HOROWHENUA BOUNTY COUNCIL.

Otaki Mail, 31 May 1922, Page 3

HOROWHENUA BOUNTY COUNCIL.

TREASURER' S ANNUAL REPORT

The annual report of the County treasurer (Mr I’. W. Goldsmith) was presented to tlie statutory meeting, anti as usual, covered a wide range of County topics, and dealt with them in a most lucid and informative manner. The report is as follows: — ••Ju presenting 'my sixth annual report 1 need scarcely remind the Council that the year under review has been one of financial and commercial turmoil and uncertainty. In the opening months prices for almost all our staple products had fallen to zero, and there was little sale for productions even at ruinously low prices. However, as the voar grew older, undoubtedly bottom was reached and a very great improvement all round has since tal.cn place, for although prices for staple products are still not high, yet there is a decided advance, and the prospects for the future are much more encouraging. In a year fraught with disturbance and uncertainty, it could hardly be expected that county finances would escape the prevailing conditions. At any rate there were difficulties which had to be overcome and the management of the county finances is necessarily not so easy a business under depressed conditions as is the case when rates come in freely and till engagements can be easily met. Another feature of a disturbing element during the year was the passing of an Act of Parliament called The Local Bodies ’ Finance Act, Id A!. ■ an Act designed to make local bodies J live within their means and so fur is commendable. 1 don’t, however, think that the Government should have by Act of Parliament created such a position as that brought about by the 'Act without making some reasonable provision for local authorities to borrow money to pay off their antecedent linbilitv. Instead of that all the Govern-

ment lending concerns turn the business down and leave the local authorities to

borrow from private sources, which meant higher rates of interest. The Act provided that all money owing to the bank on overdraft by any local authority at March of. 1922, could be paid off by a loan raised for the purpose. Hence the Council (although hitherto living well within its means) decided to procure more road making machinery and plant, and to complete the purchase of the Engineer s house so that whatever liability there was on March 31, could be dealt with by rais-

ing u short-dated loan for paying off the debt. It was, therefore, a matter

for getting all accounts actually owing by the Council paid by March 31, and the Council’s liability passed on to the one account with the bank so that steps could be taken to raise a loan. The result of transactions with this end in view, was that the Council owed lis hauliers on March 31 last the sum

of £9OOO. and steps are being taken to . , raise a loan for this amount, which , when spread over a number of years j will not make the repayment a very , heavy item. In this connection it may be as well to state that during the last j few years up to March 31 last, the j 1 ouucil has spent out of revenue:— j (1) For the purchase of road-making i machinery anti plant the sum of j £IOSO. (2) For keeping the said plant up-to-date and effective, that is, tor renewals, the sum of £lO7-1. (3) For the purchase of workmen’s cottages and Engineer's house, £2IOO. (4) For renewing and repairing cottages, £320. “Most of this expenditure is a fair charge upon loan monies and not upon j revenue, and shows quite plainly that I the Council has some considerable as- I sets to set against its antecedent liability. The Finance Act of last year also restricted tiro amount of the overdraft which a Council can legally borrow from its bankers. Formerly the amount was equal to -the revenue for the preceding year. Under the new law only three-fourths of the preceding venris revenue can be borrowed, tyiieu the payment of rates are delayed to -pretty well the end of the financial year this new restriction will add considerably to the difficulties of rountv linam-v General' Account. The expenditure in the General Account reached the sum of £lo,o2s—exceeding the estimates by some thousands of pounds, £3435—a position brought about by the circumstances al- j ready explained. The chief items Ol interest on the expenditure side of the General Account are:— (1) Purchase of motor lorry, oil engine, graders, etc., (about) £3OOP (2) Renovating road roller and machinery, (3) New Car £l5O (4) Engineer’s House £730 (5) Cottages (6) Palmerston N. Hospital fr Charitable Aid Board £2653 The general receipts from licenses, registration, dog tax, etc., total about as other years. With so heavy an expenditure it is inevitable that when deducted from the general rate and subsidy, there is not a very large amount’ of revenue left to transferto tho riding accounts. Bates Collected. Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 1922. 1921. 1920. Current £13,084 £15,542 £15,982 Arrears £1,185 £920 £583 “For spme four years prior to 1920, outstanding rates averaged not more than £650 or £7OO in the respective years referred to. On March 01, 1921, tho amount had risen to over £I7OO. The year under review reveals a more serious position with regard to the outstanding rates on March 31 last, viz.. Tokomaru £670, Wirokino £2342. Otaki. £833, Te Horo £IOBB, total £4938. ‘ ‘Owing to tho strenuous times jhrough which thg County is passing

« the County, by delaying the imposition of the 10 per cent, penalty until tho last of the financial year, adopted a lenient policy which was taken advantage of to the full. Perhaps ratepayers generally thought tho Council would be still more lenient and did not pay up at the end of the year. Some ratepayers this year, are, undoubtedly, in the unfortunate position of not being able to pay, although there are not very many in this plight. Still the Council’s finances suffered more than its neighbors who nAido no hesitation about pressing for the collection of its rates. Some of the councils have been quite .successful in collecting practically all their rates notwithstanding the bad times. New Valuation of County.

“The new valuation of the County was completed late in the year, although the date of tho new values is ns at March 31, 1921. As the Council knows the capital value of the County lias risen from three and one half millions in 1913-14, to the much higher figure of nearly live and a quarter milliuns (£2,250,099). The valuations were made before any very serious .slump in values took place, and doubtless, had the valuation been delayed for a year, the increase would not have been so great. Particulars of the new' valuation were not . to hand early enough to use in striking tho rates for the year, and for rating purpose the old valuation rolls wore used.