BOROUGH WORKS AND FINANCE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXIX, Issue 10765, 13 May 1911, Page 1

BOROUGH WORKS AND FINANCE.

REVIEW OF THE YEAR. A representative of the. Mail yesterday afternoon waited upon tlie Mayor. Dr M'Adani, with a view' to obtaining ii Statement of the Council's financial position— : a statement embodying- a.sur- ; vey of -the work accomplished during the past year and :ui- outline, of -works projected- for the currerit-twelvemoriths. '. in aiisivpr to the reporter's-'question as' to how the past year's' estimates' eoprpared with the actual receipts arid expenditure,- Dr M.'AdariV' stated that there r was very little difference when allowance was made for the cost of certain revenue-producing works that at the commencement of the year, had not bejen anticipated. -.The expenditure 'had, been estimated at £22,218 arid had' actually amounted.to £22,967. On the' other hand receipts, , estimated at £22,218, had realised, £22,514.- .The 'principal headings under which there had been an excess of the actual over the estimated, expenditure were waterworks, gasworks, and'-. 1 .town maintenance. In the.first-named the exjJenditu're had exceeded the estimate by about £200; but in this department agreat deal of extra work bad been done. ■Thorough repairs to Grant's tunnel had been effected at a cost of about- £2OO, a new bridge .had been erected at the reservoir,, and there had also been repairs to .bridges . over the water-race. Water, mains'had not been extended .outside the -Iborough; but- within the borough extensions and connection's had •been made wherever warranted:. . ■ : Jn the gasworks expenditure' there bald been an excess of abont £6OO over •the estimate; but this had been largely, compensated by an excess'oyer the .estimated receipts of about £350- Very large; extensions of" the gas .main's had. been made not only .within tlie ;tqwn but also along the North Road to the High -School, the latter extension being subsidised by the High School Board. ,'. 'Another work that had'added to the expenditure w-as the laying of, a drain at the back of.the railway goods sheds where formerly there had been only an :open drain. There had also been a great deal done, though the public" might not think so, in the way of street a'nd footpath formation, repairs, and upkeep. With the aid of the, Beautify-" ing Society the Itchen street reserve had been planted; and in the gardens new plantations and extensions of the cultivated portion were being made. An item of expenditure which should be noted was a sum of about £220, the Council's contribution to the Fire Board. The Council still had a halfshare in the property of the Board. One very pleasing item in the year's finance was that in connection with the Town Hall and Opera House. The totalreceipts for the building had amounted to £1147, exceeding the estimate by £47. The expenditure, including interest and charges for the town overdraft, amounted to £720. The sum of £3OO had been added to the sinking fund, leaving £127 of general revenue. Thus the Town Hall was paying the interest on its own loan, interest on the overdraft, providing £3OO sinking fund, and £127 extra revenue. And what do you propose to do this vear? asked the reporter. "The special works that are down on the estimates but* have not yet been approved by the Council," replied Dr M'Adam, '"include the widening of Severn street bridge at a cost of about £400." Another item of special expenditure on the estimates was the extension of the drainage system in Eden street to connect with the hospital. This work, for which tlie Hospital Trustees had pressed for some time,'was estimated to cost £l4O. For the rest. works contemplated were chiefly on the lines of maintenance. Some of the back streets which in the past had been rather neglected would receive attention, metal would be laid on others, and generallv such work as was necessary for the upkeep of streets and footpaths would be undertaken. "The position taken up bv the Council," said the Mayor, "is that any works done must be financed from revenue. The Council docs not see its way at present to undertake further loan expenditure. In replv to a question regarding Coronation memorials his Worship stated that- some time.back a committee of the Council was set up to consider ways and means for providing a band rotunda and gates for tlie gardens. These two works and the improvement of Tyne street gardens had been put forward as Coronation memorial proposals. It the sum of £-250 could be raised, mainly by public subscription with perhaps a small subsidy from the borough funds, the Government subsidy of £2-30 could be obtained, provided of course that the Government approved the proposals. Tin's would' give £SOO, which, it was estimated, would be .sufficient for the erection of gates and a band rotunda.