RIDING ACCOUNTS

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22251, 16 November 1937, Page 13

RIDING ACCOUNTS

fO TUB EDITOR OF THX PBZSS. Sir,—ln,i"The Press" of November 6 appeared:a leading article ; on "The Biding System in Counties,"; in which the opinion- was expressed' that' the . keeping of riding accounts Ify. county councils had a detrimental- effect fan county finances and the standard of , -works carried out in the county. That opinion is entirely/ erroneous. .The keeping of riding accounts in no way affects the position of the county in carrying out any works the council desires to carry out as authorised by various legislation, nor does it encourage small loans being raised. The statement in the leading article > that "finally, separate riding accounts ' enormously increase the burden of clerical.work and the cost of rate col- - lection," is also quite wrong. The petition presented to the House- of Representatives on behalf of two North Island counties is an instance of what may happen when.riding accounts are abolished without the possible effect being fully considered. Mr Semple : has on occasions made remarks about abolishing riding accounts, as they terfered with county activities, and hinted at compulsory abolition of the accounts. He has evidently been ■wrongly advised for him to make such • statements. It was not until 1910 that riding accounts of counties became s to audit by the Audit Office, although it was the practice to keep such accounts. This statutory requirement was brought about by the > opinions held by some counties that the rates collected in a riding were not spent in that riding. It was not until I »ne Counties Amendment Act, 1931, . yas passed that power to abolish ridjng accounts became law; and this was the outcome of the action of some t counties which had got their riding accounts. -into rather unsatisfactory Positions. . The leading article states that 52 councils out of a total of 125 have availed themselves of the 1931 legislation. When it is considered that it had taken 15 years for less than half Jh? councils to avail themselves of this legislation, it can hardly be contended that the keeping of riding accounts has the effect which the leading article would lead your readers to believe.— -Yours, etc., ■v y 25.' November 13, 1937. XOur correspondent's letter would be more interesting if he offered arguments instead of unsupported as-. sertions. It seems obvious that it is cheaper and more convenient to levy one rate instead of, say, siXi We were aware that the existence of riding accounts does not | affect the legal power of a county . council to finance certain -works out ot its main account-, but this does not alter the fact, that many ridings function almost as separate local authorities. I —Ed., "The Press."!