BOROUGH FINANCE

Greymouth Evening Star, 6 December 1929, Page 5

BOROUGH FINANCE

ECONOMY AXE FALLS. That a letter be sent to the officers in charge of all departments, requesting them to curtail all expenditure except’ that necessary for the efficient working, of their departments, until alter the Works Committee of the Council has met for consideration of the matter. mi ' 4-La

The axe of economy fell upon tne neck of municipal expenditure last evening, when the Greymouth \ Borough Co.uncil adopted the foregoing recommendation, which was included in the report submitted by the Finance Committee. The Mayor (Mr J. W. Greenslade) explained that the Committee had found that the Council was, to a certain extent, “over-running the constable.” During the past seven months, the expenditure had been considerably in excess of the proportionate amount that should have been expended.

Necessarily, for the ensuing five months of the financial year, they would liave to draw in their horns. A certain amount of new work had been outlined. There had been available £2OOO of the Council’s money, and a subsidy of £l7OO from the Government ; also £5OOO from the Council’s maintenance account, yet it looked as thougl! that total had been exceeded by about £lOOO. They had been doing too much work out of revenue, and they would have to' go on very quietly for a> month or two, until they could again consider the position and find out where they stood. The • ratepayers gave them a certain amount of money,

and all the Council could do was tc spend it to the best advantage. If they over-spent, the Councillors were individually liable for the excess expenditure. When the available money was finished, they had to curtail expenditure in every way.