ACCOUNTS OF COUNCILS

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4388, 10 March 1922, Page 4

ACCOUNTS OF COUNCILS

HAURAKI AND THAMES). A CONTRADICTION. The following statement, in the form of a letter to the chairman of the Thames County Council (Mr H. Lowe) by the treasurer of the County (Mr H. T. G. McElroy) was read at the last meeting of the Thames County Council: In answer to your Inquiry for particulars in connection with the publication of a letter [in the “Hauraki Plains Gazette”] received by the Hauraki Plains County Council from one of its ratepayers accusing the Thames County Council of default in the payment of. a balance due on the Puriri Ferry Loan Account, I beg to report as follows: By the award of the Controller and Auditor-General given on the 15th day of November, 1920, it was provided, inter alia, "that the balance of the Puriri Ferry and Approach Roads Loan of £lO3 17s,- plus £423 6s Bd, the value of the portable crusher purchased out of the loan and to be taken over by the Thames County Council, be transferred to the Hauraki Plains Council for expenditure. The cash balances in the various loan accounts were transferred to the Hauraki Plains County Council in March, 1921, leaving the amount represented by the value of) the crusher still io be dealt with. At that date, however, the Hauraki Plains Council owed the Thames Council a sum of £220 18s Id,being money expended on its behalf and not refunded. By the terms of the award previously mentioned the Hauraki Plains Council was directed to pay to the Thames Council on October 1 last interest and sinking fund on loans as follows : Kopu Ferry Loan, £ll7 15s : Kopu Ferry Approaches l.oan, £234 6s ; Puriri Ferry and Approach Roads Loan, £213 Bs, or a total of £786 7s id, due and payable to the Thames County Council on that date. On November 11 last I forwarded a statement of the' amount due tp the Thames County to the Hauraki Plains Council, in which' credit, was given for £423' 6s Bd, being the value oft the crusher, less a liability subsequently met of £8 19s, showing that there was a balance still due to the Thames Council of £371 19s 5d by the Hauraki Plains Council, and in the covering letter I asked the clerk of the Hauraki Plains Council to kindly advise me whether an exchange of cheques would be preferred, or whether the

payment of the balance due to my Connell would be as convenient. Beyond an inquiry as to the purpose cf the payment of the amount of £8 19s given above, which I replied to on January 17 last, nothing further has been heard of the matter, and the present position is that if the Hauraki Plains Council fails to pay the balance of £371 19s 5d to the Thames Council before the close of the present financial year it will seriously embarrass this Council’s operations. You will see from the above that instead of the Thames Council defaulting, the boot is on the other foot, and had the expenditure of the loan balance been necessary (as claimed by the letter published) the Hauraki Council was in a position, at the latest on October 1 last, to transfer the amount from its county fund to the loan account.