HEAVY HOSPITAL LEVY

Evening Star, Issue 17327, 15 April 1920, Page 2

HEAVY HOSPITAL LEVY

A GROWIXG BURDEN". Sd RATE LEVIED. One of the- clauses presented to the City last night by the Finance Committee indicated that the Hospital Board’s Pin R’o f - Vear wa f £22 -’ 245 ’ as against , , last y e? -r, and recommended that a nwpital rAto of 8d in the £ be imposed !n r ] , e °" y e *-*’s rate of 4£d. Cr Taverner,, in moving the adoption of this, said the position was very acute, and witaout entering rnto the question whether the money was wisely expended, it was ccitam that the levy bore an undue propoit.un to the rest of tire city outgoings. hole v, as no possible way in which fire council could control the expenditure, and they suggested that the only course open was to secure it so that all funds necessary for Hospital administration should he paid from the Consolidated Fund. The committee recommended that the Government should b© so advised, and for the past tne years it had' been the opinion of all contributing bodies that this fund should bear the cost. Cy Walker said that those who had the administration of the Hospital had a most difficult problem to face, and he thought that they should feel gratified that the cost per head per bed in Dunedin compared most favorably with that of the other centres. He agreed that the cost should be charge on the Consolidated Revenue. Under the present system only 10 per cent, of the population were directly taxed for hospital administration, which was manifestly unfair. The committee’s report was adopted.