LOCAL BODY LOANS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 27, 1 February 1934, Page 21

LOCAL BODY LOANS.

| MEETING OF BOARD. OVER £204,670 SANCTIONED. CONVERSIONS AT £16,547,207. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Wednesday. A meeting of the Local Government Loans Board to-day dealt with 26 applications for loans totalling £224,445, of which £204,070 was sanctioned, compris- | ing £157,375 redemptions and £47,295 for new works. The balance, £19,775, was declined or deferred for further consideration. During the last session of Parliament legislation was enacfed enabling local authorities to finance works for the benefit of special areas out of the genera? account and later reimburse that account over a period of years from rates collected from the special area, thus obviating borrowing on the open market. .Several applications, which but for this provision would have involved borrowing by the local authorities concerned, were dealt with under the new legislation, thus enabling them to finance works out of their own resources. Twenty-nine applications from local authorities for the conversion of loans were considered, involving existing loans totalling £5,250,315, and the issue of new securities to the value of approximately £5,155,201 bearing interest at 4i per cent. Eighty-one schemes, from 78 different local authorities have now been dealt with by the board, covering debt amounting to £10,687,216, the approximate amount of the new securities to be issued being £16,547,207. All schemes have been carefully examined to ensure that there had been no undue extension of existing maturity dates, and the schemes have for the most part been so drawn up that funds will be available to redeem the conversion loans in full at the new maturity dates. The latest figures available disclose that local authority debt domiciled in New Zealand at March 31. 1932, amounted to £47,757,576, but of this sum only £43,023,734 is subject to conversion legislation, the balance being excluded, mainly because the rate of interest is at present 4i per cent or less. As debt totalling £16,687,216 has been dealt with, there is now £26,336,518 for future consideration. Schemes from twelve classes of local authorities have already been finalised. They have been received from the following: Cities and boroughs, 22; power boards, 15; harbour boards, 8; town boards, 6; hospital boards, 5; fire boards, 3; river boards, 4; county councils, 5; drainage boards, 3; and one each from a gas lighting board and a tramway board.