LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS. (BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

Waikato Times, 16 May 1882, Page 4

LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS. (BY TELEGRAPH.— PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

• '?' WfcLLttfOTON, Friday. We have been .favoured by fcl^e i Government J .with the] following copy of a circular about to be issued to the Local The Go'vernmeiit, in accordance with the 'fcledges given last session, have under consideration lt the ■ propriety of intro-' (hieing in the ensuing session measures to improve the position of the Local Governing Bodiesj" 1 and 1 'to give them financial assistance in the prosecution of .public works. ' 'The- GoTernment think' thatj before' 'Parliament deals with these measures, it would be desirable for the local bodies to have an opportunity of directly ' expressing their opinions on some of ,the .more important, points. I therefore' have the, honour to ,ask thai; you will,' on behalf of the body over which you preside, -answer the questions in the enclosed "paper, or as many of them as you take an interest in, and return 1 such , answer to "no at your earliest' convenience. The bulk of, the questions, ,you will observe, relates to the constitution, powers, and duties of the governing - bodies. For your guidance, I propose offering an explanation on some of the matters to be dealt with. It is-, I think, generally admitted that the government of tow ns and villages under municipal corporations and town districts needs no gieat explanation. Amendments on points of detail will no doubt be from time to time icquired ; also it is generally admitted that there are a number of special purposes for which special bodies are required, and must be allowed to exist at present, such as harbour management, education, &c. , therefore it is only to the government of country districts that this circular is intended to apply. The Government, after careful inquiry, are satisfied that tlieie are some distiicts which desire the usual government of counties and of road boards, and others which wish only the government of one or other of these bodies. It is evident that legislation to bo satisfactory must be so framed as to allow each district to choose readily which of such forms of gorernment it prefers to ha"\ c. On'" ot the measures most needed is consolidating the Road Boaids Acts, which by hi inging the whole law relating to mail boaids into one statute, would much simplify the working of those institutions. Yotu auswets to the questions as to counties and load boards m ill inutciially help the Government and Pnili.uueut \n dealing with the load boauls and also ameding the Counties Bill. As to the finances of local bodies, of com se the greater part of their levenue must at all times be derived fiom lates. Believing that the present system of valuing is unnecessarily expensive, and tli.it local bodies might, at a small cost to tho colony, be relieved of the cost of valuation altogether by adopting the piopcity tax valuation, the Government are preparing a new Rating Bill on that basis. By such a bill it will be proposed tli.it * every third year, in March, commencing in the year ISS3, the Piopcity Tax Commissioner, who will then have completed his valuation, shall furnish each body with the valuation roll. He will also have to furnish the local bodies every intermediate year w ith a list of any alteration made by him owing to the change of owner or occupier, the purchase of land from the Crown, fee. The ratepayers will be protected from excessive Aiiluations, for not only will they have the right of appeal to the Boards of Reviewers, but also under the Property Assessment Act of last session, the: Government niusfc pin chase the propeity if they do not reduce their \alnation to what the owner hns valued it at, while the Government are protected from unfairly low valuations by having the right of purchase at the owner's valuation with CIO per cent added. The rates will then be struck on the capital value of the land, and of course the making out of the rate-book "nill, under the pioposod Bill, be a matter of clerical work simply. Jt will also be proposed to vest the powtr of selling or letting land for the non-pay-ment of rates in the Public Trustee six months after judgment has been obtained on notice given to the defaulter, but compelling the Public Trustee to do so on getting a ceitificato of judgment, and also enabling him to pay o\ er to the local body tho rates, &c, in an oar before the sale, or lease, in which oa'-e he will ictain the inteiest charged As these pow cis ate generally exercised in the case of unoccupied ordesctred lands oxer which the Public Trustee has contiol, it will be moie convenient foi him to have these powers, and it will save both trouble and expense to local bodies. As to the financial aid ■which should bo given by the colony to local bodies, the Government pi oposals of last year weie embodied in the Roads Construction Bill and the Crown and Native Lands Rating Bill, but the Government are now considering the propriety of nuking important alterations in these Bills before introducing them again, and hopo theieby to make them satisfactoi y to Parliament and the public. In considering this question I would beg you to bear in mind ; — 1. That it is most desiious to avoid having to obtain aid for local bodies directly from Parliament. 2. That whether the money for the construction of local public Moiks be found by Parliment or by local bodies, it must, to a great extent, and for some time to come, be found out of loans. 3. That as regards such works as main roads, which connect one centre of population With another, thereby promoting the prosperity of the colony to an even greater degree than they benefit the immediate localities thiough which they pass, it is only fair that the whole colony should bear, at any rate, tho greater part of the cost of their construction. 4. That as regards such works as district roads, , which may be said to be constructed chiefly for the benefit of the property through which they pass, the greater part of the cost ot their construction sh6uld be borne by the property so benefited ; in other words, by rates, which should be spread over a reasonable term of years, so as to repay the principal with interest at a low rate. The Government endeavored to affect this object by the Roads Construction Bill last session. Its main provisions were as follow : — A board was proposed which Avas to distribute the Government aid provided by the bill, and- to obtain the repayment of those portions advanced as loans. 1 Neither the existence nor method of constructing such board was at all necessary 'to the scheme, of the bill, as the board had practically no discretionary as to the granting of loans, the, rights of each , local body to obtain grants ;of money p 'ovided by the bill being clearly defined , by it.-' But the reason for proposing, a board was, that without it the powers proposed to be conferred on it would '" have to be conferred on the Government of the day, This, especially as to the enforcing the, repayment of loans, seems' The bill provided' £'£150,000 out of the loans yearly, a grant adf^ttrplua land fund up to £1£0,000,. for . |'gi^n y s&dj%'' < main. roads \ which' j were ' |ro4ifa*dMat*ed'tf.> be such by the 'uoapp, I yi^'itß-iif^ppi'oVifl of ' Parliament, *&ny pjoun%;cb}incil or councils who desired ,to r tebnstroctjpknia&|o^,,and ,which could* ||atevs6jj|s^ne lotiHH 6f f tfie c6st| i^couidiat 6acs;hjve got;* the > other, thrct' (Pip w <»t< , / 'M^h r> ,f^' : ~ ■ t ? i '

