RATING AT THAMES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22391, 11 April 1936, Page 14

RATING AT THAMES

BASIS OF VALUATION VALIDITY QUESTIONED BUSINESS MEN'S PROTEST [bv TELEGRAPH OWN correspondent] THAMES. Friday Some free discussion took place at a meeting of the Thames Chamber of Commerce this week regarding the Thames Harbour Board using tho Thames Borough 1931 initiation roll for rating purposes. A resolution was carried that a recommendation be forwarded to tho Borough Advisory Committee that it should test the validity of the board's using the valuation for rating purposes; also that the committee should inquire into the constitution of tho board. The president, Mr. C. J. Garland, said the board, in answer to a protest, had stated that it was legally bound to rate on the roll and that there were fewer anomalies by so doing. Mr. C. S. Donovan said the board had taken those portions which suited itself from the bill passed for tho relief of the Thames ratepayers and thrown other portions overboard. He considered this was " really sharp practice." Tho resolution was sent to tho Borough Advisory Committee, which considered it at a meeting on Wednesday. The committee decided that the Thames Borough Loans Creditors' Committee should be advised of what had happened, and also that the ratepayers had no means of protesting against the capital valuation of their properties, or .even of offering their properties to the Government at their capital valuation.

TAUPIRI DRAINAGE DISTRICT LEGISLATION NECESSA R Y [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT] HAMILTON, Friday Public notice was given yesterday that the Taupiri Drainage and River Board was submitting a bill to Parliament empowering it to reclassify the lands within its area liable to be Kited for special rates with respect to 24 loans converted by the board. The bill also provides that the only grounds upon which any person can appeal against any classification made under the Act shall be: (a) That the classification materially increases the amount of special rates payable in respect of the land of the appellant; (b) that any land is improperly included within or excluded from the district or subdivision to which the classification relates. At a meeting of the board yesterday the action of the board's solicitor in preparing and advertising the bill was endorsed. It was explained that the recent conversion of the board's loans had brought in its train numerous difficulties and anomalies with respect to the levying of special rates to pay for the loans, and that the only way to make the rating equitable and to adjust the anomalies was to have the land reclassified and the empowering bill put through. The original value of the loans involved totals £39,125. Over 700 persons and 1000 properties are affected by the measure. The chairman, Mr. L. R. W. Reid. reported that the reclassification would cost about £l3O. and the Act £SO. The saving in office work would offset this expenditure within a year or two. It was decided to ask Mr. R. Coulter, M.P., to promote the legislation as a Government bill.