This Act may be cited as the North Shore Boroughs (Auckland) Water-supply Act, 1924, and shall come into operation on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and twenty-five:

In this Act, if not inconsistent with the context,—

The area comprised within the Boroughs of Birkenhead, Devonport, and Northcote, as from time to time constituted, is hereby constituted a water-supply district under the name of the North Shore Boroughs (Auckland) Water-supply District.

At any time within six months after the coming into operation of this Act the Takapuna Borough Council may by resolution request that its district, as from time to time constituted, be included within the boundaries of the water-supply district hereby constituted, and on receipt of a copy of such resolution the Governor-General shall by Proclamation extend the boundaries of the district accordingly.

Upon the issue of such Proclamation all the provisions of this Act shall be construed and shall apply to and in respect of, inter alia, the said Borough of Takapuna in the same manner and as effectually, and the Council and ratepayers thereof shall be subject to the same liabilities and engagements, and entitled to the same rights and privileges, as if the said borough had been an original constituent area of the district constituted by this Act on and from the commencement of this Act, and a financial adjustment between the Board and the said borough shall be made accordingly, and, failing an agreement between the Board and the said borough, the dispute shall be referred to the Minister of Public Works, whose decision shall be conclusive.

Upon the issue of a Proclamation in terms of subsection two hereof all by-laws made and all acts of authority of the Board shall be as valid and effectual and shall apply and take effect in the same manner as though the Borough of Takapuna had been included in the district constituted by this Act as from the coming into operation of this Act.

The Board constituted by this Act shall in respect of all property, rights, claims, obligations, liabilities, contracts, and engagements, and for all purposes whatsoever, be deemed after such Proclamation to be the same Corporation as that existing immediately prior to the issue of such Proclamation.

For the water-supply district hereby constituted there shall be a Water Board, which shall consist of the following members:—

For the purposes of the last preceding subsection the population of the said boroughs respectively shall be deemed to be the number of inhabitants as determined by the census last preceding the date of the appointment.

The members representing the said boroughs shall be appointed at a meeting of the Councils of the said boroughs in the month of May in every second year. The first appointment of members shall be made in the month of May, nineteen hundred and twenty-five:

Provided that in the event of the issue of a Proclamation including the Borough of Takapuna within the district the appointment of a member or members representing the said borough shall be made by the Council within a period to be specified in the Proclamation, and such member or members shall continue in office until the appointment of their successors in the ordinary course.

Every member of the Board appointed as representative of one of the said boroughs shall come into office on the date of appointment, and shall continue in office until the appointment of his successor.

In the event of a casual vacancy amongst the appointed members of the Board through death, resignation, or otherwise, a fresh appointment shall be made by the Council which appointed the member whose office has become vacant, and such appointee shall hold office only during the residue of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.

In the absence of the Commissioner from any meeting of the Board a person appointed by him may attend such meeting in his stead and as his substitute. While so attending, such substitute shall be deemed to be a member of the Board, and the fact that he so attends and acts at such meeting shall be conclusive proof of his authority so to do.

Such Board shall be a body corporate under the name of the North Shore Boroughs (Auckland) Water Board, with perpetual succession and a common seal, and with full power and capacity by that name to sue and be sued, and, subject to the provisions and for the purposes of this Act, to purchase or otherwise acquire, take, hold, manage, transfer, dispose of, and alienate real and personal property, and to make all contracts connected with or incidental to the purposes of this Act.

The Board shall be deemed to come into existence as a body corporate on the coming into operation of this Act notwithstanding that none of the members representative of the said boroughs are appointed.

No person shall be capable of being appointed to be or of continuing to be a member representing any of the said boroughs on the Board unless he is an elector of that borough, and the provisions of section forty of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, relating to the disqualification of Councillors of a borough shall, with the necessary modifications, apply with respect to members of the Board. If any member of the Board becomes disqualified his office shall be vacated.