fourths from the board as a free grant in aid. If such council 'wasPnot- in a positiqu to- provide the fourth, then if the ratepayers i apprbvedi' by a ' polls 6f." tile levying of a special rate to repay such fourth, the board Were to* supply the whole of the money necessary for the .construction . Tlirde-f oil rth'S of <it ris -f ree" grant in aid. and the other Onetfourth being \ Repayable -by tjwentyj h^f-yearly, debentures of the, council which were no;fc : to bear interest. In order to i show, the working of this pai;t,qf- the bill I, will give an instance. Supposing the^road from Ato B had been declared a mam road, and the council Avas desirous of constructing the whole or . a portion of it, which would have cost, say, £10,000, the council could, 6n finding ' £2500 jtbfetar selves, at once have got £7500 as a free .grant in aid, or -else .they could have got the whole £10,000 on giving debentures for the paying of -£125 every! half year for ten years, to be secured by the, levying of 'a rate which would every , ha}f >yeaj, far , ten years, have produced £120. iOf course, the amount of this rate pould have been propoi tionately diminished if the countiy could or choose to furnish .a part of such £2000, in other words, to lie aided by the Government. Over raver works and district roads whioh were all roads, not main roads, aid could have been given under this part of the bill to road boards, or liver boards, as Avell as emmty councils, to start with. It was proposed that 1 tlie board should be piovidedAuth £200,000 out of the loan for these purposes. Any such local body has a right, under the bill, to obtain an advance of the whole or any portion, of the cost of such works if the .ratepayers had, by a poll, appiovcd and levied a late to secure therepaymentof theamount advanced in the following manner : — . It was to pp ye debentures . for the whole amount «id\ .meed, paying the principal back with interest by 27 half-yearly payments of £4 10s for every £100. In order to &lioav the working of the bill as regards Rfver Works or District Rods, I will give an instance :— Suppose a road boiird required £500 to construct a distiiotioail, it could, on complying with the necessary conditions, have obtained the whole of the money on giving debentures for twenty-boven halt-yearly payments of £22 ids each, on the payment of the, last ot a\ liicli the avliolo debt, principal a.s well na interest, would have been extinguished. The act contained a number ot m.ichiueiy pi ovisions for ensuring that the ultimate ot the cost on which the inonejs A\ere to be advanced weic rt asonablc ; that the moneys could have been applied only to the works for Avhich the\ weie obi. vined, takins a poll of the liitepayeis to enable the local hodieb to unite in .m application, and for making ■uul collecting the special lates, &c. If the applie.it'on-5 for the year had exceeded the. money at the disposal of tho board, such money would hare been divided pto > til a, the boa id having no power to grant tho application ot one body in preference to another. It should be mentioned that the definition of load given by the bill included hi idges, and that piiority Avas given to the applications of bodies desirous of l econsti ueting roads evidently destioycd by Hoods Another part of the bill provides a 'scheme for constructing loads though Gioawi lands, either before or shortly alter the sale, out of the purdi.ihc iiioue> to be itceived therefrom; thus thiouinir the cobt of the construction ot all main roads through lands hoav in tlie hands of the Crown upon the land fund. Ttwill bescenthatby the proposal it was .suggested to provide at once half a million of money for i oad-making, but, of course, if adopted and found to answer, it could have been extended to any extent required for settlement, if approved by Parliament. At any rate as regards those Avorks, the money for which was to be found entirely by Avay of loan, it might be Avell here to show Avhat the cost to the colony of those proposals would have been as the colony Avould have been lending £200,000 for district Avorks at 3 per cent., for which the colony itself p.iys ."> per cent, This Avould have meant an annual charge of £4000. Besides, there Avould have been full interest on the £l.~)!),000 paid out of the loan for main roads, as above shown, Avhich is about L' 7500, in all £11, .100 ; but considering the large extent of countiy this expenditure would have enabled local bodies to open up, thus promoting settlement and adding to the general wealth of the colony, it must be admitted that no money eouM he better spent. Had it liven con°idcred advisable to spend moie money, every additional C 100,000 found by P.ulianient for the purposes of the bill would ha\e co.st the colony C2oooper annum. It should be noted also that the funds gi anted to the coard would eveiy year luve been increased by the receipts from the local bodies of the half-yearly instalments, made in repayment of loans, w hich v\ ould have been available for again advancing for similar Avoiks* As to maintenance aftci con&ti notion of Avorkb above referred to, there cannot be much doubt that in all ordinary cases the cost must be defrayed out of the rates ; in other Avordss, by the owners of the property benefited by the same. It is because of the recognition by the Government of thu> principle that they introduced the Crown and Native Lands Rating Bill, Avhich brought the CroAvn and the natives Avithin the operation of such a principle. The following is an outline of the provisions of the bill : — (it) There were first some general exemptions of Crown property. (h) All Crown lands in boroughs Avould have been rated like private lands to the Colonial Treasurer, and the rates paid out of the consolidated fund. (r) All Crown lands anywhere (subject to the above referred to exemptions), on which there are buildings now by the Government, Avould have been dealt with in the same Avay. ' (d) All native lands in boroughs AvOuld have been rated to the oAvner or occupier, just as in the case of land belonging to Europeans. (0 The Governor-in-CoUncil might define districts at any time in which all native lands should bo treated in the same Avay. (/) Thou, as to all other Crown and native lands, not yet dealt Avith, certain fixed values for rating purposes are given by the bill, and also the quantity iv each 1 district to start with Avas fixed by the schedule, and 'would have>been diminished! every year as any lands ceased- to be CroAvn or native lands. It was 1 thought that thus fixing the two pbints of 'value and quantity, though amounts of leither were of course' open for lAodificatioiv,; Avould have saved much trouble 0 aiid 1 ' dispute. ,In ; the; ease of such lands,, the? rates were proposed to be paid out of the 'consolidated fund I,'1 ,' but any 'sb* paid on native l,and wpuld, liave been collected as a stamp duty wlien tue land i was sold or leased to Europeans. t ' ' ;\ ' !,' ~ } I trust that this explanation will aid you in comprehending the scbeme,of ,the?G bills, and I shall be gladf tot receive,'- any suggestions 'from' you "gene'rall^ , oh* the* matters dealt,. with' t by. t^i^cifcp.lajjfLa, wellasyour answers ito .specific creations set fortn< in the schedule.' »<».«>'-!•' . j *s ,><■ >"' I have tho Koribur'td be', Sty jfiftiVW aient seyyanj;,, , j, v^H. A., AnciNsajf. ( „., *>].• i Should ■.;the' !^tttfty! Chairmen, be feleciied hd>tf*MSsfWhf 4 „ f ';•*? •,

