LOWER HUTT FINANCES

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 83, 7 April 1936, Page 13

LOWER HUTT FINANCES

MAYORAL STATEMENT

Although he was not In a position to give a complete statement of the state of the finances of the' Lower Hurt Borough Council as at March 31, 1936, the Mayor (Mr. J. W. Andrews) made a statement last evening.

On assuming office in 1933, he said, he found that the public debt of the borough on March 31 was £326,852 5s id, and since then reductions had been made to the following amounts:— March 31, 1934, £317,100 14s 3d; March 31, 1935, £313,955 10s 7d; and March 31, 1936, £307,869 10s 6d—a total improvement of £18,982 14s lOd since March 31, 1933.

The amount owing to the bank had also been steadily reduced as follows: —March 31, 1933, £27,767 (it actually rose much higher in May, 1933); March 31, 1934, £24,685; March 31, 1935, £17,743; March 31, , 1936, £9333—0r a total improvement of £18,434.

The rates collected in the various years had been:—l 932-33, rates struck £49,979, collected £35,348—70.8 per cent.; 1933-34, struck £51,040, collected £36,437—71.4 per cent.; 1934-35, struck £54,147, collected v £41,187—76 per cent.; 1935-36, struck £53,197, collected £42,480—79.85 per cent. The Mayor remarked that the collection of 79.85 per cent, was probably, after taking into consideration the amount uncollectable on State-reverted properties, equal to 98 per cent, collected in boroughs where this problem was nonexistent.

Since the year 1932-33 £6420 in rates had been definitely written off owing to properties being abandoned to the Crown. If this year the rate struck were the same as last year, the council stood to lose £7046 on State-reverted properties.

During the past year the Government had made a grant of £3000 to compensate for a total loss of revenue on State-reverted properties of £20,641 up to the end of last year.

In regard to the future policy of the Government oh this question the Minister of Finance had promised to define the Government policy before the close of the present session.