BOROUGH FINANCES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 2190, 16 October 1920, Page 3

BOROUGH FINANCES.

The Borough Treasurer reported at Monday night's Council meeting as follows :—TJie sum of £535 6s 6d was received during the month of September, and was placed to the credit of accounts as under: —District Fund Account, £527 11s fid; Cemetery Account, £7 15s. The balances of the various ledger accounts at the Bank of New Zealand at the 30th day of September, 1020, were as follows-Imprest Cash account, dr. £10; General account, dr. £3BB 12s 3d; Gasworks account dr. £25 3s; Library Account, dr. £27 10s fid: Reserves account, dr. £K7fi 11s (id; Interest account dr. £2ll 4s 2d; Hospital and Charitable Aid account cr. £7 18s 8d; Sanitation Account cr. £207 11s; Town Hall account cr. £147 2s lOd; Cemelerv account £1)0 10s 4d. SUMMARY. Accounts in credit 4(il 2 10 Accounts at debit 830 1 5 Bank bal. D.F. account (dr.) 477 8 .11 Bank bal. Cemetery ac. (cr) 00 10 4 038 11 0 038 11 0 The Treasurer also furnished the following supplementary report; — In continuation of my ordinary monthly statement 1 beg to submit to you a- few more details mf our receipts and expenditure for the half year jusi ended. We commenced the year with an overdraft at the Bank of New Zealand of £335 Is. At the end of last month (September) it was £477 8s lid, tin increase of £142 7s lid, but we have yet about £625 general rate to collect, and I am confident that with economy we shall finish the year in an even belter position, financially than we did hist year, when the overdraft was reduced from £642 17s Id to £335 Is. The interest on overdraft for the half year ended 301 h September, ID If), was £26 4s, this vear it is £lO fis', alone showing a saving of £lo 18s. The Reserves Account is badly in debit and this is. of course quite expected, but as a set off against this is the numerous capital improvements effected during the period under review. Easton Bark at the beginning of the financial year was merely a paddock; it is rapidly beginning to give us a return from a beauty point of view, and it is almost safe to predict that in a few years’ time the Bark will be all that could be desired. ’.The Beautifying Society have shown a very lively interest in the work and I am sure we all hope that this interest will not be allowed to falter. The target reserve has been fenced and planted and I append below some figures as to details of expenditure: — Target Reserve —Cost of fiOOO pinus radial a trees delivered to Reserve, £37 (is lid; planting do. £2O fis; making a total of £57 12s lid.

Hreelioti of Ornamental (lateway a! Easton Park. —Cost of gales ajid Viands £(l7 4s !)d; material, cement, metal, etc., £27 Ss 10; labour and supervision. £lB 11s 3d: making a total of £ll3 4s lOd. Cost of fencin';' around , Kadon Park. —Cost of material, including droppers, cement posts (102), 7 strainers, netting and p. and b. wire £75 17s lid; labour, erecting' and ('tearing away fences, etc., £2O 10s; making a total of £OO 13s (id. Showing, an outlay of £2OO 18s 4d.

In addition to (he foregoing our own men have put in a considerable amount, of lime carting material, clearing lupins and repairing the approach.

I desire to touch briefly on the Oasworks workings for the past half year. The expenditure under all headings including s.f. and interest was £2IOB 10s, against last year's 'figures of £2127 12s 2d, while (he receipts amounted to £181(1 13s (id, against £1385 14s Id, a nett increase of receipts over expenditure of £359 12s 7d, and this 3ms had the effect of reducing the debit balance from £384 15s 7d at the 30th September, 1019 to what it is to-day, namely £2o 3s. ihe amount of rale collected has not been included in any'of the receipts enumerated in the foregoing. During the half year just ended 2.782.000 c.f. of gas have been manufactured against last year s figures of 2,(108,000 c.f.,an increase of 114,800 for the half year. On the whole, therefore, I feel conlideni that (he Jinancial position of the Borough is remarkably sound.