THE CITY ESTIMATES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1261, 30 April 1896, Page 32

THE CITY ESTIMATES.

Estimates for the ensuing year were laid on the table at tho City Council meeting last week. The receipts on the general account aro set down at £37,000, made up as follows: —Jrates, .£22,735 (is 3d; rents and sundries, £7315 Its 91; licenses, £‘4070; the balance being made up of fees under the sanitary and building by-laws, Government subsidy, interest on fixed deposit, from Harbour Board and on mortgages. The expenditure was set down at £38,4158, the following Icing s.nne of the items:—Fire Brigade, .£1900; street lighting, £3(XX) ; scavenging and street watering, £2000; refuse and destructor, £‘2500; salaries, £2005; Benevolent Institute, £1000; street works generally, .£II,OOO,

Under the head of waterworks account, the total expenditure is £1.3,700, among the items being : —lnterest, £13,200; salaries, £950; office expenses, £300; labour, cartage and material for ordinary services, £2500.

Tjug sum required for charitable aid is £sloo,hut the rato of 3d in tho pound will only produce .£1517, leaving a dodoiency of £553.

The estimated expenditure on tho Public Library is £ll-55, and the rate of Id in tho pound with subscriptions and tines is estimated to yield £l7lO, leaving a surplus of £251.

The Finance Committee, in their report, stated that the excess of receipts over expenditure would leavo £12,500 for street works, as against £‘11,200 estimated last year. Tho committee recommended, however, t hat this be increased by £ISOO, and as it is estimated that £7OOO will he required to complete the two sets of baths, l his will mean a total increase of £3500 in the overdraft. 'Tho committee recommended an increase of 1 M in the pound to tho drainage rate, making it 4d in the pound, as against 21d in the pound last year. This is rendered necessary by the fact that tho amount of loan money on deposit is decreasing as the works approach completion, and that- the rate received for

deposits is 1 per cent, less than last year. The water rate, however, can be reduced by j per cent, (from 4.1 to 4jd per cent.), and the charitable aid rate by !d in the pound (from 3)d to 3d). These reductions will make the total amount of the rates about the same as last year. In all probability a substantial reduction can next year bo made in the special rate for interest and sinking fund on the city improvements loan. This report was adopted with the exception of the clause referring to the water rate, which was postponed for consideration until tho adjourned meeting on Thursday.