FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1886.

Auckland Star, Volume XVII, Issue 207, 3 September 1886, Page 2

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1886.

There can be no doubt whatever that the city finances are drifting into a serious mess. This subject was stirred up a year ago, and the Council spent several long sittings in trying to find some means of grappling' with the difficulty, but except that they pulled up their extravagant works expenditure, nothing whatever was done. The overdraft on the General Account of over £30,000 gradually increased to £40,000, about which figure we believe it still stands. While borrowing continues, the Council can manage to get along, providing for the more important works out of loan, but they are now within a measurable distance of the end of their resources in that direction, and their position will soon be an unenviable one. At the beginning of 1887, the city debt will entail an annual charge of over £27,000 for interest, and the shilling rate which is levied to cover it only yields, upon the new valuation, £ 18,500, and that is never all collected. There is thus a difficiency of £8,500 to provide for. But this may be partly met out of profits from water supply, which is now becoming a remunerative branch of the city services. Last year the sum of £5,557 was transferred from the waterworks account to the interest account, but even then there is a substantial sum to be made good from some source.

On examining the General Account, we cannot see any probability of this fund being drawn upon to help out the special rates, if the present rate of expenditure upon the regular city services is to be maintained. The total revenue last year from rates, rents, licenses, and other sources amounted to £30,584, while the expenditure on the reduced scale, is £27,334. From these figures it is clear that increased burdens are looming ahead. Fortunately, through the resistance of Auckland .members in Parliament last session, a clause of the Municipal Corporations Act which would have removed the restriction limiting the extreme rating of Auckland borough to two shillings was prevented from applying to this city. The power of the Corporation to levy a separata tax for charitable aid and library purposes was, however, made clear; the Council liAve thus power -to impose a rate of 3id in addition to the present taxation. Iney can also tax the citizens indirectly by charging them for the dust services. It is quite evident that further taxation by these methods will become inevitable unless the Council endeavour, during the expenditure of the balance of the current loans, to so economise upon the expenditure under General Account that the overdraft will be nearly, or altogether, liquidated before the borrowing now in progress ceases. It will be the prime duty of the new Mayor to see to this.