Abattoir Realisation Fund

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXVI, Issue 119, 4 May 1936, Page 8

Abattoir Realisation Fund

(To the Editor). Sir, —The Town Clerk has evidently not given this matter full consideration. To say, “The ratepayers as a whole were the security for the loan ’aised to build tho abattoir, so when tlie asset is sold the proceeds rightly go back to the borough as n whole to be used for some purpose at the dis ••retion of the council for tho benefit of the citizens generally,” betrays a confusion of thought. Permit me to point out; 1. That is Is compulsory for a borough council to establish an abattoir. 2. That, being mandatory, no sanction is required from tho ratepayers. That is, there is no poll necessary to carry the loan. 3. That no raiding of abattoir funds is allowed, neither working profits nor capital profits. To make this point clearer, I would like to mention a ease in point. A certain council was approached by a bacon-curing company to provide extra, and otherwise unneees sary facilities for them. The eouncilvided these facilities but neglected Io get any guarantee. Soon afterwards n became more expedient for the baconcompany to kill at an adjoining freezing works. This left the council with a capital loss (capital, mark) of well in the four figures. Were the ratepayers saddled wit this loss? No, sir. The killing charges were increased proportionately. As the ratepayers are never faced with a loss they are obviously not entitled to divert any gain. 4. A borough abattoir is a continuing matter and ordinarily is never finally disposed of. Although delegated to Nelsons (N.Z.) Ltd. at present, that may’ not not always be the case.— Yours, etc., A. GORDON. Hastings, May 4, 1930. Tho Town Clerk, Mr Noel C. Harding, declared that there was not the

slightest confusion of thought an regards tbo matter of the repayment of the loan. “It makes not tho slightest difference whether tho original loan was raised by sanction of tlie ratepayers by a poll or otherwise,” he said. “The indisputable fact is that the ratepayers of the borough, through tbo rating powers, are the security for tbo repayment of the loan.” Mr Harding mentioned that actually the general account bad contributed towards the repayment of the loan, the £l2OO not brining in sufficient interest to meet tbo interest and sinking fund of tho loan. The balance during the years since tlie fund was established was met out of the general account, and the purpose to which it was now’proposed to put the £l2OO was virtually back into the general account, and so to tho general benefit of the ratepayers. —Ed., H.B.T.