If from any cause any Borough Council entitled to appoint a member or members of the Board shall fail, neglect, or refuse so to do the Governor-General in Council may appoint any person or persons qualified for membership of the Board to be the member or members thereof as representing such Borough Council, and the person or persons so appointed shall be deemed for all purposes to have been duly appointed by such Borough Council, but shall be removable by the Governor-General in Council, and unless so removed shall be entitled to hold office until the appointment of his successor in the ordinary course.

At the first meeting of the Board, and thereafter at each annual meeting, the Board shall elect one of its members to be the Chairman thereof.

The following provisions shall apply with reference to the election and office of Chairman:—

The Board may at any time and from time to time appoint a Deputy Chairman, who shall act as Chairman during the temporary absence or incapacity of the Chairman.

While so acting the Deputy Chairman may do all acts that the Chairman as such might do.

The fact that the Deputy Chairman exercises any power, duty, or function of the Chairman shall be sufficient evidence of his authority so to do.

The first meeting of the Board shall be held within two months after the coming into operation of this Act, and shall be convened by the Commissioner at such time and place as he may appoint, and if no quorum is present within half an hour of the time fixed for the holding of such meeting the same shall stand adjourned from day to day at the same time and place till a quorum is assembled.

The Board shall hold an annual meeting at noon on the first Monday in June in each year, and may hold ordinary meetings for the transaction of business at such times as the Board from time to time appoints.

The Board at any time may hold a special meeting, to be called either on a resolution of the Board or on a requisition in writing delivered to the Board and signed by the Chairman and by any two members specifying the day for which such special meeting is to be called. Every notice of a special meeting shall be in writing under the hand of the Secretary, and shall be sent to each member five clear days at least before such meeting, and shall set forth the business to be brought before such meeting.

A quorum of the Board shall consist of half of the total number of members of the Board, irrespective of any casual vacancies, where the number is even, and of a majority where the number is odd, and no business shall be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present.

Every question coming before the Board shall be decided by open voting, and by the majority present, and in case of an equality of votes the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.

The Board may from time to time appoint committees consisting of members of the Board, and may in general or in any particular matter confer upon and delegate to any such committee such of the Board’s powers, duties, and functions conferred or imposed on the Board by this Act as it from time to time thinks fit, excepting the powers to borrow money, make a rate, make a by-law, execute a deed or contract, or institute an action.

Every such, committee shall be subject in all things to the control of the Board, and shall carry out all directions, general or special, of the Board given in relation to such committee or its affairs.

The Board may from time to time discharge, alter, continue, or reconstitute any committee appointed by it.

The Board shall cause to be kept minutes of its proceedings in a book in which shall be entered the names of the members attending each meeting, and every resolution, order, or other proceeding of the Board; and the minutes and proceedings of every meeting, if approved by the Board or when amended as directed by the Board, shall be signed by the Chairman of each succeeding meeting.

Such book shall be kept at the office of the Board, and shall be open to inspection without fee during office hours by any member of the Board or any member or appointee of any of the said Councils.

The minutes of the proceedings of the Board kept as hereinbefore provided shall be prima facie evidence of such proceedings and of the validity thereof.

The Board may by resolution from time to time appoint and remove and reappoint an Engineer, Secretary, and Treasurer, and all such other officers and servants as may be deemed necessary, at such salaries or other remuneration for such period and on such terms as it thinks fit, and may define and redefine their duties and functions.

The power hereby given to do anything by special order shall be exercised only in the manner provided by the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, in regard to special orders to be made by Borough Councils, and the provisions of sections sixty-three to sixty-five of that Act shall, with the necessary modifications, apply to special orders made by the Board.

The Board shall cause accounts to be kept in manner required by section one hundred and eleven of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, in the case of Borough Councils, which section, mutatis mutandis, shall be read into and form part of this Act.

Such books shall at all reasonable hours be open to inspection by any member of the Board, or any member or appointee of any of the said Borough Councils.

The Board shall before the last day of April in each year cause the accounts of the Board for the preceding year up to and including the last day of March to be balanced, and a full and true statement to be prepared of all moneys received and expended by the Board during such financial year, and of all debts owing by and to the Board, and such statement and account signed by the Chairman and Treasurer of the Board shall be submitted to the Audit Office.

