MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 2740, 31 May 1924, Page 3

MANAWATU COUNTY COUNCIL

ESTIMATES FOR THE YEAR

At Wednesday’s meeting of the Manawatu County Council the treasurer presented the following report for the year ended March 31, 1924, and the estimates for the incoming year : For the year just ended the general and riding accounts show a debit balance of £1,219 17/9, but advances to other accounts and stock in hand amount to £2,273 17s 7d. showing a credit of £1,054 0/1, but, compared, with last year, the accounts are £0(53 1/7 to the bad. The riding accounts have to a certain extent been working on the credit balances received from the antecedent liability loan. For the year to 31st March, 1922 (two years ago) the rates were reduced all round by a total of £142(5, and last year no increases were made, but I would like to draw the council’s attention to the fact that last year the following additional general charges had to be met out of general rates: —Interest and sinking fund on £30,000 loan, £1,875; interest and sinking fund on antecedent liability loan, £47210s; total £2,347 10/-. The rates .will necessarily have to be raised this year if the council is to live within its income.

Hospital levy.—Up to the present time the hospital levy has always been paid out of general account, but as the Treasury Department has now decided not to pay a subsidy on general rates used for this purpose it has been thought advisable to strike a hospital rate to pay the levy and,keep the general rates intact. A rate of 3-l Gt-h of Id in the £1 is required for hospital purposes. Main Highways.—The question of declaring the main highways as main county roads is going to have a far reaching, effect on riding accounts. The mileage of main highways in the different ridings is as follows: —Sandon, 7 miles; Mt. Stewart, 8:'; miles: Wait old, 43; Rongotea, , 2; Carnarvan 7; Kawa. Kawa, 7; Awahou 1(51, total 53. Tt will he seen from this that some of the ridings have had more than their share of the mileage to maintain. 'l’lie estimated amount for maintenance of these roads for the current year is £4,000 and when charged to general account it greatly relieves some ridings and places portions of the burden on others. To take the extremes, the Awahou riding is greatly relieved as the bulk of its roads are main highways, and it has few internal roads. On thef other band, the Rongotea riding lias to* take a proportionate sharp of the main roads expenditure and still has to maintain a greater number of internal roads. Briefly, tire position is this: Awahou last year expended about £1,500 on main roads, and Rongotea about £l5O. Under the new system it is estimated that Awahou 'will pay' £0(58 and Rongotea £O7O. There is another point that must be kept in mind and that is the Awahou riding for some seven or eight years lias been paying a much heavier general rate iii the pound- - than Rongotea riding. For the last two years there lias been a. difference of 'sth of Id in the £l. If the Shannon road was not declared a main road it may have a tendency to eqnalise matters by giving Awahou a fairer proportion of internal roads to maintain. I have instanced these two cases in an endeavour to placo the mat ter as clearly as possible before the council, as the same remarks apply to some of the other ridings, although they are not affected to any great extent. General rates. —Although the hospital rate of 3-16 d is struck, I do not see how a general reduction •can be made in the general rates. It is possible to make a small reduction in the Alt. Stewart and Kawa Kawa ridings, but an increase will be necessary .in the Rongotea riding. The proposed rates are as follow: —Sandon lid, £1,454 18/1; Alt. Stewart, 1 5-16 d, £132119/9; Waitohi ljd, £1,511 6/4; Rongotea 1 l-16d, £lß9l 13/6; Carnarvon IJd £1,748 2/9; Kawa Kawa 1 3-16 d, £2,124 13/5; Awahou lgd, £2,437 19/9.

Tram-way.—The receipts were £4 084 16/4 and expenditure £4465 3s lOd, showing a debit balance of £3BO 7/6. It was estimated last year that the accounts would show a debit of £250. The steamer service to Foxton for the last six months of the year has greatly improved and the receipts showed a decided improvement for the period. The receipts for the year were £660 18/2 in excess of the previous year. As a fair sum will require to be expended on the 401 b. track this year to put it in good order- it is estimated that a small debit balance will be shown for the current year’s operations. Stone crusher. —For the period to 31st March the crushing plant dealt with 3,855 cubic yards of metal at a cost of 5/1 per yard. Office. —Five hundred pounds have been placed on the estimates for the purposes of alterations and additions to the office and £IOO for furniture and fittings. The architect has promised to have tenders for this work in the council’s hands within ten days. _ KATES STRUCK; : 7. Following a lengthy discussion the rate struck by the county was, with one exception, in accordance with the estimates suggested by the treasurer in the above-mention-ed report, Kawa Kawa riding was raised from 1 3-16 d in the £1 to in the £l. A .