance in the office. 'But .£3 a week would not <>et the man his Worship wanted. ' The engineer (Mr. Kendall), on being asked to give his opinion, addressed the Council. He said there should be someone to look after the gangs of men, but he did not care whether one was appointed or not. it was a. difficult job to be m two or three places at once. On the motion being put to the meeting, it was carried, there voting for it— His Worship the Mayor, Crs. Wilson, Clarke and Marmix, and against, Crs. West, Gilbert and Browne.