Wellington City Finances

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 70, 16 December 1937, Page 9

Wellington City Finances

Sir, —Recentlj’ I had occasion to peruse the abstract of accounts of the Wellington City Council for the year ending March 31, 1937, for evidence to combat the usual statement that the city council has no funds to meet the request for a public baths at Brooklyn, and I was pleased to find that the city council has devised a technique to carry out schemes which can be undertaken without a ratepayers’ poll.

In the trading departments a special reserve fund is created based on 2 per cent, of the “depreciable assets of the department,” and in the non-trading departments a new account is Created out of the general revenue acccount. This year the city council created the aerodrome hangar capital account by transferring the sum of £lO,OOO from the general account, also the western suburbs access account by transferring £9OOO from the general account. The centenary account also benefited by £5OOO from the same general account. The contingent liabilities for shares in the Centennial Exhibition Company is £18,750, of which the tramway department is providing £6250 and the electric light department £6250. The milk department also had a special account for building cottages at Otaki by a transfer of £2200 from the general ae- . count. This account is really a charge on the milk department, but evidently this trading department is not able to stand on its own feet,yet because in recent years u temporary advance of £26,200 from the general account was made. The “Jersey cow” of the municipal herd is the electric light department, which had a net profit, after deducting working expenses, of £93,719. Then,, after deducting some £26,735 for sinking fund and reserve fund the sum of £66,113 was transferred to appropriation account and here we find that £15,000 was transferred to the district fund in the general account, and several other items detached, leaving a net credit balance of £29,404. The tramway account has not shown such a flourishing finish, and the tramways manager has intimated to me that train fares are to be raised in the near future. The balance, after paying worlv ing expenses, was £81,906, and it was carried to tlie net revenue account, where some £35.490 was put into two funds and tlie balance, £3086. was carried to the appropriation account, where £ll2B was written off to preliminary expenses and £5OO to a general lire account, and £3007 for work items, and this account finishes up witli a debit balance of £1549. Less ratepayers get disheartened after reading of a loss on our trains, I must admit that they have £255,206 cash in the bank and investments at least amounting to £161,327. Tlie balance-sheet shows reserves at. much greater figures. The electricity department shows the same healthy state of £267,281 cash in the bank, and £167,533 in investments, and the various reserves totalling about twice the above figures. Wellington has good reason to be proud of its civic finances and also to see that more improvements are coming out of revenue direct, but I hope that in the future chairmen of committees will not trot out the old stock excuse to deputaions I lull “we have no money.” Next year swimming batli accounts can be created and the Mornington road deviation without much effort.—l uni. etc.. L. G. AUSTIN. Wellington, December 13.