UNEXPENDED MONEYS

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 28, 27 October 1932, Page 6

UNEXPENDED MONEYS

City Empowering Bill RATEPAYERS’ OPPOSITION The Wellington City Council is seeking authority'by legislation to spend among other amounts £113,336, the balance, unexpended, of the 1920 Water Supply Loan.' - This money has been on deposit for some years, and the council now proposes to spend same on works not sanctioned in,the.original loan. When the Wellington Ratepayers’ Association learned that.the,Bill was being promulgated, the president called a meeting of his executive to consider the position. It was resolved that the action of the council was a violation of the rights of ratepayers, and it was decided to send a letter to the chairman of the Local Bills Committee in Parliament, asking to be heard in opposition to the Bill.. The letter-stated that the reason's for protest were as follow:—• 1. —The works sanctioned by ratepayers by poll having been carried out, the unused loan money should remain on deposit until such time as the loan can be repaid, the ■ interest in the meantime being credited against the total interest which has to be paid to the 'bond-holders. 2. —The work on which it is proposed to spend the unused loan money has not been sanctioned by ratepayers, and in fact few ratepayers know anything of the proposal, and cannot become . acquainted with the scheme of'work put forward until further publicity is given to it. . 3. —Ratepayers have no method of holding back the scheme for more ’mature consideratoin’other than the drastic step of opposing the Bill. . The Wellington Ratepayers’ Association affirms that wherever financial undertakings are concerned and contracts made, there must be a mutual understanding between' the parties before any of the ’ terms' and conditions can be varied; it is therefore essential that a poll of ratepayers should be taken and members of the Ratepayers’ Association executive, in support of their affirmation have already given evidence before the Parliamentary Committee emphasising the vital principle that there should be no expenditure of money on works for which ratepayers’ property is to be pledged without first having received, their sanction by poll, fenced to three months’ imprisonment,” said the magistrate.