MOUNT STREET

Evening Post, Volume 65, Issue 65, 17 March 1924, Page 8

MOUNT STREET

AUTHORITY FOR RAISING LOAN

OTHER POINTS OF,CITY FINANCE.

. Asked to-day what was the positiDii in regard to the improvement of Mount street at. its junction with Wellington terrace, the Mayor (Mr. R. A. Wright) stated that for the moment the position was as it had been for several months past, simply that the work had been decided upon, but could not be gone on-with owing to lack of funds. Some time ago the City Council had by resolution decided upon the raising of a special ban of £20,000 under special powers given by the Street .Widening Act, making an appeal to ratepapers for authority tr raise up to £20,000 unnecessary. The Mount street deviation would not, of course, cost £20,000, though the purchase of properties to enable the scheme io be carried through would mean a total expenditure of five figures, the balance of the £20,000 not required for Mount street being available for other street-widening works as they came along. The money had not been so far raised, Mr. Wright' explained, for the reason that the Wellington City Empowering and Loans Consolidation Act does not come into operation until Ist April, and were the loan raised prior to that date' it could not be made a charge upon tho whole city. .RETICULATION OF KARORI AND ONSLO'W. : It was for a similar reason that the loan in respect of the water and drainage reticulation schemes for Onslow and Karori, about' £180,000 or £190,000, had not been' previously floated, the \york being carried on in the meantime out of moneys borrowed from the Tramways and Electric Lighting Department. As the amount required was considerable, he did not think that that loan would bo issued locally. The provisions of the Loans Consolidation Act did not, however, affect the raising of loans such as those for. the Ngaio public hall (£5000) or for coping with the Lyall Bay sand nuisance (£4OOO, more or less, according to" the scheme finally adopted), for the raising of such loans- was . not a matter for the city as a whole, but merely for the residents of a definite area, who had agreed that they should be specially rated. OLD LOANS FALLING DUE. In addition to the issue of new loans or the raising of further moneys under the authority given' by ratepayers in September, 1920, the greatest "amount being in respect of the new pipe line from Orongorongo, which, with the Karori and Onslow reticulations, would amount tc something pretty near half a million, one or two old loans were falling due, and the Corporation would shortly be issuing a number of debentures. A part of the Electric Tramways, Street Paving, and Town Hall loan, £67,000, fell duo on Ist May, but the net amount to-day, i.e., £67.000 less the amount provided* by the 1 per .'centum sinking fund, was about £59.000. The first loan negotiated in respect of the municipal milk scheme, £52,000 for the purchase of property and plant in Dixon street and generally for the inception of the scheme, would also soon have to be provided for, but in that case no loan had actually been floated, the money being hypothecated at the bank. SERVICES TO SEATOUN HEIGHTS. With regard to the special loan to enable the extension of water and drainage, services to Seatouu Heights, for which the council had sought special authority by way of an order for the carrying out of the work from the Board of Health, thus rendering an appeal to ratepayers unnecessary, Mr. Wright stated that as yet no definite decision had been conveyed from the board to the council, but the matter was being inquired into, and probably a ruling would be given shortly.