THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1908. RECONSTRUCTION OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9085, 9 May 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1908. RECONSTRUCTION OF COUNCIL COMMITTEES.

The reconstruction made by the Borough Council, afte' 4 the ceremony of the Mayoral installation on Wednesday evening, regarding the committees, is a momentous step in municipal affairs. The recasting of the committees means a different system of management, and whether it will facilitate the work of the Council as a whole remains to be seen. Certainly a modified scheme of reconstruction was necessary, but we are inclined to think the change effected will not be satisfactory. With the exception of the Gas and Library Departments, which are in the hands of a separate committee, the Council as a whole acts as a committee to control the ba'ance of the Borough affairs. The

Mayor's original' proposal was for three committees in the Council to embrace works and finance, gas and abattoir, and park and library, and this, in our opinion, would have been the best method of reconstruction, but there were differences of opinion among the Councillors resulting in the appointment of two committees. The appointment of committees can Le overdone, but the restriction of committees can likewise be overdone. There is no gainsaying the fact that certain Councillors have a special aptitude for certain departments, and an intelligent Council should immediately see this, and act accordingly by grouping sound committees together. Large committees are, and always will be, a failure. Where they exist business is retarded by volumes of useless discussion and much valuable time is wasted. Another matter decided by the Council,which may in itself appear trivial, is the time fixed for holding the meetings of the Council aa a committee. This has been arrange ] for 3 o'clock in the afternoon on Tuesdays between the ordinary Council meetings. This is a most unsuitable hour for Councillors to attend meetings, and we think that the sooner it is altered the better it will be for the working of the Council. In the first place the Council is composed mainly of men whose private business takes up the whole of their time during the day, and we think that "apologies for absence" will be very frequent. The meetings are likely to be hurried through, and this in the interests of the ratepayers is not desirable.