CITY’S TRADING FIGURES.

Evening Star, Issue 23725, 5 November 1940, Page 6

CITY’S TRADING FIGURES.

At last night’s meeting of the Dunedin City Council the city treasurer presented a report on the work of the trading departments for the half-year ended in September. The statement will be read with appreciation by the ratepayers, for it reflects careful and judicious management in times that arc difficult. The operations of the various departments show a net profit of £•37,284, compared with £64,034 for the corresponding period of last year. Having in mind the general increase in costs and wages that has occurred, the results are as satisfactory as could bo expected. In this connection it will be noted that the bill of the electricity department for wages has gone up by £4,000. and, in addition to that, the price of oil fuel used by the department has doubled in the last twelve months. These items are indicative of the financial problems that face the council in parrying on the activities of the city. Costs have steadily risen, while natural revenues have not # expanded to meet them/ The importance, therefore, ol judicious management is plain, while remembering, in the words of Cr Taverner, that the first consideration is service to the ratepayers. No particular anxiety is caused to the council by the water, gas, and electricity departments. They are on a foundation that permits a certain amount of elasticity in finance. It is the city transport service that causes most concern. Cr Taverner pointed out last night that the tram system has come to the point where no profit in the future can be expected. Though the returns for the half-year show a fair profit,' the chairman of the Finance Committee expects that that will be more than absorbed in the next six months. The motor restrictions have had a beneficial effect on the returns, but this avenue for providing increased traffic must be regarded as being of a temporary nature. What the council has to face is the fact that sooner or later additional capital expenditure will have to be provided. The strain on the tramcars, rails, and equipment generally is veryheavy. Much already requires to be done to keep the services running efficiently, and the longer the delay the greater the cost ultimately. It seems probable that part of the expense of maintaining the tram services will ultimately fall on the rates, for if fares became much higher than they are at present the motor car and the bicycle will make further inroads on the tramway revenues. Touching on buses, Cr Taverner said the bus position had not yet reached “financial stability or commercial equilibrium.” This is a matter that will be watched with interest, for the ratepayers quite rightly believe that it would be a wrong system to have buses using imported fuel running on routes that could be used by trams propelled by Waipori power. This is apart from the much-debated question of whether or not buses are a suitable substitute for trams on the steep hill routes of- the city. The problem of transport is one that affects every modern city, and the position is greatly complicated by the stress of war conditions. Dunedin is fortunate in possessing such an asset as Waipori, and today and in the future it is , likely to form an indispensable basis for the city’s transport service.