The Board shall, on or before the thirtieth day of April in each year, cause an estimate to be prepared showing—

The charges of the Board for water to be supplied shall be estimated, assessed, and charged in and for each financial year so that the revenues of the year shall cover the expenditure of that year, including interest on loans, but exclusive of capital expenditure or sinking-fund charges in respect of loans.

The statement and account, together with such estimate as aforesaid, shall be produced at the annual meeting of the Board in each year.

Such statement and account and estimate if and when adopted at such meeting, or any adjournment thereof, shall be signed by the Chairman, and when so signed shall be open for inspection during office hours at the offices of the Board for a period of not less than thirty days.

A copy of such statement and account and estimate shall be furnished by the Secretary on demand without fee to the Council of each of the said boroughs.

The charges imposed from time to time by the Board on the local authorities of the said boroughs respectively for water supplied at the borough boundaries shall be at the same rate per thousand gallons for all the said boroughs, and neither the Board nor any of its officers or servants shall give any undue preference or show any partiality in the delivery of water, the imposition of charges, or otherwise in the performance of any of the powers, duties, or functions of the Board.

A fund shall be established called the “General Fund,” consisting of the following moneys, that is to say:—

All moneys borrowed and all moneys raised or levied for or appropriated or allocated or held in trust for any special work or purpose shall be kept as a special fund.

The Board shall pay out of the General Fund all expenditure on account of the annual works of the Board and its officers, and its operations, including the repair and maintenance in good order and condition of all works and property, and all interest charges on loans.

The Board may, out of its General Fund, expend moneys in and about preparing and passing through Parliament any Bill which directly affects the interests of the consumers in respect of the water-supply controlled by the Board, and in particular may pay the cost of preparing and passing this Act.

Subject to the provisions of this or any other Act and to any trust affecting the same, the Board shall be entitled to pay out of the Special Fund the cost of all waterworks, and all other works constructed under the authority of this Act, and of the purchase, taking, or acquisition of land, and all preliminary and other expenditure incidental to the construction of such works, such part of the salaries or other remuneration of officers and servants as have been incurred in the way of capital expenditure, and such legal and other expenses as are incurred by reason of or are incidental to any works or matters referred to in this subsection.

Subject to the foregoing provisions and to the decision of the Audit Office, the Board may determine what items or proportion of its expenditure are or is payable out of the Special Fund and the General Fund respectively.

The Board may in every financial year out of its General Fund expend for purposes not authorized by any Act or law for the time being in force any sum or sums not amounting in the whole to more than one per centum of the water charges payable for that year to the Board, or in any case to more than fifty pounds:

Provided that if one per centum of the water charges does not in any financial year amount to fifteen pounds the Board may in that year expend the sum of fifteen pounds for the purposes aforesaid.

If and as often as the expenditure, debts, and liabilities of the Board in or for the financial year chargeable against the General Fund shall exceed the receipts and income paid or payable into the General Fund for that year, the amount of the excess shall be a debt owing by the Councils of the said boroughs severally in proportion to the consumption in the several boroughs of water from the lake or other works of the Board during that year, and shall become due within one calendar month after the annual meeting of the Board at which the accounts of the Board disclosing such deficiency are adopted; and if the Council of any borough so indebted shall fail to pay the amount owing to the Board as and when the same shall become due, the Board may recover the same without further demand or notice by action for debt in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

If any local authority liable to contribute under this Act omits or neglects to pay such contribution within thirty days after demand in writing by the Secretary, interest thereon shall be payable from day to day at the rate of six pounds per centum per annum until payment.

The Board is empowered to fix, by special order, from time to time a scale of charges for water withdrawn from the lake, and to enforce payment accordingly.

Such special order shall be published in the Gazette within twenty-eight days after the making thereof, and may, within three months after such publication, be disallowed by the Governor-General.

