HAMILTON VALUATIONS.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue LVI, 13 November 1925, Page 11

HAMILTON VALUATIONS.

AIT ALLEGED INJUSTICE.

VALUER'S FIGURES QUESTIONED.

(By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) ' ' HAMILTON, Thursday. The recent revaluation of Hamilton i borough was mentioned at a meeting of 1 the local council last night by Mr. J. E. Tidd, who said that' a private revaluation of property in the vfcinity'of the ■ "Waikato Times" office, for the purpose j of assessing a new rental on the expira--1 tion of church leases, had resulted in a ' : substantial reduction on values fixed iby the Government valuer. When the j Assessment Court sat recently, the presi- ! dent granted a 5 per cent reduction over a certain area, and 1\ per cent over another area, and said it wae only his desire to preserve a uniform standard of values that prevented him making greater reductions. The reductions thus made were only to those who appealed, and there was, therefore, just cause "for grievance by a man who did not appeal and whose property was alongside that of the man who did, and who got a reduction. The injustice was all the more apparent -when' it was remembered

that there were 800 valuation notices not delivered to residents within the •borough, and which were returned to the ! town clerk's office. There were 270 objectors to valuations, but the worst feature of the whole thing wae that certain people who i were, in the "charmed circle" managed to get their values reduced without going to the Court. j Councillor Denz: How? I Councillor Tidd: By going to the, valuer and getting him to agree to a ' reduction. If that is right in one case, it should be so.in others. i Councillor Simnffi thought the council should consider the question of appointing its own valuer. Councillor Barton suggested a reversion to the old system of valuation, rating on the annual value. Until they did so there would be no satisfaction. Councillor Lafferty said Mr. Tidd was .one of the chief advocates of revaluation, and now he was flogging the valuer for doing something he was forced to do. If values had jumped up, Mr. Tidd was one of those most responsible. "Councillor J. Gilbert said constant reference to values was doing the town ;no good. ' On the motion of Mr. Tidd, it was decided that, in view of recent private valuations in the borough, the General . Purposes Committee be asked to report on the wisdom of asking the Government to revalue the borough prior to J March 31 next.