The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 1883. BOROUGH FINANCES.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1035, 16 May 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 1883. BOROUGH FINANCES.

:_4. The annual balance-sheet and statement of accounts for the financial year ended .March 31, were submitted to a special meeting of the Borough Council last evening, and unanimously adopted. We must compliment the Town Clerk upon the clearness of the accounts which are more comprehensive than such statements usually are. The receipts and expenditure are classified under their proper headings, and show fully the business that has been carried on, as well as the present financial position of

the Borough. As the matter is one in which ratepayers are intimately concerned, we give a summary of the accounts. The gross revenue for the past year amounted to £4121 18s 4d. The actual ordinary revenue was £1235 Is Id, the balance being made np of sundries, as follow: Repayment of advance to loan account, £1742 2s 5d ; temporary advance from loan account, £Bl5 Is lOd; deposits on contracts, £254 ; cash in hand March 31st, 1882, £6 10s; reimbursements, £9 3s; and £6O from the County Council. The items of the ordinary revenue were—Rates, £382 lls Id; rents, £340 2s ; licenses, £439 lls ; registration of dogs, £65 15s; and R.M. Court fines, £7 2s. Of the licenses, the publicans of course contribute the lion’s share, £230 ; auctioneers’ come next, with £120; and wholesale licenses, £6O. The rest consist of slaughter, express, and sundries. The expenditure amounted to £3935 15s 2d; leaving a balance at the bank of £IBO 2s lid, and cash in hand £6 0s 3d. The office charges absorbed £319 2s, made up as follows: Salaries, Mayor and clerk, £lB6 13s 4d ; valuator, £lO ; printing and advertising, £75 5s 4d ; auditors, £lO 10s; office rent, £5; cleaning. £7 13s 6-1 ; stationery and books, £ls 13s 6d ; sundries, £8 6s 4d. The streets and paths absorbed £945 15s Id, the items being, day labour, £7B 12s 7d ; gravel, £317 lls Id; contracts, £468 7s 6d; plant and tools, £25 8s; drain pipes, £42 3s 9d ; timber. £l3 12s. The cost of the Engineer’s department was £427 15s 9d, the salaries of Engineer and staff taking up £387 8s 5d ; stationery and office requisites, £2B 8s 10d ; rent, £5 12s 61, and advertising, £6 6s. The other items of expenditure

were—Furniture, £23 7s 8d ; law expenses, £2l 5s 6cl; licensing expenses, £25 13s 7d ; lighting, £7 7s 7d; bridge account, £l7 12s 9d ; inspector of nuisances and dog-tax collector, £55 8s 3d ; interest on overdraft, L 53 Is 6d ; re-payment of overdraft on April 1, 1882, L 53 Is 7d, and miscellaneous, L 5 Is 6d, In addition to the above there were the advance to the special fund account, L 1742 2s sd, and the refund of contractors’ deposits, L 239. The loan account shows apparent receipts, L 6742 2ssd. In reality the amount was LSOOO, L 1742 2s 5d having been advanced from general account and subsequently repaid. The expenditure under this head has been : —Contracts, L 1668 8s ; plant, L 6 17s ; limber and drain pipes, L4O 14s 2d ; Engineer and contingencies, L 154 14s 6d; cost of raising loan, L 26 4s 6d; plans for Council offices, L2l; temporary advance

to general account, LBl5 Is lOd, leaving a balance in the bank of L 2267. It must not be supposed, however, that this sum is available for further works for, on lurning'to the next page, that of assets and liabilities, we see that with the balance clue Mr McLoughlin, £598 and contracts entered into, including that with Mr Sherwood, £646 5s sd, a slice.amounlin"-tO-£.L3sD^lßs.Jd,ha^to '“bank: This would leave £916 Is 3d. The sum of £Bl5 Is lOd is due to loan account by the general fund, and to make this payment the Town Clerk, in his report, proposes that out of the item, Engineer’s Department (£427 15s 9d), two-thirds should be charged to loan ; and, out of interest (£53 Is 6d), about £33 Is 6d. This would leave £496 16s 6d to bo paid to loan by general account, with an overdraft of £3OO, .which the Clerk reminds Councillors most be “ arranged for.” It will be seen, therefore, that although the sum of £2267 is at credit ol loan account in the bank, the available balance is only £1412 7s 9d. The statement of assets and liabilities shows a tolerably healthy state of affairs. The former amount to £12,632 14s 6d, and the latter £11,518 4s Id, The assets are arrears of rates, £4B 6s 8d ; arrears of rents, £lO3 10s 9d ; Domain Board loan, £SO; County Council, on account of bridge, L 7 13s lid; furniture L4O ; plant L3O ; borough reserves L 4900 ; unrealised debentures, L 500 0; cash in hand, L 6 0s 3d ; bank balance, general account, LIBO 2s lid ; balance loan account, L 2267. Liabilities—outstanding accounts, general, L 46 4s 3d ; loan, Xjs6 Is Id; debentures issued, L 10,000; two months’ interest due on loan, LSO ; deposit on contracts, Lls ; contracts entered into, L 1350 18s 9d. We have entered somewhat lengthily into the accounts, because we think it advisable that every ratepayer should make himself acquainted with the financial position of the Borough. What with an estimated deficit of £3OO in the general account and the interest on the loan, the utmost economy will have to be exercised over the disbursements during the coming year. The only thing we can see in the expenditure to which attention should be particularly directed is the Engineer’s department. The cost of that appears to be excessive, £682 10s 3d having been required to “ engineer ” an expenditure on contracts amounting to £1668 8s from loan, and L 468 7s 6d ordinary revenue. This extravagance, for we can call it nothing else, cannot be maintained, and the pruning knife will have to be vigorously applied. Otherwise we shall drift into difficulties, and like some other public bodies, have to lock the stable door after the steed has been stolen. At present the affairs of the Borough may be said to be in a tolerably healthy state, and the responsibility rests with Councillors to keep them so.