Heathcote County Finances Recover

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31652, 11 April 1968, Page 12

Heathcote County Finances Recover

A year ago, the Heathcote County Council had an over-all debit balance in its accounts of $247,810. Yesterday, the County Clerk (Mr K. D. Stills) said that at March 31 the bank stateent showed a credit balance in the county fund account of $19,221.

At March 31 last year, said Mr Stills, this account was $75,094 in debit, and, in ad-' dition, the council had owed $88,260 to other local bodies i for rates it had collected for them. All this amount, ! plus the present year’s rates. | had been paid over. Mr Stills said that thei complete picture of the council’s financial recovery would i not be known until the bal-f ance-sheet covering all the I accounts was completed. This should be ready for the next) council meeting on April 30. j He gave details of the im-| provement in other accounts ! during the year. The re-] serves account at March 31! had a credit balance of; $54,160. compared with a credit balance of $2891 at 1 March 31, 1967. The loans account, which I last year was $ll7 in credit.] now had a credit balance of] $49,696. The plant renewal account was in credit $12,970, compared with a credit of $75 a year ago. The council had paid an instalment of $6144 towards the $18,432 it owed the Na-; tional Roads Board because j of an over-claim for subsidy, i “This shows just how a small, efficient and well-man-aged unit can recover from

a financial setback,” said Mr Stills. “It proves that our financial position is basically

I sound. The accounts, all though they are not com- ! pleted, came out better than anyone thought they would.” ] Mr Sills said that the electricity, water and general accounts had not been completed, but he expected they, too, would show substantial credits. The council, he said, had raised $122,000 of the $200,000 loan that had been authorised to allow the council retrospectively to refund accounts that had been depleted, largely because the council had done capital work out of revenue. “We have made a good recovery, and have come out extremely well,” said the county chairman (Mr C. D Le Comte. “It is too early, without the complete accounts. to comment further, but the position is most satisfacory.”