HOSPITAL EXPENDITURE.

Shannon News, 14 May 1929, Page 4

HOSPITAL EXPENDITURE.

MAINTENANCE LEVY STILL RISING. BUT DISTRICT IS SECOND LOWEST RATED IN DOMINION. PROVISION POR OTAKI INSTITUTION. A copy of the Palmerston North Hospital Board’s financial estimates • for the year ending March 31st, 1030, ,-vras received by the Horowhenua County Council on Saturday. In a covering letter the managing secretary of the Board, Mr. Phillips, mentioned that the Board had again struck a total capital levy of £3BOO, and that the maintenance levy had been fixed at £22,000, as against £21,503 iast year —an increase of £497. With regard to the distribution of the levy> the comparative Statement of valuations and levies showed that, in almost every instance, there had been a reduction in the total valuation of the counties, and consequently the counties had to bear a relatively lesser proportion yf the levy, and the borough’s a relatively higher proportion, than last year. It had been rpsolved' to make the levy payable in four quarterly instalments —payable .(including the days of grace) not later than the 14th days of May, August, November and February. The recently been instructed that Clause 50 (3) of the ' Hospitals Act, requiring interest to bo added to overdue levies, was mandatory, and consequently the Board was required to charge interest on levies even if received only one or two days after the due date.

The . levies on this district, and on Palmerston borough, with .those of the previous year, shown for purposes of comparison, are set out in the following tables: — Maintenance Levies. 1928-29 1929-30

Capital Levies. 1928-29 1929-30

(Shillings and pence-omitted). In the Horowhenua County the valuation has decreased from £5,127,113 to £5,098,753, in the. Levin Borough it has increased from £676,543 to £716,332. New Activities. ,\

The maintenance proposed for the ensuing year totals £22,000. For the past three years the levies were: 192627, £16,733; 1927-28, £17,600; 1928-29, £21,503. The secretary stated, that, were it not for the new activities which the Board would be undertaking during the current year, there would be no increase necessary in the levy this year. The estimates had been framed allowing for additional expenditure, chiefly on hospital maintenance and charitable aid. The total amount this year which required to be found by maintenance levy and subsidy thereon was £39,659 17s Id, as against £38,982 19s 4d last year—an increase of £676 17s 9d; but of this increase the local bodies had to bear £496 15s 2d, and the Government would bear only £IBO 2s 7d. This was due to two facts—(l) that the valuations in this hospital district were increasing relatively faster than the valuations of. the Dominion as a whole, and (2) the hospital expenditure in this district was not increasing so rapidly as the hospital expenditure of the Dominion as a whole. The subsidy rate this year was consequently lower than last year’s rate. Last year the Board received subsidy at the rate of 16s 3d in the £; this year the subsidy rate had fallen, to lbs Id. •

Figures were given by the secretary showing the rates of levy in this district as compared with other districts, the Tate in this district being .197 per £1 of capital value, and the rates in other districts ranging from .170 in Wairarapa to ,461 in Otago. The table show'ed that j the Palmerston North Board had the second lowest rated district in -the Dominion.

, Principal Items. The following items of actual and estimated expenditure are of particular interest:— Actual Estimated , Payments Payments , > 1928-29 1929-30 £ £ Palmerston N. Hospital and Maternity Home maintenance 33,840 32,500 Otaki Hospital maintenance 72 2,000 Charitable Aid 4,452 4,500 Awapuni Farm maintenance 1,018 900 (Shillings and pence omitted). Careful Scrutiny Exercised. The County chairman (Mr. G. A, Monk), who has been re-elected a member of the Board, said it was satisfactory to- note that there was no very great increase, in the levy. The Board had de|ved into the matter very carefully and wherever it was possible to make a saving, that had been done. One factor helping the Board this year was that it had collected a little more of the maintenance fees at the hospital, and it had increased the charges from 9s to 12s a day for adults and from 4s to 6s for children. These increases were not reflected in last year's collections, because a few months were necessary for t|ie return to come in. In view of the greater use that was being made of the hospital to-day, it should be considered satisfactory that the levy had not gone up more than it had done. All the estimates had had to undergo a raosl

