NON-CONSUMERS’ RATE.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVI, Issue 4801, 23 January 1925, Page 2

NON-CONSUMERS’ RATE.

REPLY TO COUNCIL’S OBJECTIONS?? . • 1 "• / -be be /ll® .MINISTER TC BE APPROACHED. : The proposal of the Thames Valley Electric Power Board to make andj jg levy a separate rate of one farthing in the £ on the capital value ol .the within a defined area which excludes ■" the boroughs of W.aihi, Te xiroha, and • Thames, such rate not to exceed £3O- - to be less than £1 on any one pro- / perty was further, discussed at last:, night’s meeting of the Paeroa Borough - Council, when the following reply t 0"... the council’s protest against the strik-‘* ing of the rate and request for fur- . ther information was received front the manager of the board: — “My Board agrees with your tentior that the rate will operate; somewhat unfairly in some cases of ? small sections of a low rateable value, a 1 would suggest that the extreme case _ you mention is probably a solitary exception, and that you would not ne justified in using it as an indication ; of the general application of the rate. The Board has done all in its power to have the anomaly removed by amending legislation, but without cess. My Board does not know of any,: town ir its area that is receiving spe- ' cial benefit from the boarl’s capital expenditure.” > “In reply to the request for in->< formation, I have to advise that the balance-sheet for the year ending ■ March 31, 1924, in now being audited:-.— The amount proposed to be raised by the rate is £5883. The amount of. . capital rateable value and rates is as®s follows: Hauraki Plains County, £575,677, rate £753 ; Ohinemuri, £199.-' 012, £468 ; Thames, £216,255, E 443: Piako, £1,413,099,. £1702 ; Matamata, £767,104, £1158; Matamata TownBoard, £251,485, £391; Paeroa Bor-/ / ough, £242,215, £533 ; Moirinsville Borough. £276,090, £434. "Only a small proportion of elec- " tricity is sold on unit basis—a fur-? ther proportion is sold in conjunction with the Public Works Department" ;'; on which no increase can be made. The balance is sold on a flat rate. It will, therefore, be difficult to give the information you require. "The revenue from Paema for the year ended November 30, 1924, amounted to £1941 9s. “Electricity is sold in bulk to Te Aroha and Thames boroughs at £lO- - k.v.a. up to 200, and £8 per k.v.a. for ail over 200 k.v.a. on maximum ; a ; demand. “The amount of revenue from the Te Aroha Borough is £1452 per annum and from Thames Borough £2140 per annum.” The Mayor (Mr W. Marshall) moved that the letter be received and the board thanked for the information, and that the attention of the Prime Minister and the Minister for Public Works be drawn to the serious .aspect ■ of the position. Continuing, the Mayor said that the rate to be collected (£533) equalled an average on the property rated of .523 d m the -£, and on' the rateable value a rate of .614 d in the £• The amount was greater than the Hospital and Charitable Aid levy for the year by £155, or 40 per cent. In other words, the sick and the needy were ever present, and their greatest needs a must be met by a rate, but the Power Board was a4O per cent, greater bur- - den. The rate equalled 6 per cent, on a loan of £B9OO, or £2400 more than the capital required to provide firstclass gas works capable ofs applying the needs of the whole town. It was a load on those who did not need electricity in the town after those had taken it had paid £1941 a year for their electricity at commercialrates. Eletcricity at such a cost to .. the community was, in his opinion, ;. commercially unsound. He said that ?■ he wondered how far it was likely to / be general in power board tration in New Zealand, and how much of euch a burden could the people carry. Paeroa h,ad been the first’ / town in New Zealand to be supplied..- -; with light and power under any power _ board system, and he thought it was . the council’s duty to refer the aspect' of the position to the Prime Minister. ■ Cr. Flatt, in supporting the Mayor, ", said it was clear that it was the in- ' tentior of the Government to force the farming community into using electricity, even at the risk of the townspeople having to pay the penalty. He was of the opinion that the Paeora Borough was being harder hit than any other community. The farmer had received certain deductions which were logical enough, but he was strongly of the opinion that representations should at once be made to the Government requesting that all boroughs within the board’s area. should be put on the same footing in regard to the purchase and distribution of electricity. In seconding the resolution, Cr. Flatt said he could not agree that the working-of the board was economically unsound, and explained that of his personal knowledge the chairman, Mr - F. H. Claxton, had done his utmost to relieve the boroughs of the burden “ that must necessarily be imposedto give effect to the rate, but without a success. Cr. Edwards' views were that the / board had been losing money so stead- . ily that it had sought a way out of ‘ the difficulty by imposing the rate. Cr. Flatt denied this, and said that a number of power board in New Zea- / land had also struck the rate. It was . _ not possible for the board to econo- i mise further in administration ex- „ penses, Cr. Vuglar said that if a farmer had ar. engine which was giving sat- . ’ isfaction, and was doing the work re- j quired of it cheaper than electricity, 4 he thought that it was iniquitous to - force that man into taking electricity. a<: He contended that the non-consumers’ rate was a '‘murderous measure.” ' After further discussion the motion was put and carried, and it was agreed to place the matter before the Hon. A. D. McLeod during his visit to , Paeroa on Monday, and to ask help and co-operation in bringing matter before-the proper authorities/ 5