THE CITY COUNCIL.

Evening Star, Issue 5609, 1 March 1881, Page 2

THE CITY COUNCIL.

A special nesting to consider the report of tho Fiuanot Committee, whioh dealt with the question of City rates, was held last evening. There were present: His Warship tho Mayor (Mr A. H. Ross,), Councillors Thomson, Matheson, Sooullar, Barnes, Aldrioh, Isaac, Carroll, and Street.

ffHfi CITY RATES

The following supplementary report from the Finance Committee was read : Your Coramittoe beg to report h*Yintr reconsidered thoir recommendation, under date 22nd February, aa to the rates for tho ensuing year. Your Committee regret that they see no alternative but to urge the rates therein named; and even then, your Committee cannot avoid the conclusion that it may be necessary to censider the possibility of furthor retrenchment, with a view to making the yearly income and outlay approximately balanac.

The Town Ci.brk then read the following letter, whioh had been received from Councillor Fish -. I very much regret that a prior engagement, made prior to last Council meeting, will preclude my attendance to-night. I may say, however, that from a careful consideration of the subject under discussion, I am thb more convinced that it is unnecessary to increase tho rates at the present time. As I understand the matter, the treasurer has presented a balance-sheet to the Finance Committee, based upon tho expenditure of the year 1890-81, showing; an anticipated overdraft as at 81st March, 1881, on municipal acoount of L 9.000, and a deficiency in the revenue for the next year of, gay, L 7,000. The Finance Committee very properly propose to reduce the proposed expenditure for day labor, quarry labor, stone-crushing, metal, etc. (which can easily be done) by about L 3.600. thus making tha deficit about L 3.500, and to meet this deficiency by the imposition of an extra rate of 8d in the &, which will produce a similar amount, and thus square the accounts. If this extra rate Is not imposed, what follows 1 I opine this: That at tho ond of year 1881-82 the municipal account for that year will be overdraws about L 3.500, which, added to the anticipated overdraft as at 31st March, 1881, will make the municipal overdraft aa at 81st March, 1888, about L 12.600, or practically more than now by the aforementioned amount of L 8.600. If this Is so, It is nothing to be alarmed at, and certainly will not justify the Council in taxing tha citizens at the present time an additional 8d in the £.. Besides, ne credit is taken in the account for tha profits ob tho sale of pas for that year, which most eartainly ought to reach a larger sum than the deficiency in the municipal account fer the period under conaWewtion. The lessening of tho amount for expenditure on works will also, I take it, leave room for some further reduction in tha Surveyor's Department, and possibly In others; and, looking at the whole plrcumatances surrounding the Corporation, I toe} rpjoro tiiarj eye* satisfied that we chould not increase the taxation. Ql course wm depend upon the CojmciJJors stornlr determining to refuse the numerous applications for works which experlenoe tells me are sure to be made, and I again reiterate the eplnion expressed in mine of Tuesday last, that even if the rates are Inoreaiwd, the overdraft will be as much as it will ba if they are not. By causing this to be read at the Council you will oblige His Worship the Mayor, upon Introdnolng the subject, said : Before proceeding to the consideration of the report of the Finance Committee, it will no doubt bo considered desirable that, as chairman of tho Committee, I should make a few icmarks on our financial poeitkm. This I will endeavor to de as succinctly as I can, in ordeAhat members cX Council may fully apprehend the reasons which have iaflueaced the members of your Committee in arriving (reluctantly, I confess) at an unanimous decision to recommend the Council to levy municipal and water rates of the maximum aruWints authorised by statute, and an increased jjpp'cjaj rate, to provide for interest and sinking fund, at a tlmp when Ull tlaases of the community are suffering from the etfects of recent and (in' New Zealand} unprecedented commercial depression. The financial matters which chiefly engage the attention of your Committee are those of the three departments —gas, water, and municipal. The first-vis,, tho gas department—requires but short notice at my hands, as the amount ef rates to be levied are not affected by the position of this department. It must, however, be satisfastory to members of this Council to know that, notwithstanding the heavy outlay during the current year for new gasometer, purifiers, etc., in connection with the Gasworks, and after providing fer all plant to arrive, a debit balance of only L 8,600 la anticipated at the close of ths present !?naacial year. As the net profit for the year ended {September ?0, 1880, was L 2.513 16a lOd, we may reasonably *i':pegt that, ?rem tho greater facilities afforded by the additional* apporaf jjs provided for the manufacture of gas, and tho increased conramptk*:;. conßequomt on the supply ©f a first-class article, sackan amount of profit will accrue during the cowing financial year as will not only dear off this debit b&laiißO, but leave a substantial surplus te tho crodlt of the department Indeee", I think we may without being too sanguine look forward to a net distant period when the prolta from the manufacture of gas will (after making all reasenable concessions to the tviißtimprs) aid very considerably in relieving the sjtra/n ori fjae rate-paying power of tho citizens, who are the real of the work. Water Jjeptrtraent.—The not rovenHe for twelve months ending Starch 3L" }si, ia and tho estimated expenditure for tho same period 'ljj as follows:

