WELLINGTON'S OVERDRAFT

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLI, Issue 9543, 23 June 1921, Page 8

WELLINGTON'S OVERDRAFT

PROPOSED INCREASE IN RATES. I (Per Press Association.) WELLINGTON, June 22, The new Mayor of Wellington (JMi* R. A. Wright, M.P.) says he is determined that the city must live within ■ its revenue. At one time every borough had to do so, but later there > was a relaxation of the law, with the ! result that many spent more than j their income, which he thought was I wrong m principle. Mr Wright went | on to say that there was a debit of ' .24.0,000 on the last year's working. That was accounted for by the fact ', that with fixed rates, the city's reye- j nue was not elastic, whilst on the | other hand the expenditure had increased steadily with the cost of living, chiefly through increases m salaries and wages. In the case of general labourers the wages paid were 65 per cent more than m 1914, and drivers' wages (including tramway men) had increased from 70 to 85 per cent. In all the other departments the advance m salaries ranged from 40 to 50 per cent. In 1914 the City Council was paying 22s 3d a ton lor the best of coal; now the price was. about 438 a ton for coal of varying quality. The result was that the city's finances had gone backward. There were also works done out of revenue which were properly capital works. That explained, why some works that were promised or practically promised had not been carried out. To-day ratepayers received an unusual s.hock, whan it was stated, apparently authoritatively, that the finance Committee of : the Council will recommend a thirty per cent increase m the rates. The proposal wilh not be passed without protest, for several ; eounoilloirs are strongly opposed to jsuch a large increase, especially m times of financial stress. It is understood (says the. "Dominion") that the Wellington City Council estimates oni. the expenditure side for the current- financial- year amount to about £260,000. This, is a larger sum than last year, but Mirama_c* and Karori have now to be taken into consideration, and- with the new rates, becoming due ratepayers m alldistricts will expect a fair share of the expenditure. The new Mayor (Mr R. A. Wright, M.P.) has found the city burdened with a considerable overdraft -cunning into over' £200,000., showing; that lately, at all events, the city has not been living within its income. His intention is that it must, and shall live within its i___come>..