WHAT IT COSTS. TO RUN THE CITY.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 87, 13 April 1911, Page 2

WHAT IT COSTS. TO RUN THE CITY.

STREETS,. DRAINS, AND WATER SUPPLY. CHIPS FROM THE ENGINEER'S REPORT. After reading to the special meeting of the City Council yesterday -afternoon the summarised statement of the city finances and the reports on the electrin "gating and tramway municipal enterynsed, the Mayor (Mr. T. M. Wiiford) picked up from the table a far bulkier document. This he described as "the monumental report of the City Enci- . neer (Mr. W. H. Morton) on the work dona by hia department during the municipal year 1910-11." It consisted . of fourteen folios of closely-typewritten - facts and figures relating to the management of the city on the side of its public services. At that late sta*e he '■■ was reluctant to Tead it out. He was asked by councillors if he would haveit handed to the press for publication, and replied ihat he would if the press would pnblish it in full. When his renia-rk was taken up seriously he added , that lie trusted the utmost publicity would be given to a series of valuable .. facts and figures relating to the city. A COUNCILLOR'S VADE-MECUM. The report is ■really, as one councillor i put it, a "councillor's guide a-nd vademecum to the working of the city." It sets forth the detailed expenditure on those _ services such as street makin°-, mending, and cleaning; waterworks and waier supply, drainage and sewerage, refuse destruction and general sanitation, tramway permanent way maintenance, erection and maintenance of 6heltereheds and public conveniences, baths and resei'ves, fire stations, cemeteries, city pound, crematorium, corporation properties, dog tax collection, libraries, river protective works, morgue, plague hospital, abattoirs, building fees., licenses and various loan moneys. These are a few selected items of the programme the City Engineer has to cover. To publish., the report in full, as Mr. Wiiford suggested, would be to take half a pago of The Post. It is therefore- possible only to make a few salient selections in the briefest manner from what the City Engineer modestly terms his " Synopsis of Expenditure, 1910-1911." ' STREET WORKS. The appropriation for street works was £37,672, the actual expenditure £37,562, of which £2623 was paid by private owners, leaving a net expenditure of £34,939 and a credit .-balance of £2753. The principal items were : — Purchase of -wood blocks for Post Office-square and Customhouse-quay, £2549; various improvements at Oriental Bay, £800; paving Allen^street with tarred macadam, £232; storm-water drainage, £765, including £706 at Island Bay. DIVISION OF EXPENDITURE. The street expenditure was divided j among the various districts "as follows : £ City (including Thorndon, To Aro, Newtown, and' Berham- _ pore) .... 23,134 Eolbirnia 2,948 Hataatai ' 790 Morose (south of Newtown Park) 619 Roseneath .-. ... 428 Wadestowa ..., „, ... ... 544 Northland ' ..„ „ 740 Kelburne „r j „ 430 Island Bay ' „.. 3,968 Brooklyn .... ... , i# „„ 2,678 Vogeltown ... 4 .-. . . „. pmm 507 Mornmgton ' „. ' „.. „.. 34 Total ,„ „ '£36,820 The balance, -between this and tho £37,562 represents work in connection with .the city, that could pot strictly be allocated to any district. WATERWORKS AND WATER SUPPLY. The amount appropriated out of revenue for the year 'for "the maintenance of '"the" waterworks 1 'department was '£9000; th^ , expenditure £9888, less amount received 'for work done privately and for other departments £1012, net expenditure £8976, leaving credit balance of £24. DRAINAGE £ND DESTRUCTOR. Amount • allocated for drainage, £5500; total expenditure, £5216, less amount received for work done privately, etc.,_ £260; neb expenditure, £4956; -• credit balance, £544. House Refuse and Destructor : — Appropriation, £7000 ; total expenditure, £7872, less credits for work done £1287;- 'net expenditure, £6585 ; credit balance, £414. STREET CLEANSING AND WATERING. Appropriation, £6790; net expenditure, £8341; debit balance, £1351. In connection with this -item it is pointed out that in previous years certain works, such as ridding the streets of grass, weeds, etc., were charged to public works. This has been placed under its proper heading of street cleansing, and accounts for the difference in expedituro during the year TRAMWAY WORK. The City Engineer's Department eroeutes extensions, duplications, and various other works for the Tramway Department. Following are the main items last year : — Total expenditure, £6345 ; net expenditure, £5895— principal works being : Davis-street duplication, Thorn-don-quay, £280; Kilbirnie duplication, £458; purchase of portion- materials for Customhouse-quay loop, £726 ; Thorndon car-shed, £647 ; Maranui line, £129. The cost of new shelter-sheds was : Mox-ham-avenue, £53; Lambton-quay, £112; Kilbirnie Reserve, £60; maintenance and cleansing of existing sheds, ±!162. Expenditure on public conveniences amounted to £406/ while from the Lambton-quay one came a revenue of £233. VARIOUS ITEMS. Following come under the designation of miscellaneous items : — Hutt-road maintennanee, £309 18s 2d; reserves, £401; baths, Te Aro £443, Thorndon £38; bathing-sheds, Island Bay ±i 212, Lyall Bay £168, Evans Bay £62, maintenance £9 ; fire stations, £141 ; cemeteries, £97 ; city pound (maintenance), £20; Crematorium (maintenance), £8; repairs .to corporation properties, ±;196; dog collection account, £212; libraries (including £148 spent on glass-case for Newtown Museum), £280 ; river protection works at Pahiatua, £3; morgue, £54; Plague Hospital, £86; abattoir maintenance, £476; and Town Hall, £229.