Maintenance, Silverstream and Ross' Creek &WW <j Extension, nay ~, .. -• „ ? Sinking fund „ - ' « - 2,<M> 0 Interest- ~ - -. •• ".091 0 'Sundry bank charges .- .. •• I 5? 2 ■BdlitfihS .(exclusive of Silverstream) .. 795 0 " ' * '" fA6fiO<r 0

Anticipated surplus .. :: T: ' *&& *< Thore are, however, contingencies, including claims for compensation, wj,ich are nnproyldod for In the above estimates, and which aro likoiy t» absorb in their settlement a largor amount than that shown in the anticipated surplus. As tho supervision of the works, when tho services of tho Engineer and assistant aro dispensed with, will wholly devolve on the City Surveyor and st»ff, tho Conncll will probably consider it reasonable that a larger proportion of the salary {,l that oflicer should bo charged to the Water Department, "• In the Municipal Depa.tu;ent *he estimated receipts areas follows:—Municipal rents, kItUSOO j c.Qmeteries, L9OO : footpaths, LOOO : auctioneers' licenses, LBOO ; j building licenses, L 200; county coach and diaj liconses, L 5; dog and goat registration, L 600; fees and firujo, J.P.'s Court, L 500; town and country hawkers, t&O; spirit licenses, L 3.000; theatre licenses, LIQO; weighbridges, L2.';o ; refunds from citj works, L 350: cab", express, and. drivers* licenses,, L 200; total, L18.4C5. The estimated oxpendlturei sj —City works (day labor, road metal, etc.), L 7.437 6a ;j dust-carts, at present rate of contract, L6314s ; street lighting, L4,2(M : panf.t|{xy account, including salaries, L 000; sinking- fund, L3,o(#; interest on loans, L17.21C; bank charges, L2&Q ', salaries, L 4.455 lis ; advertising, printing, stationery, and insurance, L 750; cemeteriea,! labor, etc., forming and maintaining, L 550; Piroßrlgado, Ij300; Fire Rrigadp plant, L 100; law costs, LSOO ; total, L 39.000; balanct to bo provided for by rate or otherwise, L 21.626. To provide this your Committoe recommend that a general rate of Is In tho & bo levied on tho rateable value of property within the City (L 287.000) which

