DEMAND FOR CITY RATES

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22501, 8 September 1938, Page 10

DEMAND FOR CITY RATES

♦ — . ■ NOTICES. POSTED TO . PROPERTY OWNERS INCREASES IN GENERAL AND SPECIAL LEVIES Most of the ratepayers in Christchurch, of whom there are about 26,000, will know by to-day how much they will have to pay for the administration of the city this year; for yesterday 22,148 of the City Council’s rate demand notices were sent to the postal authorities for delivery, while about 4000 demands were delivered by the council’s staff. March 22, 1939, is the last day for payment of the city rates without the penalty of 10 per cent. Some ratepayers, according to the City Rate Collector (Mr J. K. Macdonald) have not waited for the demands before paying. Mr Macdonald said yesterday that 85 property owners in the city had 7 already begun to pay this year’s rates by instalments, and some of these had completed the instalments. The amounts of the demands this year are higher than those of last year, for the general city rate, las well as three of the special rates collected by the council for other local bodies, have increased. A comparison made recently by Mr Macdonald of demands made last year and those of this year showed that owners of residential properties of average size will this year be asked for about £2 more than was levied 1 last year, while the levy on business premises will be substantially higher. Increases ranging from £4O to £333 were shown in the comparisons made by Mr Macdonald.