MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1919, Page 4

MUNICIPAL CONFERENCE.

OPENED BY GOVERNOR-GENERAL. ' By Telegraph.—Press Association. jfe Wellington, last Night. ti The annual conference of the Municipal Association opened thin afternoon, the Mayor of Wellington presiding. The Governor-General, in opening the conference, said the provision of adequate housing accommodation was the most pressing problem. The chairman said the obligation wjw upon the municipalities to finance housing schemes, and the best assistance the State could give would be by raising money for the municipalities at 4 per cent. The difference between 4 per cent and what the Government had to pay for the money should be • charge on the Consolidated Fund. The first remit was: That the Govern, mont be urged to establish a Loeal Gotjrnment Board, whose function* would be to grant authority to local bodies and assist them with expert advice In respect to loans, public works, bylaws, public health, town planning, and sflch other matters as the Government may think fit. After a brief discussion the remit was altered to read that the functions of the board should be to ass.st local bodies with expert adviee. and m this form the remit was carried A motion that, owing to the gnat Increase of the cost of material and labor and the continual reductions in the valuation roll under Section 36 of'the Valuation of Land Act, 1908, the limit of IJd in the £on the capital vahwU _ .-sufficient to carry on tft, ZZ£ if work of a borough, and that the B V be now rawed to provide for the extra cost, was carried, with a provision Sit the rate should not exceed 2d in the £ A motion that city and borough conn; carriea* *** thre6 *» »" It was clodded that the Government bi •,« local bodies to contribute monevs f»M heir ordinary funds for S establishing permanent peace memorials! lost Paymcnt for their «rvlces\ra. be".*!? f edde . d tkt the Government be asked to increase ita luy rale * ,°n all Government tndlna concern., the present maximum S3? of £4ao is quite inadequate. 7 to JJS t0 w &* the «o»emm«t mn£?.i i d " ty ,° n *" ™«chi»ery and Z ™JT H ? by ,owl WIHW works* of cowtructtag public Mr. T. P. Martin, secretary of the ran* ZTi - s t M ted . that work ™' «*SS» ■ wort!.. n the &Mo » ~f W™« i.l h i e /'°"T in,r rSmit WM «*nM* Tb«t legislation be introduced to enable a c«* or borough council to set a<ide out np„,,L gCneral acco,mt > « «V »«»«*• or'S' ZJ, fT 'm, the r *P fl J r or Ten * of ««▼ Plant, building, or other property in eonsuch fund shall be set aside, and from A time to time, to Invest any money* *o V set aside and to pav the proceeds of such ~ investment into such fund,