BOROUGH COUNCIL EXPENDITURE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1308, 8 October 1872, Page 2

BOROUGH COUNCIL EXPENDITURE.

[nelsonmail.]- * .-: , : In accordance with a resolution adopted at the last annual meeting of the ratepayers of the town of Nelson, the chairman of the Board of Worhs placed himself t in communication with the Mayors of the various Boroughs in the Colony, inviting them to supply tho Board with copies of their annual statements of revenue and expenditure. . From several of them re-plies-have been received, and we are thus able to compare their accounts with those of the Board that exercises control over'our own town. The first matter to be looked at, as being of the greatest importance from an economical point of view, is the cost of administration in each, instance,. and in order to arrive at this we have taken the total . revenue of each of the Boroughs, and ascertained the proportion that the amount paid in salaries bears to it. . The result is as follows . — In Auckland, the receipts amount to L 6680 (we give the totals in round numbers) and the salaries to L7BO, or about 12 per cent. ; in Chris tchurch,. receipts L 8460, salaries L 990, the proportion being about the same ; in Hokitika, with a revenue of L 4697, thesalaries absorb L 920, or nearly 20 per cent.; in Greymouth,. L7so: are paid in salaries out of an income of L 3920, also about 20, per cent. ; and in Blenheim the balance-sheet shows receipts amounting to L 537, and salaries to L 77, or about 14 percent. In Wellington; the receipts* for the year ending. 30th, September, 1871, were L 4875, but there is no means , of ascertaining from the balance-sheet what proportion of this sum was expended in salaries. In Nelson, the last balancesheet published give 3 a revenue of L 2812, the salaries of officers of the 'Board amounting to L 375, or about 13 per cent. Front the above calculations it i will be seen that the administration of public works in the town of Nelson; costs 3 us one per cent, more than in Auckland and Christchurch, one per cent, less than in Blenheim, and nearly seven per cent, less than in Greyraouth and Hokitika 7 so'that on the whole we have, every reason to be satisfied with the economy displayed by our Board of Works. . ,- „ Tr ;