MR. HUTCHISON ON CITY FINANCES.

Evening Post, Volume XX, Issue 266, 13 November 1880, Page 2

MR. HUTCHISON ON CITY FINANCES.

Speaking about tho city finances generally, Mr. Hutchison last night said the ratepayers were not likely to be taxed any more for the present, and the city was able to carry on comfortably. There were two or three accounts which might be looked at and then eliminated from the general city finances, namely, the Hospital and Charitable Aid accounts, the expenditure for the year (subBidised by the Government) beinty about and the Town Belt reserves, whi ;h were set aside by Act of Parliament for specific purposes. The two accounts which formed the standing accounts of the municipal finances were the general rate account and the water rate account. The rate this year amounted to about JJI2,CK)O, but, looking at the present state of things, it would only amount to about at Is in the £, next year. Rents of the reclaimed land, market reserves, and so forth would yield .£3OOO, and lioenses, fees, and fines about while tho profit from the wharf would amount to say per annum. The items, amounting to would form the revenue for the city for the year beginning Ist April next. Salaries under the general rate account would amount to .£1700 ; street lighting, dfi2ooo ; scavenging, .£2400 ; maintenance of fire brigade, £1000 ; legal expenses and contingencies, £1000, and interest on loans, making a total of and leaving a balance of ,£6500 with which to carry on the other operations of the Council, such as making street improvements and so forth. He had a strong impression that it was not in salaries that very appreciable saving could be effected. It was rather on the work which was carried on throughout the town that this end could be accomplished ; and meanwhile tho ratepayers' representatives must take car© that the money is made to go as far as possible. (Hear, hear.) The water rate would yield about as much as tho general rate, namely, £10,000. 'I he interest on the loan for the waterworks — he was referring to the first loan, not that for £130,000— was .£4300, and the cost of working and maintaining the present waterworks was something like £3000. So that, in point of fact, thero was in those works a profit of £2200. Now, he regretted there should be any profit at all in ono sonse. His idea was that water should be as cheap as Eossible, and that everybody should have the enefit of it. Then the Corporation had to find tho interest on the £130,000 loan, and this amounted to no less than £7500 They would therefore havo to take the profit on tho water to help to pay tho interest on the other loan, and when tho works were in full operation the water revenue would increase, and thus enable the Corporation to meet their liability with less difficulty. Without entering into other figures, he thought enough had been said to show that while the Corporation would require to practise much economy in their finances, tho revenue was sufficient to enable them to carry on in a comfortable manner.