Harbour Board’s Increased Spending

Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 22

Harbour Board’s Increased Spending

Faced with a total expenditure of £1,155,530 in the financial year to the end of next September, the Lyttelton Harbour Board yesterday budgeted for a deficiency of £62,625, compared with a £27,859 deficit last year. Loan expenditure is estimated at £741.530, and the treasurer (Mr A. J. Sowden) told the board that sufficient loan money was available to meet the charges.

Expenditure on wharves and jetties had been reduced from £61.500 in 1960 to £38,000 for the current year, as the wharf 'construction staff had been engaged on the parking area, and when this was completed they would be transferred to the harbour extension for the construction of the breastwork, Mr Sowden said. Small increases in the expenditure were caused by an increase in the award rates of pay which took effect from March 21, Mr Sowden continued.

“It is expected that the various items of income will remain reasonably stable during the current year, and although there has been serious congestion of shipping in the last few months, it would appear that over the 12 months there will not be any appreciable increase over the figures for last year, particularly in view of the latest import restrictions and the tightening of credit control.” he said. Mr Sowden said the board had loan authorities to raise £2.25m of the £3.55m port development loan. At the

end of the last financial year the balance in the loans repayment account was £894,510, which, together with annual transfers and appropriations, should be sufficient to meet interest and repayment of principal on current loans up to 1970 only.

To have a sufficient fund available to meet loan charges on current and future loans until the loans were extinguished, consideration would have to be given in the near future to increasing the appropriation to the loans repayment account.