Examples Of Effect Of New City Rates

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29239, 24 June 1960, Page 12

Examples Of Effect Of New City Rates

Now that the City Council has fixed its 1960-61 rates, the staff of the City Rate Collector (Mr A. A. Boot) will begin work today preparing the 46,000 demands which will be sent out by August 15, the due date fixed for payment-

For an average residence in Papanui, in the new sewerage area, the owner will pay £36 14s this year compared with £33 16s last year. A £3 increase will be paid to the council, but it will receive 4s less for water Big Factory A large textile-manufacturing firm in a suburb will have a big increase in rates through revaluation. Last year it paid £641, this year the demand will be £lOB2, with the council’s share £229 instead of £45. The water rate will increase by £2O, the Catchment Board levy by £lO, and the Fire Board levy from £1 14s to £42The Transport Board share will be £127 instead of £99, and Drainage Board rates will amount to £578 instead of £422.

With the alterations in unimproved values, the effect of the new rates will vary considerably throughout the city, but some “sample" cases prepared by Mr Boot show the trend for different classes of properties.

A departmental store in the central city area, with a high capital and unimproved value, will have to pay £7816 this year, compared with £6602 last year. The council will receive £4493 from the general amalgamated rates instead of £5365. The council will also receive less from the water rate—£26s against £323. The firm will have to pay a lot more to the Drainage Board £1173 instead of £2o4—but will save on the levies made by the council on behalf of the Catchment, Fire and Transport Boards. The fire levy, made this year on the value of improvements instead of the unimproved value as in the past, will drop from £2Ol to £56.

An average residence in Spreydon in the new sewerage area taken as an example will have to meet only 8s more at £27 Ils The council will receive £lO 5s instead of £9 2s, but will still receive less than the Drainage Board which will take £lO 9s instead of last year's £lO 19s.

A house in Mount Pleasant which had a heavy increase in rates last year will save £1 this year, paying £55 14s. The council wilf receive another £1 with £24 12s, but the Drainage Board demand at £lB 18s and the lowei catchment, transport and watei rates will offset this and a slight increase in the Fire Board levy An average residence in a northern area of the city which came in from Waimairi, and which is still not on the sewer, will have to meet another £5 tn rates this year. For the Drainage Board there will be £lO 4s instead of £8 10s, and the ownei will also have to pay a uniform sanitation fee of £4 (£3 4s last year).

In the next block, but further away from the central area, another big departmental store with a high capital value but a low unimproved value will have to pay slightly more in rates than last year—£2627 instead of £2435 The council wil) receive £9BB instead of £796 for its general amalgamated rate, but less for the water rate. Through the new computation of Fire Board levy the firm will pay £93 instead of £29 Small Dwelling

A small dwelling in the inner area of the city with a low capital and high unimproved value will save a few shillings in the over-all demand, paying £25 9s 4d instead of £25 16s Id With £l6 17s for the genera] rates, the council will gain about 7s Water, Catchment Board, transport and drainage rates will all be slightly lower; and only 3s lid will be paid for fire protection, against 12s 5d last year. An average residence in Linwood, the old sewerage area, will have a saving of about £1 2s. with this year’s rates at £3l 10s The council will gain 10s on last year, but the Drainage Board rate drops to £7 16s from £8 9s.

While the demands—about 44,000 for private ratepayers and another 2446 for State rental houses—will be posted out In midAugust, ratepayers will have until March 1 next year to meet the demands before incurring an automatic 10 per cent, penalty

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