ROADING FINANCE

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 125, 31 May 1927, Page 10

ROADING FINANCE

POSITION TO-DAY

IN CITY AND STJBTJBBS

[-WORK FOR NEXT SEASON

An important statement upon the board's finances was made at to-

day's meeting of the City and Sub-. j urban Highways Board by Mr. H.. | B. Bennett. The board authorised ,: the City Solicitor to seek legigla- - ■'■ 'on to authorise the raising of an-

additional loan of £100,000

The position of the finances at th» close of tk> 1926-27 season, said Mr, Bennett, would be approximately:—.

The liability tci the bank on working account would be covered by the amounts to be collected from the Main. Highways Board (£14,000) and contributions from local bodies (£5000).,,

Motorists' fees collected for the enrrent year amount to £12,500, and them should be £2500 more at least to collect. At end of season fees' account should be in. credit £7500. This would provide for next half-year's interest dua on 30th September. --; The position, therefore, was that th« board would begin next year with no cash funds, but with about £4000 of stocks of bitumen, etc., and plant worth £20,000. . .

The total amount and cost' of work done under the City and Suburban Highways Act was: Area paved, 409,----730 sq. yds; cost, £208,883; cost per sq. yd, 10s 2d. This had been laid over a distance of 26.153 miles. - "

That cost included expenditure "of £11,000 for extra preparation and foundation authorised by. the board byspecial resolution. Without this the average cost would have been 9s 8d per sq. yd.

The actual paving cost of the Wel-lington-Petdne stretch was 8s ■ 6d per sq. yd, but the plant was placed on the ! job at Ngahauranga. ~ ;. ""■.. NOT PROVIDED FOR. The following items were not provided for in the original estimates and the loan moneys were, therefore, reduced to that extent: Cost of raising loan, £6370; supervision charges to W.C.C., £8308; total, £14,678. • In adition to the above the sum of £11,000 payable by local bodies to icSe board for extra road preparation work was written off by the board. These three items amount to £25,678. 9. The loans under the Act had been! dealt with as under:—First loan, £50,000; second loan (two instalments), £150,000; total, £200,000; less items named above, £25,678. Net total; £174,322. ■ .--, OTHER FINANCE. In addition to that total of £174,322 which was available from loans, continued Mr. Bennett, there were the '• following amounts: —Received from Main Highways Board, £7876; due by Main Highways Board, £14,907; received from local bodies by way of mileage contributions, £8486; due by local bodies by way. of mileage contributions, £5000; received in motorists' : fees, £46,633: estimated balance motorists' fees for this year, £2000;. totaL £259,224.. ■ ' ...

Disbursements were set out as follows:—Paving 409,730 sq. yds., including depreciation plant, £208,883; balance pla~nt • account, as written down, £10,000; balance stock unused and on hand, £4000; maintenance and sundries, £10,000; paid interest and sinking fund, £24,094; total, £.256,987.

; STILL TO BE BONE. The length of roadway over which the board, had .control under the Act was 39.067 miles, but th» length for which finance had been provided under the schedule Was 33.875, leaving 5.192 miles for which no finance had been provided: The length of Toads still to be paved was approximately thirteen miles, and, after allowing for the Main. Highways subsidy, the work would cost £58,000.

The length provided in the schedule, 7.722 miles, and not completed would have' cost, say, £50,000, reducible -by. Government subsidies to £30,000.'. That figure approximated the total, of shortages in the' board's capital' ac-. count of £25,678,'p1us stocks on hand, £4000; total, £29,678.

After providing for current interest and sinking fund for the half-year, due September (£15,416 per full year) it might be stated that the working funds of the board were exhausted. The remaining thirteen.miles could not, therefore, be completed without more finance. This was estimated to cost £92,378,-less Main Highways subsidy, £34,375, or, net, £58,000. ,? In • addition, ■it ■ was • proposed: (a) That the main Hutt road-Wellington to Pc-tone should 'be paved an additional sixteen feet (eight feet on each haunch) £25,000; (b) that the cycle track should receive a footpath coating of bitumen hot-mix, £5000; total, £88,000. It would be prudent to add to this something to cover contingencies and: flotation costs, so that the loan should perhaps be made for £100,000. >r-

THE LOAN PROPOSAL. The City Council had, however, al* • ready approved of .a loan proposal for £75,000, and the City Solicitor had pre.. pared a Bill which included a clause enabling such a loan to be raised. .It" would, therefore, be necessary to ask the City Council to arrange for this-to be increased to £100,000.. ■'..- ..." -There had been no expense incurred in actual maintenance on any portions of the roads laid down in hot-mix. Bad foundations and occasional faulty batches of mix, together with certaia short stretches of experimental topcourse (Thorndon quay) laid down twtt years ago, provided the only cause /for retreatment. The present haunches on the Hutt road cost about £1000 per year to maintain.' That sum w^t almost wholly expended in keeping the edge of the pavement in order, and.should, therefore, be largely eliminated when the pavement was widened as suggested. In addition, the extra lengths pro.posed under this scheme would result in an increase of the revenue by £800; per year in fixed contributions. Those two items would besuffieient to provide, interest and sinking fund on £22,500. ' Mr. Bennett' referred again to the" manner in which interest and sinking

fund charges were met, by motorists'

fees and local body contribution, and stated that it was evident that on the

basis of existing loans-the revenue was substantially in excess of the amount required to pay interest and sinking fund, the surplus being available as an extra sinking fund. A report would be submitted at next meeting to show; what the position wonld be if a farther £.100,000 was raised. That would be a controlling factor. The meeting formally resolved that steps should bte taken to secure legislation for the raising of a loan of £100,000.