City Progress and Finances

Manawatu Times, Volume 66, Issue 109, 9 May 1941, Page 8

City Progress and Finances

—— Comprehensive Review by Mayor MR. MANSFORD OPENS CAMPAIGN The progress made by Palmerston North during the past 10 years and the financial position of the city were comprehensively reviewed by Mr. A. E. Mansford in his -opening campaign for re-election to tho Mayoralty, at a public meeting in the Opera House last night. There was an attendance of about 150, and tho speaker was accord- j ed an attentive hearing. Mr. R. L. C. Aitc'hison, who was in the chair, said Mr. Mansford had proved himself a sound financial administrator, and the city was most fortunate in having the benefit of his services. I At the outset Mr. Mansford stated that, in agreeing to accept nominations for a further period as Mayor, ho had j ch.ne so with a full sense of the import- j ance and responsibility attached to the office. He had had the privilege of I holding the office of Mayor for the past 10 years and ho was honoured to think : that, after this period, a representative deputation should wait on him with a request that he should again allow him- 1 self to be nominated. In agreeing to the deputation’s request, he had done j so from a sense of duty, and if he j could be of any service to the city, ' particularly at a time like this, his services were at their disposal. Need for Careful Management. ! “The next few years,” Mansford ! proceeded, “arc, I am sure, going to prove very difficult and the finances of this city will need careful watching. T ' think I can fairly claim that, during the past 10 years, our finances have been kept in a healthy condition, notwithstanding the heavy demands made in the first five years for unemploy- 1 ment, which cost £24,413 and in the lat- | ter five years £Bll2, mailing a total of £32,523. At the same time we made substantial reductions in our heating and lighting charges, which meant a , saving to our citizens of many thou- i sands of pounds. In addition, we came out of that depression increasing our population on a percentage basis ! greater than any other city, with a uni- j veijsal verdict right throughout tho Do- | minion that our unemployed (who were the citizens of this city and the unfor- | tunate victims of circumstance) were treated better than anywhere else in New Zealand, and if there is anything I am proud of, it is that. At the end of the. depression we were in the soundest financial position, and although we are still tho seventh city, j we are fast gaining on the other two j cities, Invercargill and 'Wanganui. j “We have had to meet in recent years increases in wages, an Increase in Fire ; Board levy and increases in Hospital Board levy, as well as unexpected expenditure as an aftermath of tho de- • pression, and latterly tho war. At the same time works necessary* for the general improvement and progress of tho city had to be maintained, and I am pleased to say this has all been done with practically no addition to the rates, excepting those covered by special rates for the Hospital Board and Fire Board. . Heeping the Rates Down. “I stated, when first standing for Mayor in 1931, that I would not at that time support any increase in rates, and I am pleased to say that, up to the present, practically the only increase in rates that has taken place is on account of the increase in tho Fire Board levy and in this direction I want to pay a tribute to the various councils for their ‘ support and co-operation, and also to the present members of the council when,- after the outbreak of war, 1 expressed a desire to reduce our intended expenditure and every councillor agreed, so that we were able to reduce our proposed expenditure by approximately £IO,OOO. “In 1931, when I was first elected Mayor, the public debt of the city was £962,258 17s 3d, with sinking funds accrued amounting to £108,456 14s 3d, leaving a net debt of £854,102 3s, while on March 31, 1941, the public debt was now reduced to £814,531 19s Gd, with accrued sinking funds of £65,842 3s sd, leaving a net debt of £748,689 16s 4d, or a reduction of £105,412 8s Bd. But during this period we must take into account the loans authorised by the ratepayers totalling £58,560. This means then that the original debt was reduced in the period by approxi- j mately £164,000. All the loans referred to have been so arranged that the whole of the debt of the city will be repaid by June 1, 1960. Capital Expenditure Out of Revenue. 1 ‘ During these ten years capital ex- l penditure has been made out oi general j revenue amounting to £23,127, which! might possibly have been met by way | of loans, but a second policy, and one I have endeavoured to pursue, is that of reducing the indebtedness of the city and at the same time to provide as much as possible from revenue to meet capital expenditure. “During these ten years and whilst providing these amounts for capital expenditure, electric lighting charges have been reduced, representing a saving to the consumers of many thousands of pounds. I have already pointed out we also in this period provided the substanial sum of £32,513 for relief 1 of unemployment. “It must be remembered that, during these years, wages have increased con- I siderably, while tho Fire Board and J Hospital Board levies have increased ; in tho period from £7522 to £15,130, an ! increase in theso two items alono of £7608, or over 100 per cent. Taking j all these factors into consideration, 1 1 think it can be fairly claimed that we | have a record unsurpassed by any other i local authoriy in New Zealand over the i period I have been Mayor. Finances Affected by War. j “Tho war has in the past two financial years already affected the finances 1 of the city, restrictions of petrol due ; to war conditions resulting in a redue- I tion of the petrel tax receipts of £1.200 in the financal year just closed, j Further restrictions will affect receipts | from drivers’ licenses and the impressment of motor vehicles will have an effect upon heavy traffic fees. “Again, the council is called upon to make responses to appeals for funds for patriotic purposes, expenses of training of local defence corps, and of 1 adequately entertaining visiting members of the forces, and giving official farewells to our own boys, all, pf course, very worthy objects, but necessi- | tating expenditure from our general revenue. You will, therefore, realise, 1 with the increasing demands being made on the finances of tho council, the revenue of which is bound to be affected bv the war, that it is more imperative than ever that the affairs of the City Council should be carefully watched. ’ ’ Mr. Mansford proceeded to review comprehensively the various accounts

