RATE REDUCTION

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 69, 14 December 1933, Page 13

RATE REDUCTION

Cautious Spending Urged VIEWS OF RATEPAYERS Methods of Administration “The view I take of this association,” said Mr. C. A. L. Treadwell, the president, at last evening’s quarterly meeting of the Wellington Ratepayers Association, "is that it ought to be able to direct a better method of local administration. There are two psychologies of budgeting. It has been the psychology of councillors handling public funds to budget for added improvements, to estimate the expenditure, and then budget accordingly. But the psychology of budgeting should be this: The councillors should first estimate the bare costs of overhead charges for the Coming year. Next they should budget toward a reduction of rates, rather than toward extravagant improvements in the city. We want all the"' improvements we can get, but we must be able to pay for them.” “We take credit to ourselves,” continued Mr. Treadwell, “for having cured, or going a long way toward curing, the Wellington City Council of its habit of effecting last-minute amendments to local Bills, without allowing citizens time to give them adequate consideration. It is,' in my judgment, one of the serious defects of the council that it has made more amendments to City Empowering Acts than any other city in New Zealand.” . ( Restoring Salary’ Cuts.

Commenting on the City Council s recent resolution that salary.cuts should be restored, Mr. Treadwell considered there was-much to be said for and a'gainst the' resolution. But it was questionable whether the council’s employees should be placed in a position superior to other workers. They had not been on starvation wages by any means. Their salaries had been cut down, but so had those of everybody, and it was doubtful whether the ratepayers were able, at the present moment, to provide for the coffers of the City Council the money necessary to restore the cuts. The annual amount involved in the restoration would be £30,000 in the trading departments and £13,000 in the non-trading departmerits. There was an amount of £43,000 in this question, and most ratepayers were as hard up as they possibly could be. They had to consider whether the council was doing its duty in asking them to find this large sum of money. It was questionable whether the resolution had really received the consideration the councillors should have given it. Would it not have been better for instance, Mr. Treadwell asked, to have increased the personnel of the tramway department, which had been cut. to its lowest limits, and given employment to those out of work, rather than increased wages to those who had all along been in a safe position? It was not right to relax caution, in spending, just -because wool, for example, was going up in price. If they were extravagant now, when they were just beginning to turn'the corner, they would have lost all sense of proportion and would deserve to reap no reward in the future. Mr. Treadwell said he had noticed that £20,000 was wanted to install tepid baths. But these were not luxury times and the ratepayers should not, without strong protest, allow the council to spend £20,000 of their good money - on something that could wait. The councillors, concluded Mr. Treadwell, ’ were trustees of the ratepayers’ money and should account for every penny expended, and ratepayers could say to their trustees: “You are not '-’’titled to spend our money on anything not absolutely necessary.” Resolution Carried. Mr. H. H. Miller,' chairman of the executive of the association, moved a resolution urging rate / reduction, which was carried unanimously. He said that. 75 per cent, of the rates in Wellington were raised in the city and its immediate environs. The motiou read as follows: — “This association of Wellington ratepayers again places on record the general demand of ratepayers that the policy of rate reduction commenced three years ago be again carried on; that the burden of rates, especially for city ratepayers, is a great hindrance to industry and the business community; and that the association considers it not unreasonable that a steady reduction -take place during the ensuing years, seeing that in 1930 the demand was increased by £68.000.” Mr. Stuart Wilson said they were not going to secure reduction of high rates by. merely tinkering with the problem. The whole trouble was lack of co-ordination between the various bodies. The whole of the local government of the city and suburbs wanted revision, and the only way was for some outside tribunal to make a report. If something of a very drastic nature was not done,: the rates would be an appalling burden in a few years. There were great problems in Welling ton, and if they could be solved it would provide a great example to ail the other cities in New Zealand. Mr.! A. H. Miles considered the management of the citv was not under proper control. The heads of. departments had too much say in expending money. What was wanted was a general manager to check the e~--enditure from the various departments. A strong man who could co-ordinate the expenditure of the heads of departments would earn his salary many times over.