The Board is empowered to demand from the Councils of the said boroughs such sum or sums, not exceeding in the aggregate twenty thousand pounds, as the Board may deem necessary for the purpose of enabling the Board to carry out the works necessary to augment and improve the water-supply of the lake as provided in section thirty-one hereof, and to carry out such other works as the Board may deem necessary in the exercise of the powers conferred on it by the said section or incidental thereto:

Provided that such sum or sums shall be apportioned amongst the said boroughs on the basis of the consumption in each borough of water from the lake during the twelve calendar months preceding the date of such demand.

If any Borough Council fails to pay any sum so demanded within three months from the date of such demand, the Board may recover the amount unpaid in any Court of competent jurisdiction.

Subject to the provisions of the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913, in regard to loan-moneys, all moneys belonging to the Board shall be paid into such bank as the Board from time to time appoints to an account to be called “The North Shore Boroughs (Auckland) Water Board Account.”

No money shall be drawn out of the bank except pursuant to a resolution of the Board, and all moneys shall be paid by the Board in cash or by cheque signed by the Treasurer and countersigned by any two of such of the members as the Board authorizes from time to time to countersign cheques.

The Board may appropriate in any year any moneys standing to the credit of the Board’s account and not appropriated for any special purpose towards the creation of a special fund to provide for the following contingencies:—

The Board may invest all moneys so appropriated, and the interest and profits accruing therefrom, in such manner as the Board from time to time determines.

The Board may at any time and from time to time repay into its account the whole or any part of the moneys so appropriated or invested and the accumulations thereof, except in the case of moneys set apart for the contingencies mentioned in paragraph (d) of subsection one hereof.

The Board may from time to time make appropriations out of the General Fund to establish a Renewal Fund: Provided that the appropriation under this section shall not exceed in any financial year one and a half per centum of the value of the depreciable assets of the Board as fixed by the Board subject to the approval of the Auditor-General.

The provisions of sections one hundred and fifteen to one hundred and twenty-two (both inclusive) of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, shall be applicable, mutatis mutandis, to the fund so established, and Commissioners shall be appointed, and the said fund shall be invested and dealt with accordingly.

The Board may from time to time borrow such sums as are necessary for the undertaking authorized pursuant to this Act.

Such sum shall be borrowed and secured in the manner prescribed by the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913, and the amendments thereof, and all the provisions of the said Acts shall accordingly extend and apply, including power to make, levy, and pledge a special rate on the rateable property within the district, and the Board shall be deemed to be a local authority and its districts shall be deemed to be a district within the meaning of the said Acts.

Loans to the Board may be made by the State Advances Office under Part III of the said Act, which shall extend and apply to the Board in manner aforesaid.

For the purposes of making and levying such special rate as aforesaid the Board shall cause a property roll and rate-book for the said district to be compiled by copying from the valuation rolls and rate-books respectively of the said boroughs all particulars therein contained of all the rateable property within the district, and the owners and occupiers thereof; by adding to such particulars of any valuation roll or rate-book, or part thereof, so copied a statement of the area of each property on such valuation roll or rate-book; and a copy of any valuation roll or rate-book, or part thereof, in force in any borough certified as correct by the Mayor or Town Clerk shall be conclusive so far as it extends, and shall be receivable as evidence in proof of the facts therein appearing.

The Board may, at its option and from time to time, either make, levy, and collect its own rates in manner provided for the making and collection of rates by the Rating Act, 1908, which for all purposes of this Act is deemed to be incorporated herewith, or the Board may, by special order, fix the amount of any rate or rates, and direct the same to be made, levied, and collected by the several local authorities named in such special order, and it may exercise the option or options hereby given in different ways as to the several boroughs within its district.

When the Board, by special order, has directed any rate to be levied, and has fixed the amount of such rate according to the provisions hereof, and has determined that the same shall be collected by the said boroughs respectively or any of them within its or their respective districts, it shall cause a copy of such special order to be forwarded separately to each such local authority within the district in which it desires to make or collect such rates, whereupon the following duties shall arise and the following consequences shall ensue:—

The Board shall be deemed to be a local authority within the meaning of the Local Bodies’ Finance Act, 1921–22, and the provisions of that Act shall apply to it accordingly.

