THE WAITAKI ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23370, 9 December 1937, Page 14

THE WAITAKI ELECTRIC POWER BOARD

TO THE EDITOR Sir, —“ Ratepayer’s ” lengthy about the borrowing powers of the Waitaki Electric Power Board make light reading. He is amusingly mistaken or is ignorantly misleading himself. His letter must fail to mislead the ratepayers. I hold no brief for the board but fair olay is bourne play. Persons who write letters under nom do plumes such as “Balance Sheet and “ Ratepayer ” must be accurate m their statements. “ Ratepayer ” _says the board is seeking to borrow £oo,ooo in one year. It is in this statement that he is being amusingly mistaken. He knows so little that apparently he does not know that Anril Fools Day is the beginning of the financial year and not January or December 1. Eyen if the latter dates were the beginning of the year he is being ignorantly misleading when he states that £50,000 is being borrowed in one year. Reference to the audited balance sheet for the year ended March 31, 1037 shows the receipts in loan account No 2 for the purposes of extension to be £17,102, with a balance remaining of £4002. Not by any April 1 stretch of imagination or fact is this £50,000 in one year. If “Ratepayer” is as

closely in touch with the published affairs of the board as I am, he would know that the board has expended about £15,000 of loan money since April 1, 1937. Not by any twisting of words can “ Ratepayer ” stretch this amount to £50,000 in one year. He has yet to learn the wording of a letter to be fair to those he attacks. When he has apologised and corrected his error in figures I may then reply to some of his more abtruse statements of theory.— l am, etc., Balance Sheet.