CITY FINANCES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 736, 8 April 1910, Page 7

CITY FINANCES.

OVERDRAFT REDUCED, ■■'.'■, NO INCREASED RATES. ECONOMY SHOULD BE CONTINUED TRAMWAYS AND LIGHTING. ,"I propose to give the council a bird'seye view of the year's finance," remarked the Mayor (Dr. Newman) at the . City Council meeting last night, when ho rose to make known the moro important figures of tho ' city balanco- ; sheet for the year ended March 31. "Considering the difficulties with : which the year began, and the dullness of trade, I trust that yon will consider the position' as entirely satisfactory," ■. said the; Mayor... ; "The ■ receipts for the year camo in surprisingly well, and the expenditure was kept down close to the estimate, notwithstanding tho fact that 1 the council put in hand works to meet the , unemployed difficulty. There were savings on some items of expenditure. , "The • overdraft was £45,500 and the ; liabilities on electric light amounted to £20,000. It has been reduced to £16,600, by means of debentures sold £15,500, by taking.£2B,ooo on deposits, a plan'which will save the corporation several hundreds a' year of interest, ana the balance, about £5000, profit and savings, and other sources of revenue. "The city haß lived within its means, and the services have been maintained as usual. Rates and Rent. "On March 31, 1909, there were uncollected rates £10,012, on March 31, 1910; £5421. The amount outstanding could riot be decreased; in spite of the excellent work done by Mr. Godber. Some people simply could not pay last year's and this year's fates—times for them were too hard..' .•■'''.■•:. '-'.:"' ".. ■ £'■■' Ents outstanding last year... 1792 Rents outstanding this year... 429 Bates and' rents this year' ..'. 5944 "Thas latter amount is less than last year's figure, a fact which I trust the council will consider. satisfactory under, the circumstances. Tho amount outstanding is,'in spite of dull times, the'lowest for several'years; -I may here' remark that the council will be able to keep the rates this year the same as last year..;. Acoldent Insurance. ' "The council decided to, take the whole of its risks from accidents on itself. 'It paid into a separate account £2500, instead of paying money to an insurance company, and also paid in premiums at the- rate that would have' been, paid, for insurance.'. ;' "After paying all claims for the year there stands, to the credit of this account a total of £4350.'; So far the exr periment. has achieved great results. With ordinary luck the" council will in a very short time build up so big a reserve that it will not need to contribute further! and year byyear.the''whole.of < the .'accident- .premiums hitherto v paid away will bo saved. This will considerably ease the; city finances—a bona ifide saving."' y '<; ".'; , '.;;•'■'

Tramway Revenue. '■~ "For the first .six months the tramway revenue'.shoiyed',-.a steady fallingoff. , With : the : .op ; enmg 3i ofi,th^ K Ljall, Bay tramway, unique" in' its way—for it' was paid, for out 'of'profit— and the coming summer, the revenue began t<s recover, quickly,'.-until, by: March 31, it reached.-£139,460.'"'. !*'.-.-.. ■ "The net. surplus . for • the year is £6123, which is slightly better than last year. The • council during the year adopted .the policy: o£ concession ticket?, which has been a distinct success.The officers, Messrs.' Stuart Richardson and M. Cable, have done > their' utmost to cater; for all the traffic.'. The inspectors,, motormen' and. conductors" have all done their very best. The/collection of ( fares has greatly improved. . -v.- ' ■■■ "I should like to express my entbusiastic approval of the excellent way in which Mr. Petersen . keeps . the electric light and tramway accounts. :■ They are. busmess-like, and are on most approved modern lines.,.'...■'.. • ' , "Our traffic, is increasing so fast that this council must face the expenditure of, getting more cars. These should'be put m hand now. ,Tho passengers carried last year numbered 21,679,902

