HOSPITAL RATING

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 June 1936, Page 3

HOSPITAL RATING

MOVE FOR ALTERATION. ’ Petitions urging that the hospital rating in the Greymouth Borough should be on the unimproved value, instead of the capital value are at present being circulated in Greymouth, Cobden, and Blaketown, as a result of the meetings held by Mr A. 11. McKane, Deputy-Mayor, who has taken the initiative in advocating the change. A further meeting was held by Mr McKane, last evening, in the United Pavilion, when Mr W. McDougall piesided over a small attendance of ratepayers of the southern portion of the town. Mr McKane said that he considered it was more equitable to allocate the hospital rate on the unimproved value, rather than on the capital value, as at present. The change would benefit the individual ratepayer, the majority of the citizens, and the town generally by creating greater expansion, and opening up large estates which had been tied up for-many years. The increased expansion of the town, made possible by the greater expediency in the cutting up of these estates would mean that the total general rate collected by the borough, to be expended in improvements to the town, would be increased. Levied on the capital value, the hospital rate of 1 244-1000 d in the £ last year brought in a total of £5897/8/-. To collect the same amount on the unimproved value, the rate would have to be 5 l-Goood in the £. The rate on the capitql value worked out at 10/5 in every £100: on the unimproved value it would be £2/1/8 in every £lOO. To make a comparison in the southern end of the town, a section worth, say £lOO, and a house costing £6OO to build, would bring the capital value to £7OO. The hospital rate, on the capital value, at 10/5. in the £lOO, would be £3 12/11, whereas, if the hospital rate was struck on the unimproved value, the rate on the same property would be £2/1/8, a saving of £l/11/:!. Comparing this with some estate in the same portion of the town, it was found that one area of 16 acres, with an unimproved value of £540 (which was also capital, there being no improvements) paid a total of borough rates, including hospital, of £ll/5/-, of which the hospital rate was £2 16/-. Another estate of 311 acres was valued at £250, and the rates, inclusive of hospital rate, were £9 14/-, the hospital rate being £l/6/1. In this case, if the hospital rate was based upon the unimproved value, it would be £5/4/2, an increase of £3 18/1. If the unimproved hospital rating system was adopted, the whole of the rating in the Borough, with the exception of the water rate, would be based on the unimproved value, which, apart from being more equitable, would make the duties of the borough staff less onerous. The 'change over would automatically induce the quicker subdivision of estates and the sale of more sections than at the present time, resulting in an improvement to the town, and assisting tp relieve the present acute Housing shortage. Also, the borough revenue would be increased, placing the Council in a position to carry out more improvements and general maintenance work. The Chairman said that the disposal of sections would mean that many of the present eyesores in the town, in the form of overgrown and

blackberry-covered areas, would be abolished. The meeting decided to further the efforts of those already interested in the taking of a poll on the proposed change of rating. Mr McKane said that to have the poll taken it was nccessaiy for the petition to have the signatures of 15 per cent, of the ratepayers, although both ratepayer and his wife could sign. He believed that the petition could be prepared in time for the July meeting of the Borough Council. The poll could then be taken within a month, and possibly the ratepayers could get the benefit of the change, if it was agreed to, in the coming year.

Mr McKane was accorded a vote of thanks for his address and explanation of the position, and those present took petitions for presentation to ratepayers.