boundaries," witliout consent of PafliaV niont, as is now requitM l^'-'-^ 3. Should road districts in each county form ridings of the county ? £. Would you suggest any alteration in Ithc mode of electing councillors. 5. Can you suggest any new duties wtyich should be imposed, or new powers i which should be conferred on counties, more especially as to power of making ;by-la"waj? < ) ' /.! \r ;;:< - ! >/ ;.- - ■{ " 6. Should the counties be enabled to create new ,rdad districts, o^r bttfijr the existing oiie'b'f lneV>ownl motion*, or. only on the petition of a majority of the ratepayers ?,- ,- -i - | , - y f ,<<:,• 7. Should the counties or the road boards have the power of altering the divisions and the numbers of the members of ,the road boards ? 8. What rating powers should counties have ? $. What rating powers should road boards have ? *. 10. If the operation of the Counties ,Ac;t is suspended in any county, should the road boards be enabled to exercise any of the powers of the county, and, if so, which ? 11. Should road board members hold office for.a fixed time, and, if so, what, or should a proportion retire every year. 12. Should road board chairmen be elected as mayors are ? 13. It is desirable to allow of road board elections being held in an open public meeting, like those of school committees, in districts where the road board, by special order, adopts the plan ? 14. What alterations do you suggest in the Kating Bill, as sketched in the circular enclosed herewith ? 13. Please state whether the provisions of the Roads Construction Act, and Crown and Native Rating Bills would suit your district, and if not, what alterations would you suggest, whioli would make these measures more useful ? 10. Have you any suggestions to make generally on the matters dealt with in the cheular in which this is enclosed ?