Waimairi Council concern about loans policy

Press, 11 September 1987, Page 4

Waimairi Council concern about loans policy

Too much Waimairi District Council money was sitting in banks while large loans were being contemplated, contended several councillors at a meeting of the council’s finance and policy committee.

Cr Gordon Freeman started a debate by saying he was concerned that the council was considering raising substantial loans for computerised equipment, the widening of Fendalton Road and other projects, when several bank accounts that had been invested were about to mature. One in particular would mature with about $1.9 million before the end of the month. The Government’s revenue-sharing allocation to the council qf more than $400,000 was another source of funding that could be spent on urgent or important work for ratepayers, said Cr Freeman.

Other substantial funds in reserve included money from the sale of the Sockburn vehicle-test-ing station 'and income from the Selwyn plantation.

“You want to spend the money on improvements. I am not a believer in huge amounts of reserves sitting there maturing while we resolve to borrow for equipment,” he said. The District Treasurer, Mr Lindsay Moore, defended the amount of money in reserve by saying this part of the month coincided with the rate collection, but the funds had been included in the estimates to be spent The District Chairman, Mrs Margaret Murray, said she could not support

the spending of revenuesharing money because it was money originally taken from ratepayers in the first place and should not be squandered. “I am not saying the council should store the money forever and a day, but it has set a budget and should keep to it,” said Mrs Murray.

Crs Des King and Arthur Adcock supported Cr Freeman’s suggestions that the council should consider whether there were any urgent works that the money could be spent on. Cr King said the revenue-sharing windfall was a “bonus that we should spend wisely" on what was next on the council’s list of work priority.

Cr Adcock disagreed that spending money on work planned but not budgeted for this year would be squandering ratepayers’ money.

If there was work such as roading that needed to be done, perhaps the council could speed up the work programme so that the ratepayers could benefit, he said. After a long discussion, councillors agreed the revenue-sharing funds would be set aside to meet any unforeseen costs in the budget, and that the balance of funds be held for further consideration at next month’s sixmonthly review.

The council also resolved to look into the question of what to do with the reserves money. A report will be made to the next meeting. Loans

In spite of a debate on how to spend excess money, councillors unanimously sanctioned a recommendation to raise a $2.5 million loan for purchasing property on Fendalton Road from the railway to Clyde Road for road widening, and for stage two of the Northcote expressway. The loan would be known as the main roads property purchase loan.

It would be subject to a set of seven conditions, including the length of repayment, the establishment of a sinking fund, and payment according to market rates at the time of the actual loan raising. The council also pledged a special annual rate of 0.1142 c in the dollar on the capital value of all rateable property in Waimairi District. The District Treasurer, Mr Moore, said he was not sure what the final interest rate would be, but the rate at the moment was about 18 per cent.

Since the council made its decision recently on the road-widening line, it' had had a “steady stream of approaches” from interested property owners affected by the road-wid-ening in Fendalton Road,

and a number of settlements “were close,’’ said Mr Moore.

The next meeting of the council, on October 21, would confirm a special order for the loan.

During the committee meeting, two property purchases in Fendalton Road and in Marshland Road for the Northcote expressway were also approved. A section of a Fendalton Road property was bought for more than $34,000 and a section of a property in Marshland Road for more than $19,000.

Two other recommendations for the raising of a $73,000 loan for the Avonhead riding’s planned community centre, and a $220,000 loan for computer and office equipment were also approved by councillors.

The community centre will be based at the Presbyterian Westburn Church in Waimairi Road, which was sold recently to the council. The church was joining several of its other congregations in a new building in Withells Road. Council poll Waimairi electors opposed to being added to the Christchurch Drainage Board’s district will be able to dissent in a council poll.

Those areas of Waimairi proposed to be added to the Drainage Board area include North

Road, Spencerville Road, Kainga Road, Lower Styx Road, Harbour Road, and Stewarts Gully areas. The costs of the poll would be met by the Drainage Board. All land in the proposed area would become liable for land drainage rates. Some rates would be levied when that service became available, said Mr Moore in a report to the finance committee. Separate polls would be held in each area. No date has yet been set for a poll. Accident corner The question of improved road safety at the corner of Sawyers Arms Road and Johns Road was raised. Cr Freeman called for urgent consideration of road safety at the corner, which he said was often the scene of car accidents. “There is an accident every two weeks at that comer,” he said. “The speed of the traffic could have something to do with the frequency of the accidents, but as an authority we should be doing something to help solve the problem.” Councillors agreed there was no simple answer to the problem, and asked the District Engineer, Mr John Lamb, to investigate whether vision at the comer could be improved, and to report back to council.