DOMAIN LEVIES.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17809, 7 July 1923, Page 10

DOMAIN LEVIES.

THE PROPOSED INCREASE.

An explanation in regard to the proposed increase in local bodies' contributions tb the Cliristchnrch Domains Board, as set out in the Christchureh Domains Amendment Bill. 1923, was made at yesterday's meeting of the Board, and an ambiguous statement in the "reasons" for the Bill was cleared up. The proposed amendment is in the direction of increasing the levy from £2500 to £SOOO annually. The chairman (Mr Geo. Harper) said that a copy of the Bill, together with the ''reasons for the Bill," had been forwarded to all contributing local bodies. The reasons set out by the .board are as follow: Reasons for the Bill. The area of Hagley Park and; the Botanic Gardens under the administration of the Christchureh Domains lioard is <loo acres; 53 acres of this area comprise the Botanic Gardens, lbs whole area was by ordinance of the late Provincial Council of Canteruury reserved for the public of the province of Canterbury torever. By the Christchureh Domains Amendment Act, 1913, the Board was empowered to require contributions from the different local authorities within the combined district mentioned in the Act (namely, within a radius not exceeding ten miles from the Post Office, Christchureh), an amount not exceeding tile" sum of £2500 in any one financial year. To provide that sum, the contributory authorities were empowered to levy a rate in the parts of the combined district within their respeo tive jurisdictions. The sum of £2500 has in recent years been required and contributed by the contributory loc"al bodies within the radius and expended towards the maintenance of the Park and Gardens. The annual revenue of the Board from all sources including rents of parks, income from bequests, license fees for sports grounds, and voluntary donations, will not exceed during the current year the sum of about £3945. The amount is quite inadequate to meet the ordinary expenditure which is necessary to properly maintain the Park and Gardens owing to the considerable increase in wages, of the price of tools, and of materials of all kinds required for those purposes. The attendance of the general public at the Gardens and Park has of recent years very considerably increased, and the Board realises that it is ife duty to maintain the Gardens and Park in their present state of efficiency, and for that purpose to incur such reasonable expense as may be necessary. A building for the purpose of a Winter Garden, the gift of the late Mr C. A. O. Cunningham for the benefit of the public frequenting the Gardens, is now being erected at a cost of about £IO,OOO, and will thereafter have to be maintained for that purpose by the Board.

The Board has been compelled to re- ! duco its estimate of expenditure for the current year by the sum of £7OO, which would otherwise have been paid m wages. Of tha sum of £2500 now contributed by the local authorities, tho Christchurch City Council, contributes the sum of £1715, and it has signified its intention of not opposing the Bill if the Board will give an undertaking not to require from it more than onethird of the additional 6um of £2600 part of the sum of £SOOO as provided tor in the Bill, without its consent, and the Board has given an undertaking to that effect. It is contended by some of the local todies, that having their own recreation grounds, it is not fair to ask them to contribute towards the maintenance of the Park and Gardens, but as these the jurisdiction of <w tained from eome source towards *\L maintenance ortheiTd ffK&fi cltv of Christchuroh fit hftT* 0 * d^ricts mostly Kthe rates over the* Eg Sea ion twV *t e Ct>unc ? l wa * of the opinion that the area to be rated »W,M from Christchurch, and would then hare no opposition to the annual SJ beinß raised up to £SOOO nerT» B !? provtded that P the cSkCch S CJuncil paid the same amount ™ SZ tofore. By extending the are* the Board woufd make the Domain a pr? wncial matter. In the event of P the area not being increased, the CfruncU A further letter was received from tho Paparua County Council forwardine a resolution protesting against statutory authority being given for an increase! in the levy, and stating that a« the number of domains and parks in the various contributing districts was steao> llv increasing, the time had now arrived when the levy should be entirely abolished. J

Mr A. W. Owles said that he had received letters from the Lytteltpn and New Brighton Borough Councils asking him to oppose the Bill in every possible Mr E. F. Stead said that there seemed to be some ambiguity in the clause, which stated that the City Council had signified its intention of not opposing the Bill, provided the Board did not call up more than one-third of th© additional levy without the consent of the City Council. He thought it was that reference to the City Council which had mislead, the other contributing bodies. The Mayor (Mr J. A. Flesher) said that the position was really simple. The Board had promised not to call up more than one-third of the levy without the consent of the Council, and every other contributing body would bo on the same basis.. From the wording of the clause some people had concluded that the City Council had conserved its own. rights in the matter of paying the additional levy, while the other contributing hodies had no say. That was not the position. If the City Council withheld its consent the other bodies would not bo called upon, but if the City Council, the largest contributing body, consented, the consent would be taken as sufficient for all contributing bodies. Mr A. Freeman, representative of Paparua County, said that the clause was ambigupus as it stood, but he was sure that his Council would withdraw its opposition when it heard the full facte. It was decided to alter the clause under discussion to read: "If the Board will give an undertaking not to require from the contributing bodies. ' _ The matter of proceeding with tnBill was left in the hands of Messrs G. Harper and H. J. Beswick.