RATES INCREASED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25560, 13 June 1944, Page 7

RATES INCREASED

BOROUGH ESTIMATES ADOPTED At a special meeting of the Oamaru Borough Council last night the estimates for (he current financial year were adopted. They involve an increase in the rates of 3d. The hospital rate was reduced by Jd to 7£d to make allowance for the refund last year, the levy oeing still at £4408. There were present at the meeting me Mayor (Mr J. C. Kirkness, who was in the chair), Crs A. R. Tait, A. E. Hodge, D. V. G. Smith, I. Dalmer, A. Wilson, J. Meikle, A. V. Bain, E. S. Stubbs, M. F. E. Cooney, F. J. D. Blackgrove. and G. E. Glen. The estimates are as follows: — Receipts.—Bank balance, £3790; refund due scheme No. 13, £5; workers’ dwellings, £6O; gasworks, £12,425; baths, £6O; waterworks. £4900; rent, £2825; abattoirs, £1550; licences and heavy traffic fees, £1525; Town Hall rent, £1600; rates subsidy, £450; petrol tax, £"00; grazing fees, £6O; penalty on rates. £75; kerbing and channelling, £250; sales of metal, £600; sales of wood from plantations, £300; maintenance garden plots. £Bs;—total, £31,460. Hospital rate, 7£d, £4132; special rate, Is, £6622; water rate at maximum (Is), £6622; general rate, 2s 2£d on £132,440, £14,621—£31,997. Uniform fee at £l, £22oo;—total, £65,657.

Expenditure.—lnterest and principal on loans, £18,005; Fire Board, £375; Waitaki Hospital Board, £4408; gasworks, £11,715; administration, valuation, and inspectors’ department, £2000; traffic control, £200; honorarium and sundries, £590; town hall, £925; baths, £l4O, plus repairs to pool £65, plus matting and painting £SO, total £255; sanitation £1750: street lighting, £1350; abattoirs, £1350 plus carcass splitter £2OO, plus scales £IOO, total £1650; waterworks, £5171; gardens, £1770; reserves, £829; thinning trees on reserves E and F. £312; thinning tiees on reservoir reserve. £280; town maintenance, £9150; quarry, £843; town maintenance additional labour, arrears of work, £700; interest on overdraft and deposits, £200; unauthorised expenditure, £75; grants, including £275 for Athenaeum and £l5O to Friendly Bay Society, £898; war purposes, £250; public conveniences, Thames street (balance), £485; superannuation. £350; renew’al funds, water works £SOO, plant £4OO. hospital drainage £221. Total, £65,657. The formal motion striking the rate ot 2s 2id was carried without dissent. There was considerable discussion before the estimates were finally adopted. The motion to increase the rate by 3d was strongly opposed by Cr Hodge, but he was the only dissentient. A policy question of paying for items of capital expenditure out of the current year’s revenue was debated at some length, and the following were deleted from the original estimates with a view to raising a loan to covei these items and other works contemplated:—Waterworks bulldozer (£1435), reserves C (£1500), gardens tractor (£400). and quarry hammer crusher (£900). The question of raising a loan was held over for discussion at the August meeting.