The Board is hereby empowered to undertake and construct all such works as it may consider necessary for the purpose of augmenting, maintaining, and improving the supply of water in the lake and improving the water-supply from the lake for the inhabitants of the said boroughs.

The Board is further empowered, either in addition to augmenting, maintaining, and improving the supply of water in the lake, or, instead of the lake supply, to undertake and construct all such waterworks as it may consider necessary for the supply of water for the use of the inhabitants of the said boroughs, and may operate and maintain the same.

The Board shall have and may exercise the powers and authorities conferred on Councils of boroughs by Part XXIV of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, and the Ninth Schedule thereto, which respectively shall be read into and form part of this Act, but shall be construed and applied, with such modifications as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act, as if the word “Board” had been inserted in lieu of the words “Council,” “Council of the Borough,” or “Corporation of the Borough,” and as if the said boroughs were one borough and the Board were the Council thereof, and all other consequential alterations had been made accordingly:

Provided that nothing in this section shall take away or restrict the powers of the Councils of the said boroughs under the said Act or otherwise:

Provided further that before interfering with any road, street, or other public work in any of the said boroughs for the purpose of constructing waterworks the Board shall give not less than fourteen days’ notice in writing to the Council thereof; and if such Council objects to such interference the objection shall be referred to the Minister of Public Works, whose decision thereon shall be final.

The Board may at any time interfere with any such road, street, or other public work so far as to effect all necessary repairs in such waterworks on giving to such Council three days’ previous notice in writing of intention so to do; and in any sudden emergency or danger to any works of the Board, or to any property adjoining, the Board may, without any previous notice, proceed to effect the necessary repairs, but shall as soon as practicable thereafter give notice to the Council of its having so proceeded.

Subject to the provisions of this Act the Board may—

The Board shall be deemed to be a local authority within the meaning of the Public Works Act, 1908, and the amendments thereof, and the works hereby authorized shall be “public works” within the meaning of the said Act; and accordingly the Board may exercise all or any of the powers provided by Parts II, III, and V of the said Act, which said Parts shall, mutatis mutandis, be read into and form part of this Act.

Notwithstanding anything contained herein, the Board shall not be empowered to take under the provisions of the said Acts the estate or interest (if any) of the Mayor, Councillors, and Burgesses of the Borough of Takapuna of and in the land described in the First Schedule hereto.

For the purposes of this Act the Board shall have and may exercise all the powers and authorities conferred upon Councils of boroughs by Part XVII of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, which said Part shall, mutatis mutandis, be read into and form part of this Act.

The Board is empowered to sell, exchange, let, or lease any land vested in the Board in the same manner and on the same terms and conditions as are prescribed in respect of land vested in Municipal Corporations by Part XVIII of the said Act, which said Part, mutatis mutandis, shall be read into and form part of this Act.

No member of the Board shall be personally liable in damages or otherwise for any act done or omitted by the Board or by any member thereof in good faith in pursuance or in intended pursuance of the authority of this Act.

The Board may continue to act notwithstanding any vacancy in the membership thereof, and no act or proceeding of the Board or any committee or officer shall be invalidated or be deemed to be illegal in consequence only of the number of the members of the Board not being complete at the time of such act or proceedings, or in consequence only of any person continuing to act as a member of the Board or committee after his seat thereon has become vacant.

All acts and proceedings of the Board and of every committee shall, notwithstanding that there was some defect, error, or illegality in the appointment or election of any person as such member thereof, or that any member is disqualified or not entitled to vote, be as valid for all purposes as if every such person had been duly appointed or elected, as the case may be, and qualified to act and vote as a member of the Board or committee.

No objection shall be allowed in any Court to any rate which forms the security for any debentures or coupons issued under the provisions of this Act, and no informality or irregularity whether in form or in substance in the making or levy of such rate, or in the election or appointment of any body or person acting in connection therewith, shall be allowed by any Court as a defence to any action or proceeding for the recovery of such rate, or be entertained as a ground for quashing such rate or restraining the recovery thereof.

