TODAYS POWER LOAN POLL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 100, 13 December 1939, Page 4

TODAYS POWER LOAN POLL

THE possibility of ratepayers having a mistaken idea of the objective of the Electricity Loan Poll which is being held today and fearing- an increase in rates as a result was touched upon fully by Mr. W. Sullivan councillor and ex-mayor at last Wednesday's Council meeting. With a view to alleviating any misgivings in this direction we publish his remarks in leader form in order that readers generally will gain a more comprehensive and practical idea of the scheme which has been made necessary by the rapid expansion of the Borough residential area. In 1923 the council expended its loan monies for electrical equipment. Since then everything which has been done bjy way of expanding the service has been met out of revenue. The position now, is that Whakatane has simply reached a stage when in order to cope with the increasing demand for power the expenditure has temporarily overtaken the revenue. It has become necessary to obtain a loan to increase the capital but it is confidently anticipated that with all the new houses being erected the revenue will more than offset any liability, making rating entirely superflous. Referring to the supply to the Heads, Mr. Sullivan said that unless the loan was carried it would be impossible for the council to give supply to that portion of the Borough, though the revenue from this quarter was not be likely to assist very materially. Nevertheless the council felt that the Heads should be in the Borough. It had spent a lot of money on the park which in itself constituted a definite factor in increasing the value of the properties of householders there and this would probably be taken into consideration by the Commission. There are unfortunately persons of a negative temperament who made a point of voting against any move or scheme which made for improvement. It was therefore doubly desirable for ratepayers generally to make a point of recording their votes in order to ensure, that the needs of Whakatane were met. There were three alternatives before the council when considering t'he question (a) increasing the rates (b) inreasing power costs, and (c) raising a loan. The latter method was considered most equitable as under the present system the ratepayers of today were paying for the benefits of those of the future. The proposed loan was the fairest and most practical means to meet and overcome the present difficulty.