LOCAL BODIES’ FINANCE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 182, 29 April 1922, Page 3

LOCAL BODIES’ FINANCE

AMENDMENT OF THE NEW ACT SUGGESTED. The restrictions placed upon local bodies bv the Local Bodies Finance Act 1921, were mentioned at a meeting’of the Wellington Harbour Board on Wednesday. The board had before it a circular letter from the Hastings Bor-oun-h Council protesting against the Act and asking for support in urging the Government to amend it. me council suggested that the restrictions were " O ing to hamper local bodies severely, and that the present was a very inopportune tiipe for the raising of loans to discharge antecedent liabil--1 Mr. H. D. Bennett said he thought the subject had been sufficiently discussed already. The Act had defects, but there undoubtedly tyid been need for "the Government to step in and mnko some amendments in th& financial methods of local bodies. These bodies had got almost out of hand, and the liabilities that were being passed forward from year to yaar were far too large. The points raised bv th° ings Council had all been considered. Mr. C. E. Daniell said he did not think that the Harbour Board would be affoc+ed to any extent. The Act applied chiefly to local bodies that had a large number of separate accounts. It would benefit the banks and the commercial companies. He was not able to say how far it would benefit the general community. The chairman (Mr. J. G. Harkness) said the board was affected in just the same way ns the other local bodies. Tlie only difference was that its financial year did not end until December--31, so that it did not have to balance its accounts on March 31. Mr. Daniell: But we are not offenders.' . The chairman added that the principle underlying the Act was a good one, but some of the details were going to have a very serious effect upon. the operations of the local bodies. He thought that the Act needed some amendment. The board referred the letter of the Hastings Council to the Accounts Committee for report.