BOROUGH FINANCES.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 25, 3 September 1920, Page 11

BOROUGH FINANCES.

F. BURWELL,

To His Worship the Mayor and Councillors : Sirs, — The matter of providing the necessary finance for tramway, electricity and sewerage undertakings is causing me some anxiety, and I therefore be.g to bring the position of these departments before you and to ask your consideration to the requirements as foreca.sted by your engineers during the next two years. Whether we should or should not anticipate for a still longer period, is for the Council to determine. 1.- --Regarding the Tramways, the spendable loan capital at present -authorised, amounts to £55,864 7s 2d, of which £12,764 is in cash and £43,100 is represented by unsold debentures. The loan schedule allocations are : — New cars, £23,464; Track duplication, etc., £16,57f/: trolley wire duplication, £1,530; feeders, £1,500; plant, rotary cohverter, etc., £5,000 ; Gruinell sprinkler, £2,250; buildings, £1,550; contingencies, £4,000; total, £55,864. The builder exten.sion contract £8,320, plus architect's fees £104, is apportioned thus : — Tramways loan No. 5, £1,550 ; electricity loans Nos. 5 and 6, £6,874; total, £3,424. Contracts have been let or tenders invited for: — Grinnell sprinkler, £1,760; rotary converter, £3,756 ; six car bodies, £15,000; six car, air, etc., (equipment), £7,000; building, £1,550; trolley wire and cables (estimated), £2,000; rails, fishplates, etc. (estimated), £12,000; sleepers (estimated), £3,500 ; total, £46,566. Add estimated cost of supervision and labour laying track, erecting trolley wire, etc., £11,000; contingencies, £4,000; four extra tramcars, say, £15,200; total, £76,766 ; loans authorised, £55,864 ; grand total, £2,0,902. These figures demonstrate that in order to bring the tramways service up to the fuli requirements of the Public Works Department, and without allowing anything for extensions, £21,000 additional capital is required ; and seeing how recent calculations have been upset by prevailing abnormal condtions, it would, in my opinion, b,e wise to obtain £30,000. The total authorised loan capital is now £153,000. lf this were increased to £183,(XK), interest and sinking fund would amount to £10,535 per annum plus, say, £4,000 to £4,500 for depreeiation and renewals. It is thus evident that the heavy increase in capital costs will be seriously reflected in the antiual stauding charges. 2. Electricity Department. — The spendable loan capital at present authorised amounts to £42,475, of which £38,275 is cash and £4,200 is represented by unsold debentures. The loans No. 5 and 6, schedule allocations were : • Turbine and other plant and tower, £16, (XX); alfcerations of machinery, £2,000; alterations of lighting, £1,000; poles, £1,003 : wires and cables, £2,000; transfomers, £4,000; building, £2,500; test room equipment, £500; meters, £1,500; vehicles, £1,500; insulation, £500; switchgear and sundries, £1,000; contingencies, £1,500; preliminary expenses, £100 ; total £35,100 ; buildings, £5,000 ; mains and equipment for extensions, £4,500; contingencies and preliminary expenses, £500; grand total, £45,100. Required to eomplete works provided for in loans 5 and 6 : — Alterations to mach, inory, £2,003 ; alterations to lighting, £1,000; test room equipment, £500; vehicles, £1,500; foundations for turbines, etc., £1,500; cooling pond (to eomplete installation of turbines), Jb500; insulators, switchgear, etc., £1,503; inains and equipment for extensions, £4,500; tftal £55,368. 3. — Prior to the war, the engineer's estimato of the sum necessary to undertake and instal any given public service was reasonably accurate and the orthodox system of raising a loan by taking a poll etc., before calLing tenders worked well enough. Nowadays the position is reversed, and as of course it is not practicr able to call the tenders first and fix the amount of the loan afterwards, the oniy remedy is to make the allowance for contingencies very liberal. For instauce in the case of the wire contracts, ulso the building contract, the funds prov-ded cnly sufficed for about half the quantities originaliy specified, which is tantjmount to spejiding twice the allocation. 4. — Regarding the sewerage loans, I have to report that the loans known as No. 1, £31,003, and No. 2, £2£,000, raised for. the inner and outer main areas are almost exhausted. I recommend the Town Engineer be ask„ ed to report on the cost of completing the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 areas, and suggest that until more money is available, the work be carried on in areas 3, 4 or 5, for which loan money is on fixed deposit at the bank. 5.— I desire to add that Mr Carman has persued and approved the details regarding his departments. — Yours ohediently,

Town Clerk. 17th August, 1920.