of the city for the past three years and dealt with works carried out. City’s Water Supply. In regard to the water supply he stated taat several schemes for improvement had been considered, but most of these schemes would necessitate a loan proposal. The incoming council would navo the benefit of ail tnese reports ana should be able to formulate a proposal to oe submitted at an early date. He, of course, had advocated the artesian supply and still thought that, with the existing Tiritea supply and further artesian welis, the city would have an adequate suppiy for some years. It was only lor auout three rnontns in the year that any shortage was experienced, and then ouiy if there was a long dry spell, i no leit confident that, with two more 'artesian weirs to augment tne present suppiy, the city coma carry on till the population increased and tne ourden 01 a loan could be more easily carried. I rhe present was not tne time, if it could oe avoided, lor indulging In laVge loan proposals, no did oalieve, however, tnat j it would pay tne council to take over 1 certain private lanus which are m the watershed ox the lintea. They were at present Deiug used for tanning, and, it secured ana prantea, wouiu overcome ! tne aiscoiouration tnat sometimes occurred when there was a heavy down pour. Gas and Electricity. j Concerning tne gas department, Mr. ! Mansxord said ne tuougnt tnat, notj withstanuiiLg the large amount of capi- ' tal the ratepayers nad invested in tms department, tne time nad arrived wnen j tho council must insist tnat capital I extensions ana payments snouid oe met ■ rrom tne proms ox we undertaking, ne anew tne position was a aiuiemt one l with tne Keen competition irom tne ' electricity oust if privateiy - owned gas undertaKings cornu compete success* day -in other centres, tfiero was no reason Way it couia not. oe aone here with proper management, j xne xuture poucy 0* the electricity department, he thought, biioiuu d& to give every service to the consumers and wnerever possioie to see tnat prices were competitive with cuier centres, j xie uia not at this juncture xavour maxmg any xurener reuuctions, oecause tne ! xuture coma not oe ouugeted for with 1 any degree of accuracy, j improvement in ony xinances. j Summarising tne city *s nuanciai position uar. luauciora said: “if you taxe I the profits or losses in the trading departments and tne dooit or credit oaiances in the' remaining accounts, you get this position: On March 31, 1938, the deoit oalahces totalled £6009 lbs la and tne credit balances £23,177 7s od, an excess or credits or 122,167 12s Id, j whereas at the same date in 1941 the debit balances totalled a 3494 2s 8d and I the credit balances £2 7,381 7s 2d, an ■ excess or credit balances or £23,88 1 Is 1 Gd, or the position shows an improve- ! meat compared with three years ago oi I £1719 12s 2d. This must be consiuerod more than satisractory wnen you take into consideration tne extraordinary expenditnre that has been incuncd, totalling £20,687. Three years ago l promised, witn the support oi tne council, to keep a close cnecu on all un- ' necessary expenditure, nut at the same I time to maiucain in reasonable order i our streets and iootways and otaer necessary works in keeping with the ’ growth and importance or our city, lo do this without, increasing tne general rate and at the same time reduce our iighting charges, meet extraordinary expenditure and increased wages, is something we can justly reel proud o±. I Mo lime for (swapping norses. I After rexerrmg to and 'actions