PROCEDURE AT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9099, 27 May 1908, Page 5

PROCEDURE AT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS.

DISCUSSION BY THE COUNCIL, Cr J. Hunter moved at the Borough Council meeting last night, pursuant to notice, the fallowing motion: —(!) That all new business be initiated in open Council; (2) that the Acting Town Clerk or Borough Engineer report direct to the Council, or a committee of the whole; (3) that no authorisation orders to be issued except by the Acting-Town Clerk. Cr Ewington seconded the motion It was agreed to deal with the three issues separately. Cr Hunter, in speaking to the first clause, maintained that it was only right f hat the whole Council should know what any new business was about, and thus know what they were dealing with. Committees could afterwards deal with the business when it was relegated to them. Cr Morris said he failed to see the utility of the motion, which he strongly opposed. He considered the Works Committee, for example, the proper place for new works to be dealt with which came under its scope. Crs Pragnell, Pauling and Haughey also thought that as the Works Committee was composed of the whob council the motion was unnecessary. Cr Hunter agreed to hold over this clause of his motion until the others were explained. Cr Huntfr,.»aid in reference to the second portion of his motion, that it was dez-'gned to prevent a repetition of what had previously occurred in the Council —namely, the commencing of a work by the Works Committee, which, afterwards was questioned by the whole Council. The Mayor suggested that in view of these remarks it would imptove this part of the resolution by adding the words "before any work is dom under the report." Cr Ewington considered that this pare of the motion was consistent with the principle of a works committee of the whole Council. Crs Pauling, Pragnell and Mcrris Wdi'Q opposed to this clause, on the ground that it conferred no direct benefit above what the Council already possessed. Cr Pauling further pointed out that it stultified the work of the Park Committee, which Cr Hunter had himself moved to set up. The Mayor said he saw little harm in the clause, as its object wa3 merely to prevent committees working counter to the wishes of the Council. Cr Hunter then moved clause 3, "that no authorisation orders be issued except by the Acting-l'own Clerk." He referred to several recent financial transactions over which some difficulty had arisen, and said the clause was designed to avert such complications in the future. The Town Clerk would have the sole responsibility. and the Council could not then object to the payment of the money if Councillors knew they had sanctioned the money. The Mayor pointed out/ after some discussion, that th'js clause really only affirmed what had been the custom in the past. The same Councilors opposed to the previous clauses offered opposition to this one also. The motion, on being put clause by clause, was carried on division, Crs Morris. Jfragnell and Yarr opposing clauses 1 and 2, and they and Cr Haughey also opposing the last cause.