will yiold L 14.550, and a special rate of 6d in the £, which will yield L 7.175, making together tho required sum of L21,!>25. I may state that tho first ltom in estimated expenditure, viz., day labour, etc., L7,«7 fo, ia intended to provide for the following works:—3,ooo yards of metal from Calder's quarry, including carting and spreading, at ss, L 76 0; 2,000 yards of metal in stock, carting; arid threading at 2s per yard, L 200; contract for cleansing streets (ten months, L1,0<)5 ss), twelve moutli9, L 2.490; watering streets, L 150; eighteen men and two horses for twe.ve months, at repairs and maiutenmce, floods and sewer cleansing, L 2.232; timber and nails, ironmongeiy, blacksmith's work, and store, L6OO ; total, L6',332; leaving a balance of L 1.105 5a to provide for work to bo done under asphalting contract, repairing kerb and channel contract, and other contingencies. This sum, I fear, will be ir.suflittient for the purpose. One item to whicli I may direct your attention is that of salaries. The actual amount required for salaries is L 4.610 lis. This is considerably under the amount expended in previous year?. In tho financial yi«r ended llarch 81,18S0, the amount oxpended for Balanos was LO.BOG lite 9d, and during the current year Ls,Ult} 15s 6d ; showing In this item a reduction of L 2.290 2d 9J aa compared with 1880, and of L 1.106 4a 5d aa compared with the current year. In consequence of the actual receipts during the current year falling short of what they were estimated to bo (ono item alone—Government subsidy—showing a dirferenco of L 7.434), and the actual expenditure exceeding the estimated amount by about L3.0C0, an overdraft has had to be obtained from the Corporation's bankers, the amount of which is anticipated to be on tho 31st March proximo not loss than L 9.&0. As the Corporation can lawfully inoreasft this to about three times this amount, we may consider the " overdraft" ono of our resources—indeed, the only ono, with the exception of that of "gas" production, whose elasticity may be considered when discussing the question of the amount of iftto proposed to be levied. I would, however, remind tho Council that although the Legislature has provided facilities for incurring such liability, the citizens have to furnish the means of liquidating It, The law gives no power to borrow for the purpos« of paying eff an overdraft It must be paid out of ordinary revenue. Iu fixing the amount of rate your Committee have not, however, contemplated paying off the present overdraft. Wa wish to prevent its being increased ; and I would strongly urge councillors to adopt the view of the Finance Committee, and for this year at least, and by refusing to authorlie any works but such as are absolutely necessary, limit our expenditure to the amount of our estimated income. I feel quite certain that the thanKS of all right-minded ratepayers will be accorded to those councillors who, in the urgency of the position, aupport an increase in the amount of the special rate solely with the view of obviating the necessity of levying a much larger rate in the next and succeeding years.

Cr Aldrich, in Beconding the adoption o tho report, said there was no doubt that they must havo the special rate. He knew that it would not be popular, but there was no possibility of the Corporation reoeiviug any more subsidies; and aa to profit from the gasworks, if a profit were yielded, the benefit ought to be given to the oitleeDs by way ef a reduction in the price of gas. He was afraid the ratepayers must be content to swallow the bitter pill. Cr Barnes would move as an amendment 11 That the special rate be 3d, the same as last year." Ho agreed with Cf Fish that they could manage their financial affair* without an extra rate. There was too much extravagance in their expenditure—for instanoe, the fine building in which they sat oould have been done without for years; while they should stand thinly out against taking any more work except suoh a» repairs or the removal of nuisances. In the old days they were once in a similar fix, and a firm stand was made, evsry man on the Corporation works being turned away, and this had aa excellent result. He oould see that much saying oould be effected in their several departments. He did not believe in paying men walking about doiag nothing. Why there were men earning L4OO or LSOO a-year who scarcely stirred themselves at all. Why not fix one man to do two men's work ? That could easily be done now, wken there is no fresh work coming in. He often went Into their offioes and found men running about with the newspapers in their hands—one man cannot do ids work till he has read the paper, and another waits for the paper till the first has done with it, and so on. Then complaints wore made that official* oould never be found in when they were wanted. The Mayor suggested that if Cr Barnes had any charges to'mako against any official he should do so before the Committees,

