BOROUGH FINANCES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 979, 13 April 1911, Page 3

BOROUGH FINANCES.

At Monday night’s Council meeting the Town Clerk presented the annual balance-sheet for the year ended March 31st last. Although tins discloses a debit balance on the genera! account it, as was explained by the Mayor at the meeting, covered by extraordinary expenditure which does not occur every year. Taken althrough the balancesheet is very satisfactory, and the Council is to be congratulated on the financial position of the Borough. When the very dry weather is taken into consideration that has been experienced and the consequent extra expenditure on maintenance of roads, etc., by which it was found necessary to expend the whole of the amount received for general rates, with the exception of something under £2, it will readily be seen that in presenting a balance showing a debit of only £132 the Council has done remarkably well. The balancesheet, of course, is subject to audit, but can be taken as correct.

The receipts of the general account amounted to ,£1599 6s 1 id, of which the chief items were:— Rates ,£856 2s 3d, licenses ,£2ll 14s 6d, rents ,£124 15s rod, Government subsidy on rates sale of Thyuue Street frontages ,£lls 19s lod, dog registration £'36 3s 6d, poundage and building fees £33 3s. The expenditure, including a debit from last year of £lO 4s 7d, totalled £1731 l6s 3d. the chief items of which were: Maintenance roads, streets and drains £854 19s lod, salaries and office expenses £215 4s Bd, street lighting £l2B ss, interest and sinking fund Council Chamber account £l2O, estimate lor water and drainage scheme £52 10s, printing and advertising £39 14s, licensing expenses £36 17s 6d, borough map £36 15s, Palmerston Hospital Board levy £33 6s 7d, Mauawatu County Council interest £33 os Bd, and ranging £22 13s 9d. The library account opened with a credit of £1 12s rod and closed with a credit of £1 los 2d. The receipts amounted to £BB os 9d made up chiefly of rates £47 16s 3d, Government subsidy £l9 15s 3d, and subscriptions £l3 10s nd. The chief items of expenditure were, firing and lighting £26 Ss 2d, books, magazines, etc., £22 12s 7d, secretary £ls and caretaker £lO. The reserves account opened with a credit of 7s 3d, the rents for the year amounted to £75 and this together with a vote from the Council of £ls made a total of £9O 8s gd, the expenditure was £BS os qd, leaving a credit at the end of the year of £5 Bs. Additions to cottage cost £29 1 os. drain pipes £2O Bs, trees aud plants £ll 14s 3d, and secretary £ls. The cemetery account opened with a credit balance of £ls 19s 6d aud closed with a credit of xßs 3d. Sale of sites £22, rent of reserve £l7 and burial tees £8 13s were the chief receipts aud labour £24 12s qd, secretary £ls, sexton £l3 15s, aud carting £8 16s 6d accounted for the biggest part of the expenditure. The sanitation account shows a debit on the year’s working of £4 19s Bd. The fees amounted to £329, there was a credit balance at the beginning ot the year of £4 3s, and in order to put the account on the right side of the ledger an amount of £5 was voted from the general account. The expenditure totalled £330 is 7d, made up chiefly of wages £275 los and horse feed £39 2s qd. The receipts on the gas works account totalled £455 is lid aud the expenditure £403 ns. Sale of gas £366 os 7d, fittings £44 8s aud tar £36 10s 3d were the chief receipts, aud coal £12295 3d, labour £202 8s rod, fittings £44 os 1 id, sundries £29 10s 2d and meters £5 is 8d made up the expenditure. The statement of assets aud liabilities shows assets amounting to £11,319 3s 3d made up of gas works £IOOOO, Council Chamber aud library £ll3O, cottage and pound reserve £223, library books £220, laud and house Avenue Road £lB5, baud room and instruments £l4O, Government susidy on rates collected £ll7, laud aud cottage, Frances Street £IOO, balance district mud account £BS 2s, tools, plant aud material £4O, office furniture £3O, Thyuue Street frontage, £26 5s and balance cemetery fund account iSs 3d; The liabilities total £lOl 5s qd made up of sundry accounts £97 13s qd and contractors’ deposits, £4. The public debt on March 31 st, was £18,215 12s Sd.