LOCAL BODY RATES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22064, 21 September 1933, Page 10

LOCAL BODY RATES

SPECIAL LOAN AREAS

A CONSOLIDATING MEASURE

(From Our Parliamentary Repobteb.)

WELLINGTON, September 20. Powers for the consolidation of special loan areas in local body districts enabling the authority to strike a single general rate instead of a multiplicity of special rates, will be contained in a Bill which the Government proposes to introduce clur-. ing the coming session of Parliament. The powers conferred by the Bill will, it is understood, be permissive and not mandatory, and they will he subject to the approval of the Local Government Loans Board and the Governor-General-in-Council. Legislation has been prepared at the instigation of the New Zealand Municipal Association, which waited upon the Government during the recess and pointed out that under the existing law local bodies’ conversions would amount to no more than the conversions of individual loans. No measure of consolidation would be possible since, under the existing legislation, the lender still had to retain his original security rate, and the local body had to keep separate special rate accounts for each loan. The object of the legislation, it is believed, will be to permit, the consolidation of all special loans in each county or borough. To this end the single security rate will be established upon the conversion of loans, and the authority will have to strike only one rate. AVellington, Invercargill, Wanganui, and other boroughs have already secured at different times special legislation enabling them to strike single consolidated rates over the whole of their districts. The legislation will be of great assistance to local authorities in framing their conversion schemes, and it is believed that it will also be acceptable to debenture holders, for in general it will improve their security. ;