OTAKI BOROUGH RATING.

Shannon News, 11 December 1925, Page 3

OTAKI BOROUGH RATING.

HUTT COUNTY CHAIRMAN VIEW. The views A. L Mackay, chairman of the Hutt County Council, on -Quite a number of things are similar'Mie said.- "In the first he counties are rated on value. > The proposed borough, like Otaki is to be rated on the umniprov- , Ku^.%Le q uently the ratepayers; with the larger holdings have to he p to pay for the municipal improvement* •equSd by the owners of the smallox ; holdings. Even then the larger holdLgs may not receive the semoos thi smaller holdings get. A faimei , within the borough would have to pa> for any loan raised for water supp > or drainage although he may get no benefit whatever. It is not pouible to give water supply, sewerage, or diaißa#e without special- loans, and once Sloans taken over the boroug-h the Avhole of the ratepayers m the borough are liable for .their share of the rates. If at any time m the futuic say three or four years hence, the J Jgh lv rated areas desire to be excludcl from the borough and taken back into, the county—a position which can oid, be attained by an Act of Parhament--ot coming back into the county those areas would still be liable for toeir share of the borough's iate, notwithstanding the foet I*at tho> would be again iir the and no* participating in the benefit from tuoso. argued that this will not be the case so far as Upper Hutt ib concerned, but the evidence given before the commission at Otaki proves that although the ratepayers wore to.a on the formation of the borough that they would not be required to pay ipi «/ service they did not one instance an owner of farm lands proved that his rates had increased from £27 to £124 during the four years the borough had been in existence. A--though he had to pay that enormous increase, he was getting no more benefit from the borough than he receivedin the county. It is obvious that-when any arei is considered suffician.ly closely settled to require the amenities of a ! municipality, the cost of improvements must be borne either by a special rote or by an increase in the general ra,<\ If the unimproved value of the land is taken, irrespective of ■ improvements to private properties, the rate per acre must increase, as the unimproved yeJue remains approximately the same, tnder rating on capital value, as the var.ie of the land and its improvements arc gradually increasing, the rite per acre with an increasing valuation is less. -