POWER BOARD FINANCES

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11947, 18 May 1933, Page 6

POWER BOARD FINANCES

CHA'IRMAN ON ILL-INFORMED

CRITICISM. “MISLEADING THE PUBLIC.” CONSUMERS NOT BEING EXPLOITED. * ’ *i • * In unusually severe terms, Mr. F. R Ball,) chairman of the Power Board, at yesterday’s meeting, took our evening contemporary to task /over what he described as “false inferences- conveyed to the public” and refuted what he said were "extravagant, conclusions arrived at on the subject of the board’s finances.” “I am surprised,” said Mr. Ball, “that the newspaper in question, lias departed from its usual practice of ascertaining the true position before publishing a . leading article on the affairs of a local body. Tt is tho easiest thing in the world to create a false impression by’ 'tin/ use of plausible reasoning, but it is, unfortunately. much more difficult to remove that impression once created. A leading article in a responsible ■journal should at least be logical in its reasoning arid reasonably accurate in the use and interpretations of the figures onoted. Otherwise, as is undoubtedly the case in the article referred to. tlmre is great danger of conclusions Being put forward which are detrimental to the public interest.

“Dealing with the items of the board’s finances referred to in the article, T would eiv at once that in spite of. the clarify of the accounts, the author of the criticism lias obviously picked onf only those figures which suited the development of bis argument, and that his intorm-elalien of their significance and effect is largely ill-considered and' incorrect. “To put the matter clearly. T emphatically refute, the suggestion flint certain transfers have been made with tlie object of minimising a surplus on the year’s operations, and f sar definitely that anart from the bad dDbts reserve, wbicli is a verv necessary provision to make under existing trade conditions, as every sound business man will agree, the. board nut in general reserve the small sum of -C/50, this being the omv am-

ount set aside in excess of statutory requirements. Most- business men would agree that 15 per cent, is not an absurd.' provision for bad debts in these uncertain times. “Concerning the matler of reserves in general, von will have noti-d that the writer of ilie article mentioned ib ( . various- amounts at which (fie reserves stand without referring T-, the other items in the hrdancoshc'U, t 0 which they « r e related, and without a proper understanding <T the statutory requirements in ~emini to these reserves and the “M’maied future probabilities on which these requirements arc based. As a rosult. be lias, by his conclusion.--, .pot only laid severe strictures upon board members, but has misled the public as to the true position. These matters it is our duty t! -‘ put right as responsible representatives of the public.

Air. Bail then detailed' tb* position of each reserve fund of the board, and then proceeded: ‘The criticism that the estimates for the current year arc- too con-

servative jg not justified; As a mutter of fact, ilia estimates for last year, which, ana the subject of veiled sarcasm because they were exceeded, ■were accurate to within approximate. ]y £2OO of the actual total revenue received 1 from schedule charges, the substantial increase being largely due to additional revenue from hire radges and to other rovenue under special contracts neither of which could possibly have been foreseen at the commencement of the year, Reduced expenditure was also responsible for further improving the position “As a conclusion to these remarks, I wish to assure consumers- and ratepayers that in spite of the imputations the board is in no wav exploiting them; neither has it the power to do so even if it wished to. On the contrary, it is the hoard’s policy to ho stabilise its position that it can consistently pass on concessions and reductions. That this policy is steadily being achieved in evidenced by the fact that in Ibe brio! space ol three rears tK« hoard’s average revenue per unit from the sale of electricity under schedule -tariffs has fallen hr no less than 9R per cent.”