searching inquiry; he did not think he had seen, in local body affairs, a more thorough scrutiny than had been given to the Board's capital estimates. The chairman moved that the letter be received and that the estimates and the secretary’s notes thereon be laid on the table. Cr. Jensen asked the chairman it he could state what the additional charge to the patients would amount to during the year. The chairman said that if there was an average of 180 adult patients, the increase of 3s would represent £27 a day. The charge of 12s was not quite up to the actual cost per patient, if everything -was included. There was only a very small proportion. of patients who actually paid .the full fee. The charge was 12s where the patient could actually afford to pay it. Ethics and Taxation. Cr. Gimblett said that the average Vitepayer very much appreciated the jyork that the Board was doing, and he thought that the Board was doing very w.cll indeed. To know that it was working in such a way that there was no immediate prospect of an increase in the levy was a relief, as many of the ratepayers had been expecting a substantial increase this year. Cr. Gimblett spoke in favour of the suggestion that the system ,of hospital taxation should be partly on the capital value and partly on a population bhsis, giving the farmer some little relief. He did not think that any person would deny his duty to contribute to such a noble work, but the farmer wanted “the other fellow” to do his share. • He hoped that, if any opportunity occurred, the chairman would forget that he was a borough’s representative, remember that ho was chairman of the County Council, and “push 4he barrow'” for the man on the land. The chairman: I, 1 am rather surprised at your suggestion that I have not taken every. step to sccurq the best deal I could for the County Councils. I attended a mebting of the Counties’ Executive less than a fortnight ago, when we dealt with the whole matter. It was in committee.

Cr. Gimblett: We know nothing of what is doing. The chairman: I dealt with the matter comprehensively, some months ago- ' , County Interests Safeguarded.

. Or. Gimblett: You did not indicate how you would vote. • The chairman: Excuse me. I told you I went to the Counties’ Association and moved a motion on behalf of this .Council and it went to a subcommittee. ' If Cr. Gimblett has any id.ea that, as I represent the Botoughs, I am no ! t going to do justice to the Counties, it'would be as well, for me to vacate the position and have somebody else take it up. The Counties’ Association did investigate the question of levying half on the capital value and half on the population, and we find tha't the relief given to the rural districts will not be great. We have a better suggestion; a conference is to'be called this year, with representatives of the Counties’ Association and the Municipal Association, to discuss the whole question of hospital costs and levying. The suggestion is that too great a burden is being borne by the local bodies to-day, whether they are county or municipal authorities. Though we would .in this district get some relief through the levy being made partly on the capital value and partly on the population, if it is taken over the whole of New Zealand, the relief would not be great as far as rural districts are concerned.

Cr.' Gimblett: Probably ls'lOd per head.

Absentee Ownership.

The chairman added that it was the wealthy,, no matter where it was, that would have to pay. The worst feature was that a man might own a farm and lease, it to some poor individual who had to pay rates and rent, while the owner lived in town and escaped the charges. This was the man they were after, and the only way he could be caught was through the general taxation of the country. The speaker's : representation of the Boroughs would not interfere with his duty as a County Councillor, Following the discussion recently in Wellington, he felt that the meeting between Municipal and County authorities would result in a good deal of good. On the question of levying, there did not seem to have been anyone in New Zealand so far, except the Health Department, who had been able to point to any better system than that which existed to-day. They could condemn the present system, ,but it was little use doing that unless they could put something in its place. It was to get something better tha.t it was desired that the bodies interested should confer.

Cr. Ryder, a representative of the County on the Board, in seconding the motion said he felt sure that the ratepayers had a most able representative on the Board, in Mr. Monk, who was a member of the finance committee and was just as keen in the interests of this Council as ‘of the Boroughs. It was quite "on the cards" that most ratepayers had expected an advance in the rate on account of the Otaki hospital. He was very pleased to see that that was not so. He felt 'that everything possible was done to keep down the expenses of the Palmerston hospital, which was a much bigger undertaking than most ratepayers real-

ised. Capital Increase to Come. Cr. Catley, the County's other representative, said that the scrutiny of the estimates had been very much more keen this year than in any previous year that he had been on the Board. Nexk year an increase in the capital levy must come. The Board had spent several hours going through the hospital and all the buildings. There were a good many defects there that had 'to be and provision had been made for remedying the most irgent of them this year. The great

bugbear of the Board was charitable aid. The chairman said he was afraid that the stoppage of the Palmerston North railway deviation works would have a very bad effect on the Board's finances this year. Cr. Ryder spoke briefly in advocacy of the claims, of chiropractic to bo admitted to hospitals as a remedial method. ' The motion was carried.

llorowhenua County £ 3575 £ 3618 Palmerston 1 N. Borough 4426 4647 Foxt'on Borough 194 203 Shannon Borough 139 142 Levin Borough 471 ' 508 Otaki Borough 208 213

Horowhenua County £ 631 £ 625 Palmerston N. Borough 782 802 Foxton Borougli 34 35 Shannon Borough. 24 i 24 Levin Borough 83 87 Otaki Borough », 36 36