of <Jr. Tennent, his remarks in which .connection appear in anotner ' column, Mr. Mansrora said the ruture was xraught with tne gravest dangers and he was sure that the electors were not going to swap horses in the middle of the stream, and that they were again going to elect as mayor the occupant who had steered the municipal ship ot state through the greatest economic blizzard this country had ever known, and wiio had considerably reduced the public debt and leit many thousands or pounds worth of tangiole assets provided out of revenue. in conclusion, Mr. Mansford said he could not promise tne citizens anything spectacular, but sound solid progress, w-ith sympathetic and fair treatment to all sections of the community. Me was not there for any one class, out tor ail classes—from the highest to tne lowest. I He had had the honour ot holding tne office of mayor for the past ten years and the door of the mayoral room has been as wide open to tnose in distress as to the weaitniest citizen, and no one could say they had not had a lair deal, j A number of questions were answeied I by Mr. Mansford. Keplying to a written inquiry by the 'Manawatu Master .Butchers' Association as to whether he ravoured appointment of a master butcher to act in an advisory capacity to the city abattoirs, Mr. Mansford said the council on many occasions only acted as agents for tho butchers, and if they wanted someone in an advisory capacity, he was prepared to accept the suggestion. However, lie would Object to any representative of the butchers taking part m the administrative work of the abattoirs. I parliamentary Intentions. Asked if in Ike event of his re--election, he would be a candidate tor ! Parliament at tho next election, Mr. •Mansford said he dojibted whether i there would be a general election. '•There wouldn’t be one if he had anything to do with it. The question was inot one to be taken lightly. “If an election came along and I was asked to ! stand, I would give the request every ! consideration, but if I thought I could jdo better for the people as Mayor, I would stick there,” Mr. Mansford ! added. , “I can give that a flat denial,” he ’ told a member of the audience who j asked whether he would stand as a ; Democratic Labour candidate. I “Would you resign the Mayoralty if .’you were elected to Parliament?” wa3 another question. “If my term had only three months to go, I would not think of giving it up,” Mr. Mansford replied, “but if tho period is a long one, I would in all • probability resign. The dual office has 1 (been carried on in other centres, but 1 • don’t approve of it myself. * ’ On the motion of Mr. A. M. Ongley, ! seconded by Mr. G. W. Mills, the meet- ■ ing unanimously accorded Mr. Mausl , ford a vote of thanks for his address , (and a vote of continued confidence as ; | Mayor of the city. > MR. MANSFORD AT TERRACE END 3 I 3 On Monday evening Mr. Mansford, r Mayor, will address the electors of Ter- ’ race End in the Coronation Hall, giving i' an analysis of civic affairs and answeri ing any questions put by electors. Over

30 years ago Mr. Mansford lived at Terrace End and was always actively interested in its welfare, and residents of that enterprising locality will have found that Mr. Mansford has always been sympathetic to their requests for amenities of any kind. However they may view the importunities of the three mayoral candidates, it can be left to them to do what they consider in the best interests of the city. Mr. Mansford will have a large attendance at his meeting on Monday night.