HARBOUR FINANCES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 85, 12 June 1946, Page 5

HARBOUR FINANCES

OVERCOMING INDEBTEDNESS UTILISING WAR LOAN MONIES With a view to overcoming its indebtedness as quickly and as conveniently as possible whilst it enjoyed a sound financial position, the Whakatane Harbour Board decided at its meeting last Friday to offset the £2500 war loan to meet outstanding sinking funds on existing harbour loans. Speaking to the subject the chairman (Mr W. R. Boon) said he considered it a sound policy to pursue. No one knew what was likely to happen by 1950, and if the Board could meet the bulk of its obligations while times were good it would be in a better position to weather more stringent periods.' It would mean that by 1962 the whole of the Board’s indebtedness would have been met.

Mr 'Hunter: Will that mean that we will be released of the Harbour rate, and that the Board will have sufficient to carry on with from port revenues alone? The Chairman: If things go on as they are we might even do it before then. We shall at least be able to reduce it considerably. It depends of course, on what other works we contemplate. Even by* 1950 we should make a big reduction. In connection with the above the Public Trust Office wrote advising that it was estimated that it will be necessary to increase the annual sinking fund instalment of the Board’s conversion loan of £11,700 by £9OO as from Ist April 1947, making a total annual instalment of £IO7B 10s payable each April up to and including Ist April 1950. It would be probably necessai’y for a slight adjustment to be made in the annual payment in * 1950 as the amount in the Sinking Fund would in all probability be not exactly £11,700. The Treasurer reported that the information furnished above was the result of an enquiry directed by the Board to the Public Trust Office. The No. 1 Conversion Loan of £65,000 had been repaid to the extent of £18,079 13s 8d and the loan would be fully repaid by 1/4/62. The annual payment on this loan was £4OIO 14s. The Capitalised Interest Renewal Loan of £2700 matured on the 30th September 1947, and indications were that sinking funds would be sufficient at maturity to pay such loan off. The £11,700 loan matured in April 1950 and the sinking fund at the 30th September 1945 was £6033 19s 6d. The present annual sinking fund payment was £l7B 10s. Last year the Board’s interest and sinking Tund payments were as follows:

Sinking Funds .. .. £333 10 0 Repayments of Principle .... .. 1941 14 6 Interest .. 2682 16 6 £4958 1 0