Cr Babeks replied that he spoke the truth about what he could actually see, and he did not want to run to committees about it. Three or faur men in one department alone oould be done without, and it would prove a great saving to the olti^ns. Cr I34AC seconded the amendment, though he did not agree with what the mover had said about the manner in which their employda worked, for, having taken some trouble to inquire into the matter, he was satisfied that the officers of the Corporation worked the fall time and were thoroughly employed. In the balanoe-sheet no account had been taken of any of tho reserves of the Corporation that were now unleased. There were reserves at the Taleri, and a receive of ten aores at Anderson Bay road. After inquiry he was satisfied that the reserves now unlet would realise at least L 750 per aanum, even if forced into the market. That waH an item which had not been considered, and he hold that the Council should make use of these reserves by letting them, as the proceeds would, with eoonomy, enable them ! to get on without an extra rate. He, like the ether councillors, wished to bring down their expenditure " under the lowest possible figure." Cr Thomson considered that neither the Eroposer nor the seoonder of the amendmeut ad adduced any argument to show that the reoommeadafcion of the Committee was not necessary. He did not agree with Cr Isaao's estimate of what the ten aores on the Anderson Bay road would yield, for two other reserves of ten aores each, in better localities, had bean leased, and the one had only yielded L£J§o, and had oob6 Ll,lOO to pus i» *ho market 1 and the other, after an expenditure pf LI.POQ, was yielding L§o9 par annum. The AKokland ratps were 2s in the £; Napier, 2a Gd; Wanganui. 2s j Christcfcuroh, 2d Ofcd J while the inhabitants of Q-ainaru paid 4» in tbe £, or nearly three times as much as the Danedin rate would be if the Finance Committee's report were adopted. He wm forced by sheer necessity to support the adoption of the report. Cr Carrcll thought there wes nanecetsity to tax the ratepayers, as was proposed, bat that the matter oould be allowed to go on with an overdraft—no doubt their bankers would be willing—for a year er two, by which time, with jadloious retrenchment in their different departments, the liabilities oould be worked off cut of ordinary revenue. Basides, they had a large number of reserves Wing unbased, and if they put them into tne marfcfet they mfghfe anticipate an addition to their inoome of fully 14,000 jpr annum. He held that the Council should look at the matter in the same light as an ordinary business man would wok at his affairs. 1 Private people take overdrafts and work them off gradually, and why should not j the Council do so ? The Council bad power to obtain an overdraft of L 27.000, but they would not have to go to a third cf that amount to clear their present liability.gLet them stndy eoonomy, espeoiaHy in the fas and water departments, and there would 0 no necfd of an inpfe&sgd pate. Ho would support-the amendment. Cr Matheson said he would Bupport tne recommendation of the Finance Committee from the conviotion that the finances of the Corporation were in suoh a condition that the extra 3d in the £ was absolutely required. The Corporation Btarted last year with a credit balance of LIO.OOO, and thin year with a debit balance of HI,OOO ; and would make a considerable difference, even with t»e otrictest economy and retrenchment. Iflven when all was done there would be a dsbit bala»ce at the end of the year cf L 21.000. The Finance Committee would not lose sight of the question of retrenchment j but that coukl not havo the effect of postponing for the present the additional rate. It would be far more pleasant for nevr members to take the popular side, bnt tjtey 06'uld not escape from the conclusion that the"lncrease in' the rate was inevitable. How oould they escape from the lnea.oj?able lpgjg of the facts before them ? Cr Street said he would support the imposition of this extra tax of 3d, because he believed the necessity for its imposition existed. The Finance Committee had carefully considered the financial posiil ;n of the Council, and from the facta and figures placed befire the tJQUfccil he did not Bee how it was possible to avoid extra taxation. The question of retrenchment in respect to *m\lgamatioa of offioes, and aho of probable abolition, had been considered by the Committee, and tho result of that consideration would in due time be made to the pound. Whatever conditions,' "however, might be made would not in An appreciable degree affect the question of the extra rate. !J?he suggestion of gjqme councillors that the overdraft be allowed to stand was most absurd. The overdraft would not stand, bat would go on increasing dally, and that day twelvemonths they would want another

3d rate, and probably aGd one. He did not consider the cry that the Council will have a larger inoome from the ten-aore block on the Anderson Bay road worthy of much consideration, for the simple raason thai it won!d coat mare than the first year's revenue to form the roads through it if it were sur. voyed into allotments. This had been the experience already gained by the outting up of the R?slyn and Momington reserves. From the financial statement, and the full discusfion and ventilation of the Corporation finances, he could come to no other eanolusion than to support the motion. Cr Scoullar said that from the facts placed before them his mind had been folly made u> to support the additional rate. He did not see how they oould avoid imposing the rate, for it was no argument to say that they oould increase their overdraft. The amendment was then put and lost, three councillors voting for and six against.

Cr Cabroll then moved—" That the consideration of the question be postponed to a full meeting of the Council."

Cr Barnes seconded this ame»dment.

Cr Matiieson protested against the oontinual postponement of the question. The meeting had been specially convened, and the convenience of numbers was consulted before the time of the meeting was named. The amendment to postpone the meeting was also negatived. The motion to adopt the Finance Committee's report was then put and carried, the only councillors who voted against it being Crs Isaac, Barnes, and Carroll