CITY LOAN

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 17, 22 July 1921, Page 8

CITY LOAN

i 750,000 TO BE OFFERED IN

LONDON

THE COUNCIL'S DECISION,

It was definitely decided by .the City Council last night that an endeavour should be made to raise a loan of '£750,000 on tho London ■market. Authority for raisingl a loan for a; much larger amount was given by the ratepayers last year, but tho council''will ibo content with £750,000 in'the. mean-' time. It has not yet ■ been decided how the money will be applied, but this matter will come before a special aneeting of the council to bo called by the Mayor after the Finance Committee has been able, to decide upon the nature of its recommendations. The City Solicitor has been asked to proceed, at once with the drafting of the.necessary formal resolution, 11 which, the council is required to pass, and also the prospectus. It is, hoped that the prospectus will be ready- in time to catch' the mail which leaves Wellington, on 2nd August. The council will be asked to confirm the proposed allocation.

Several councillors expressed the opinion last night that the pi-oposed allocation should have been made known before the council was asked to authorise the raising of the loan. Councillor Forsyth was among the complainants. Pie said that the Finance Committee should have brought dpwn a report. • Councillor H. D. Bennett moved: — "That confirmation of the report'of the council in committee insofar as 'it relates to, the question of the amount of the loan to be placed on the London,market be postponed to a special meeting, to be called by the Mayor in order that full information as to allocation of such amount may bo provided."

„ This was' lost by ten votes to three, and tho decision to raise the loan confirmed. .

When the city finances were under discussion last night, as' reported elsewhere in this issue, the Mayor said that on the face of things it did appear that some departments had exceeded their allotted expenditure during the first, three months.of the financial year. The Committee had discus md ..the situation, and had sought! explanations. The Engineer's Department had purchased a tar macadam plant, a steam roller, and enough cement to last for many months. Such items as those would not recur, and to some extent the .accounts would be evened up during the next (three months. The various committees had been warned that under no circumstances must their estimated expenditure bo exceeded. ' i '