. " Eleotrlo Light. ,:"The electric lighting department is not so. flourishing. The introduction of metallic . filament lamps, ; one brand being the .-■■' Osram,','. has lessened the revenue from private lighting.by £3400 ' and,, ajs more of these lamps are used' so will this branch ■•■of.'revenue shrink. During the current year there will be' a further fall.■•■•■■'.. ■ '- . ; began the year with : 4136 light connections. ■ .■ By push' and energy of the.officers during the year, this was' raised to . 4500. ; Building operations have been flat tins year, otherwise the wSITV •™ ,U 'U ,BVe -i b <* n greater. While it is. true that the same revenue has not been received, the citizens have lad. a better light for'less money, and they ■ voted. for the purchase of the electric light works to have a better and a cheaper hght. ; The lessened revenue* " moneyleft P the people's in'tl^'V™'W l^B 9* ,12,500 houses Dal feft DOt ighted * 6 Wlf ing Wor K s -' and all th « 12,500 Jft are , hab)e for - this el «ctno wm ■■$*■■■■■■*? 6 l re insurance w h ttl tlje , 'conference with the council, modernise their rules qflli loW fl \, io i ? s > 1 houses on the AfMsSii? + ™ We ",7 I , ni, B plan > :the 00st of installation w,H be cut down to onehalf its preseni rate.; I think the council should buy motors, and sell them on deterred payment. This will lead to a largely-increased sale of rent."The council can produce current cheaply, and the profits'will grow if ivo oan sell:more current, If the underwriters will modernise their ruies, the held for extension of the electric light is so, large' that the department will soon pay handsomely. , "Electricity.- is tho cheapest and healthiest illuniinant in the market, and citizens should consider it a civic duty to light their houses with it. Then, out of the profits, they could get their general rates reduced. "Last year this branch showed a profit of £4272; this year the profits have shrunk to less than one-half, £2000. ■•■•.'.-.. '

' With tho spread of the metallic filament lamp, even this too small profit will dwindle . this year. In fact there may be no profit at all. On the other hand, if tho council can introduce flexible wiring and sell motors on deferred payment, it will show a good profit.

. Loan Money. "Out of unexpended balances of loans, tile council have done much work in building a dam at Soloman's Knob, Wainui, and erecting the Hutt pipe bridges. It has also sowored nearly all Melrose, and, out of a loan raised during the year, has spent £23,000 jpon supplying Northland and Wadestowu with much-needed water. These works liavo mndo these suburbs clean and healthy places to dwell in. The officers have been so busy with the ordinary accounts that precise figures are not jet mado Mp. ', think that the

cky, m regard to loan and general expenditure, is lucky indeed to have round so able and economical an onginoer as Mr. Morton. "Altogether tho accounts are satisfactory. I have not picked out tho plums and left the bad. There is nothing unpleasant left untold. "During the-year wo have effected many economies, and not many more can bo carried out. One act of this council will save a lot of money in future years. I have long believed that all our streets should be tarred. The decision of tho council to order from England a road-tarririg machine of the kind suggosted by Mr. Morton, at an initial cost of £250, will save, when all our roads are tarred, a very largo sum each year in road-mending, road-sweep-ing, and street-watering. The yearly I financial saving will he a great boon to the city. "Unhappily the council's revenue for the next three or four years will be inelastic Neither the Tramways Department nor the Electric Light Department will be able to spare any revenues for probably another five years. They' will need all their profits for extensions. If .the city enters on much loan expenditure other than for a new pipe track to the Wainui waterworks, the 'citizens must face a rise in rates. . I estimate that, if the council bo as economical for the next two or three years as it has been for tho year now ended, it will be able to pay its way and the interest on this most necessary loan for building another pips line. I shall bring this work under your notice at next meeting. My thanks are due to Mr. Collins and the officers of the Treasury for their zeal. "It seems to me," concluded the Mayor, "that, considering the dullness of trade generally, and the slackeningoff of the rate of building, the year's financial operations should be pleasing alike to councillors and ratepayers."