PRINCIPLE WRONG.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 114, 17 May 1938, Page 8

PRINCIPLE WRONG.

HOSPITAL BOARD LEVY.

MANUKAU COUNTY REPORT.

A decision to ask the Mayor of Auckland to call a conference of local bodies' in the Hospital Board rating area to diecusg the new schedule of levies proposed by the board, was made when the Manukau County Council met to-dayT"" In a report presented to the council, the county clerk, Mr. E. Ashcroft, explained -that the Hospital Board had increased its levy on the council, deepite the fact that there had been a reduction in valuation. The board, in assessing the levy, had taken the county capital rateable value at £4,879,348, an increase of £29,003 over the preceding value tion. Unfortunately, said Mr. Ashcroft, the county would base its estimates and collect its rates on a much lower valuation. "The present method of levying local bodies in the Hospital Board's area on a valuation basis js wrong in principle and unduly harsh on the rural areas," he continued. "Some suburban and rural areas are taxed on an increasingly burdensome basis, and the Manukau County I heads the list" at 17/9 a head. The levy, ' if based on population, instead of the present valuation method, would a vera l>o approxhuatejy 12/9 a head over the I whole of the area under the Hospital Board's jurisdiction."