CONCERN AT RISE IN COUNTY RATES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 115, 1 June 1937, Page 11

CONCERN AT RISE IN COUNTY RATES

Mounting Costs Oifsetting Higher Produce Prices INCREASING BURDEN !The conceru felt by many of tha latepayers of the Hawke's Bay couuty at the impending increase in the rate is aimilar to that felt by ratepayers of other counties throughout the North Island. At a largely-attended meeting of ratepayers of the Cook county (Poverty Bay) the proposed increase in the rate to be etruck for the currenn year was viewed with alarm, and the meeting urged the Cook County councdl to use every endeavour tp- keep the rate at an amount which ratepayers would be able to pay. One well-known ratepayer with property in the Puketapu riding of tho Hawke's Bay county said that his ratew last year were inereased by £100 and that any further inerease on that this year, he considered, would be uuwarranted. Rather than saddle the ratepayers with a further burden the council, he considered could meet its inereased costs by improvdng its orgauisation. The imposition of the harbour rate would add to ,the burdeu of the ratepayer, whose costs were steadily mounting up and offsetting xhe benerits from improved prices for produce. Another' ratepayer whose rates were inereased by £80 last year considered chat the levy was now the maximuin which farmers could be expected to pay. The erection of "palatial" office buildings costing £5500 would not, in his opinion, give the ratepayers any oenetit. He did not consider that the using of revenue for this purpose was giving the ratepayers service. When requests were made for improvemeuts to sqme back-country roads the couneil's reply was that there was not tne money to do it. The council, in erecting such an office building for letting purposes, had invaded a field which should have been left to private enterprise. A year ago another ratepayer point.ed out, the council had Btated that in order to justify increasing the rate the expenditure would include a number of substantial items that would not be re curring. In addition, the council had been relieved of a liability by the ao tion of the Main Highways Board's taking over conFrol of a considerablG length of main highway. In view of these two important factors, he said. he had looked forward to the rate being made a little easier for tbe next year. The statement made by the chairman of tl» council recently that a rise in the rate was almost inevitable had come as a great snrprise when the ratepayers had been looking for relief from last year's peak rate.