CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 71, 21 September 1933, Page 17

CITY-OWNED PROPERTIES

• "Few people recognise that the city is the, owner of a!considerable amount of property purchased" for street-widening purposes- during the era of, extravagance," said Mr. H. H. Miller, the retiring president of the Ratepayers' 'Association, at the annual meeting of members last evening. "Many of these. properties are now a drain! upon tlie city, not only*in maintenance, and loss.'in rents, but, too, in loss of rates. The rates at ■ one; time paid on these properties has now tobe spread over the general body of ratepayers. When an ordinary business finds itself overburdened with property it cannot use, its first act would be to attempt to sell some of. that which Was no longer required. Even today it is possible that the council could sell some of this property and thereby obtain a measure of relief in interest charges, an accretion to its rate revenue, and a saving in maintenance and supervision charges." Mr. Miller mentioned as an illustration the old tramway site in Adelaide Road. The land had been- lying idle for_ many years. A few years ago the section could have been sold, 'and one wondered why it was not. It would be interesting to obtain a return shdwing the total list of properties owned by the Wellington City Corporation, the total value of those.acquired for streetwidening purposes, the annual cost of the administrative department controlling the letting and collection of rents, and the rates lost by reason' of the city ownership. That was one avenue which could be explored in an effort to find ways and I means of relieving the rate burden.