Urban Farm Land Rating Bill EMBRACES LOCAL BODIES’

Manawatu Times, Volume LV, Issue 7008, 18 November 1932, Page 3

Urban Farm Land Rating Bill EMBRACES LOCAL BODIES’

PROPOSALS FEILDING’S PARTICULAR INTEREST There are several reasons why Fcikting is particularly interested in the new Urban Farm Laud Rating Bill which has been presented to Parliament, the first and foremost being the fact that the measure has practically followed out the recommendations of the special committee set up by the Municipal Association conference at Invercargill two years ago, and of which committee the Mayor (Mr. C. E. Taylor) was chairman. Another reason is that the bill arises from the commission on urban farm land rating which sat in Fcilding in 1928, when considerable evidence was heard regarding the rating on farm lands within tho borough. Since, in the main, the bill follows the recommendations of the Municipal Association’s special committee set up to deal with the subject of urban farm land rating, some acknowledgment is due to those gentlemen who devoted so much of their time and attention to the problem. The Mayor of Fcilding in particular played a large part in investigating the difficulties in providing equitable rating where boroughs had within their borders a considerable area of farm land. Tho commission which sat in 192 Sin Fcilding found that there existed a good deal of injustice, and its recommendations were in the direction of providing for a classification of all lands as a method by which justice could bo done to all ratepayers. There was no dispute about the position requiring adjustment, but there ■was disagreement as "to the method by which relief could be given without inflicting undue burden on any other section of the ratepayers. The Municipal Association executive called for time to consider the recommendations of the commission, which were embodied in a bill, and, granted this, proceeded to investigate tho whole position. The Mayor of Fcilding took the matter up, and his energy resulted in the appointment of a special committee to inquire into and report upon the rating of urban farm lands. That committee reported against the first Urban Farm Lands Rating Bill, which was the outcome of the commission’s recommendation, for the reasons that differential rating and tho proposed system of classification of lands were not desirable. ■ The committee also felt that the proposed method of giving relief was cumbersome and likely to prove costly, and that the operation of the bill would not be sufficiently clastic. Tho committee prepared a questionnaire, which was submitted to all cities, boroughs and town boards in New Zealand, and the replies received enabled the committee to prepare its conclusions, which later formed the subject of a special report submitted to tho Municipal Associations’ executive under the signature of Mr. Taylor. The report recommended that in considering what Telief, if any, should be granted owners of farm lands, all relevant matters should be taken into consideration, such as (a) the municipal services available to tho property in question; (b) the incidence of special and separate rates in the borough; (c) whether the relief claimed by the applicant or any portion of such relief would impose an undue burden of rates on the remaining ratepayers of the borough or any particular class of such ratepayers; and (d) any reduction of rates enjoyed by the applicant consequent upon a special valuation made under section 50 of the Rating Act since the last general valuation of theborough. It is therefore of special interest to note that the new bill includes the whole of these recommendations, and the measure generally follows the special committee’s report practically in toto.

Discussing the new bill yesterday, Mr. Taylor that he had not yet had an opportunity of going fully into the proposals, but lie had been able to gather that it had followed the report and recommendations of the Municipal Association executive. He had received an invitation to go to Wellington, prepared, if necessary, to give evidence in support of the bill, which, he understood, placed in the hands of the local body in the first instance the whole matter of granting an applicant relief by way of rate reductions. Any ratepayer not satisfied could then have his case decided either by a Magistrate or by an Assessment Court, the decision of cither being final. No classification of properties was provided for in the new bill, and as far as he could gather the whole procedure was simple and capable of providing the relief sought. Where relief was granted by the local body and accepted by all the interested parties, the local body confirmed the reductions decided upon and the matter went no further. The question was only referred to a Magistrate or an Assessment Court where there was disagreement. Another feature of the measure was that which defined the area of urban farm land as not less than three acres. The Municipal Association executive had at first thought that the area should be not less than five acres, but further consideration had brought to light particular cases which called for a lower minimum, and three acres had therefore been recommended. To meet special cases the bill provided for areas

of farm land under three acres, and the Mayor understood that. this had been done to meet peculiar conditions In the, South Island. Concluding, the Mayor made special reference to the amount of work put into the investigations and the committee meetings by Messrs. N. C. Harding (town, clerk of Feilding) and Skoglund (town clerk of Stratford). Their assistance had been invaluable, said Mr. Taylor.