Roads Board Seeks £2m Surplus

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30887, 21 October 1965, Page 3

Roads Board Seeks £2m Surplus

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, Oct. 20. The National Roads Board is budgeting for a surplus of £2 million at the end of the current fiscal year.

At its meeting today members agreed to a revised budget providing for the expenditure of £32.75 million of its expected revenue of £34.75 million.

At it' May meeting, the board se‘ a budget allowing for a 3 million surplus but since making that decision it has agreed to remit the 1 million contribution to its revenue received from the Consolidated Fund. The assistant Director of Roading (Mr D. J. B. Halley) said predicted income for the year was £2.6 million greater than that actually received last year. Current trends in receipts from motor taxation were generally as expected and these were estimated to produce more than £3O million.

The board approved additional allocations for road and bridging works of £475,000, of which £185,000 is to be spent on State highways. £300,000 on county works and £90,000 on municipal projects. This means the board has provided for the spending of £17,715,000 on State highways during the year, £8,970,000 on county roads and £4,840,000 on municipal roads. District roads councils had requested the board to spend a further £2,116,000 on State highways, £765,000 on county roads and £238,000 on municipal streets. Administration costs of the board are expected to be £1,580,000. REPAYMENT

A decision was also made to pay to the Electricity Department £450,000 or £600,000 the board had borrowed interest free to help with the financing of an accelerated reconstruction programme on the National Park-Turangi State highway. This project was speeded up as a result of the Government’s decision to proceed with the Tongariro power project.

Mr Halley recommended sue!) a step as it would avoid heavy commitments after 1968 when urban motorways would probably be making the heaviest demands on the board’s funds. Under the agreement with the department, repayment was to start in 1969 with four annual payments of £150,000 being made. Mr Halley said experience had shown the board must budget for an end-of-year surplus sufficient to meet payments due in the early part of the next financial year, including advances to local authorities. “It is obvious that as the board’s income and expendi-

ture rises so also should the planned balance rise.

"It is considered the minimum balance should be about 5 per cent of the total year’s allocation which would currently amount to about £1.5 million.

“By budgeting now for a £2 million balance the board will be in a satisfactory financial position through the first quarter of next year and also be able to meet additional de-

mands which are almost cer tain to be made before the end of the current year." be said. Mr Halley said one request to be made would involve improvements and upgrading of class one on State highway 22 and a county road between Runciman and the site of the new steel mill near Waiuku.

Proposals for this would probably come before the board at Its next meeting.