The Board may make by-laws for all such purposes as are expressly provided by this Act, and such other by-laws as are, in the opinion of the Board, requisite for the protection of the property and interests of the Board and the good government and management of its affairs and procedure; and the Board may by any such by-law provide a penalty for every breach thereof to an amount which shall be in the discretion of the Court inflicting the same, and shall in no case exceed the sum of five pounds for a single offence.

Such by-laws shall be made only in the manner following:—

Section three hundred and eighty-two of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, shall be read, mutatis mutandis, into and form part of this Act.

The Governor-General is further empowered by Proclamation to confer upon the Board such powers, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as he thinks fit for—

All regulations made by the Governor-General under this section shall be of the same force and effect as if contained in this Act, and the production of the Gazette containing any such regulations shall be conclusive evidence in all Courts of the contents of such regulations, and that the same have been duly made.

Every order, notice, or other such document requiring authentication by the Board may, unless otherwise provided, be signed by any two members or by the Secretary, and need not be under seal.

If any dispute or difference arises between the Board and the Council of any of the said boroughs the question shall be referred to the Governor-General in Council, who shall determine such dispute or difference after such inquiry and in such manner as he thinks fit, and such determination shall be obeyed.

Sections fifty-seven, sixty-six, seventy-six, one hundred and twenty-eight, three hundred and sixty-two, three hundred and sixty-seven, three hundred and seventy-three, three hundred and seventy-six, three hundred and seventy-seven, three hundred and seventy-nine, and three hundred and eighty of the Municipal Corporations Act, 1920, shall, mutatis mutandis, be read into and from part of this Act.

For the purpose of providing the amount necessary to satisfy any demand of the Board for contribution pursuant to section twenty-two of this Act the Councils of the said boroughs respectively may appropriate a sufficient sum out of the District Fund, and, in addition to any other rating-powers possessed by them, are empowered to strike and collect a separate rate to pay the whole or any part of such demand, and interest thereon (if any), and the costs of and incidental to the making and collection thereof.

For the purpose of providing the amount necessary to satisfy any demand of the Board for contribution pursuant to section twenty-five of this Act the Council of each of the said boroughs is empowered either to make an appropriation or strike a rate as aforesaid, or by special order without taking any poll of the ratepayers thereon to raise a loan under the provisions of the Local Bodies’ Loans Act, 1913, and the amendments thereof, for the whole or any part of the amount demanded.

The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule hereto are hereby repealed.

The Board constituted under the enactments hereby repealed is hereby dissolved.

The Board constituted under this Act shall be deemed to be the successor of the Board dissolved as aforesaid; and all the contracts, liabilities, and engagements of the Board so dissolved shall become the contracts, liabilities, and engagements of the Board constituted hereunder.

All regulations made under the authority of the enactments hereby repealed relating to the Board hereby dissolved and subsisting on the coming into operation of this Act shall enure for all purposes as if they had originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act and applied to the Board constituted hereunder, and shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated and to so apply.

All by-laws made by the Board hereby dissolved and subsisting on the coming into operation of this Act shall enure for all purposes as if they had originated under the corresponding provisions of this Act and had been made by the Board constituted hereunder, and shall, where necessary, be deemed to have so originated and to have been so made.

The amount, if any, by which the expenditure of the Board hereby dissolved, out of moneys appropriated by Parliament pursuant to section one hundred of the Reserves and other Lands Disposal and Public Bodies Empowering Act, 1913, exceeds the water charges paid into the Consolidated Fund pursuant to that section shall be a debt owing to the Crown by the Board constituted under this Act, and may be recovered by the Board from the Councils of the said boroughs in the manner provided by section twenty-two hereof, and the provisions of that section and section forty-seven hereof shall apply to such sum accordingly.

All books, plans, papers, equipment, appliances, and other property in the possession of the Board hereby dissolved shall become the property of the Board constituted under this Act.