CITY VALUATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23002, 1 April 1938, Page 13

CITY VALUATIONS

INCREASE OF £123,023 SITTING OF THE COURT RATING OF SERVICE FLATS ASSESSMENTS REDUCED . Reductions in rating valuations amounting to £13,166 were granted or approved by the Assessment Court, which sat at tho Town Hall yesterday to hear objections to assessments for the purpose of city rating for the year 1938-39. Mr. W. R. McKean, S.M., presided. Of tho more than 34,000 assessments for the year made by the city valuer, Mr. P„ F. Notley, 582 were the subject of objections. Prior to the sitting of tho Court 332 of theso objections were settled. In 135 of theso the valuations were sustained and the objections withdrawn, while in the remaining 197 reductions to an aggregate of £9670 were agreed to. This left 250 objections for the Court to consider, but the great majority of these were struck out through tho non-appearance of the objectors. Forty Oases Dealt With

Actually 40 assessments were dealt with by the Court at the sitting, 18 of the valuations being sustained and reductions totalling £2160 were granted in respect of 21 others. During the sitting an agreement was arrived at affecting a valuation of £6BIO, which was reduced to £5480. This brought the total of the reductions by the Court and by compromise to £13,166. Tho rateable value of the city last year, following the sitting of the Court, was £2,615,983, the Court having made reductions amounting to .23 per cent of the total submitted. This year the rateable value was increased by £136,189 to £2,752,172, and the reduction of £13,166 made by the Court and by compromise bringn the net figure for rating purposes to £2,739,006, an increase on last year of ,4.7 per cent. Principal Contested Case

The principal of the contested cases before the Court yesterday was that in respect of Brooklyn Flats. The valuation hiid been increased! from £2500 to £3588. The objecting company was represented by Mr. A. K. North, who said that these .were service flats which involved the employment of staffs and the giving of a considerable degree of service. He contended that this undertaking should be treated as a business and allowance made for outgoings, instead of being dealt with on the principle of ordinary dwellings. Evidence was given by Mr. C. N. Jacobsen, director and manager, to the effect that the building cost £50,000 eight years ago and the land was valued at £2400, whereas the valuation fixed gavo a capital value of £90,000. He compared the assessment with those of hotels and other premises in the neighbourhood and said that undertakings such as tho Brooklyn Flats were being unduly penalised. Ho said that the company received a total rental of £4200, Mr. Notley having stated that the valuation was based ! on a gross rent of £4485 for 46 flats. Witness submitted two methods of arriving at a true valuation, one of which gave a rating value of £2030 and the other £2169, but said that from these must be deducted the cost of services. The Court's Decision

The hearing was adjourned to enable the Court to inspect tho premises, particularly as to the value of furnishings and services, and on resuming Mr. McKean fixed tho rateablo value at £IBOO - • _ __ A similar application by Mr. E. H. Potter in respect of 87 flats in four blocks at Courtville was then taken. It* was shown by Mr. Potter that the total valuation had be«n increased from £5128 last year to £6BIO. This case was then-the subject of negotiation between the valuer and Mr. Potter and the figure of £5480 was agreed upon and accepted by the Court. An objection to the increase in the rateable value of tho Orange Hall in Newton Road from £325 to £665 was mado by Mr. E. C. Turner, a trustee. The new valuation had been based on a capital value of £13,291, the increase being occasioned by recent additions and improvements to the property at a cost of £6791. Returns and Expenses

Mr. Turner stated that the highest return for one month since the improvements was £BO, but ho estimated that the property might earn £BOO a year. Against this were considerable expenses, including the wages of a caretaker and the cost of keeping the hall in good order. , , The rateable value was reduced to £5lO on a capital value of £10,200. A typical case was that of the owner 'of a house in Burleigh Street, which had been assessed at £59. The owner said the house was over 50 years old and could not be anywhere near the value placed on it by the city. He admitted that it was let at 30s a week, upon which Mr. McKean said that the assessment on that figure should be £62 and asked if the owner would agree to an increase to that figure. The valuation was sustained.