TREASURER'S REPORT.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3852, 30 November 1917, Page 3

TREASURER'S REPORT.

The Treasurer, Mr H. T. G. Mcelroy, submitted the following report at the meeting of the Thames County on Wednesday last:—"l beg to submit a report for your information with refard tb various matters requiring your attention.

GENERAL FINANCE

The County Fund account will require very careful attention to enable the overdraft; being within the legal limit at the 31st March next!. At September 30 last the overdraft was £2500 more than the bank is authorised to advance. I have prepared a list showing the estimated receipts for the year, and the expenditure, together with the amounts expended under the different headings to date. The receipts may be safely assumed to be realised, and provided the expenditure 1 is kept within its limits the debit ait the end; of the financial year should not be higher than anticipated, viz., £4652 plus am estimated deficit on the Water-race Revenue account of £2099, making in all an overdraft anticipated of £6751. There will probably be, however, several items oif: expenditure not provided for in the estimates which will have to be met. One item is the cost of opening and closing the Ngatea bridge. Up to the present this has received a total of £52 2s 4d, and the cost will be ati least £5 a week until the engine is installed when it may be possible to have it reduced to about £3 a week. As shipping cannot be made to contribute, the only way this cost can be met is to levy a toll for crossing the bridge or provide the amount out of the County Fund. In connection with the cost of the Ngatea bridge it is anticipated that after raising a further loan of 10 per cent, on the amount already borrowed there will be a shortage of £500. I understand a guarantee has been given by a number of ratepayers in the vicinity of the bridge to meet any shortage, andi if* this amount cannot be recovered from them it must be met cut of the County Fund.

SPECIAL RATES ON LOANS

For the periodl ending- March 31 next interest and other* charges on loans already raised will have to be met as follows : Waikawau Road loan, £68 18s Od ; Matatoki Drain loan, £26 10s Od; Kopu Ferry approach rbad loan, £162 ; Puriri Ferry loan, £125 ; Ngatea Bridge loan, £92; Waitakaruru approximately, £50 ; Kopu Ferry loan, approximately, £45, a total of £569 8s 0!d. I would suggest that the following Special rates be collected for the half year ending March 31 next, viz. : Waikawau Road, loan 5.R.A.,%d. in the £.; Matat'oki Drain loan S.R.A., %d. in the £.; Kopu Ferry approach roads loan S.R.A., %d. in the £. ; Puriri Ferry and Roads loan S.R.A., %d. in the £.; Ngatea Bridge S.R.A., 5-16 d in the £. ; Waitakaruru district Roads S.R.A., %d. in the £. The Kopu Ferry loan, being over the whole county would make the cost of the collectfon of a Special rate for the half-year very expensive. I would therefore make the Mirst collection with the general rates during the following year.

QUARRY LOAN OF £5000

The loan having been sanctioned by the ratepayers at the recent poll it now remains for the Council to*take

steps to secure the money. The Gazette notices have been attended' to and permission to raise the amount has been granted by the Governbr-in-Council. The loan must; be raised under the conditions set out on the ballot paper, andl part thereof must be secured from 1 some lender within two years from the taking of the poll. Pending the permanent raising of the loan the debentures may be hypothecated or mortgaged. Ways and means can, however, be considered when the Ctouncil decides to proceed further in the matter. The loan money so far received, amounting to £8861 10s Id, has temporarily been banked to the credit of the County Fund. Whilst this is saving the Council 6 per cent, on the overdraft it is not strictly legal as the law provided the loan money be banked in a separ^ ate account. However, so long as this is done prior to March 31 next I am not aware that any penalty could be imposed on the Council for allowing it to remain in the County Fund in the meantime. There is, however, this fact to be taken into consideration, that the bulk of the money is raised 1 over special rating areas, and as these have to provide the interest by special rates it is a question whether the bank interest saved' thereby should not be credited to the various Special Rate accounts.

NATIVE RATES,

Some months ago I took action for the recovery of rates from a number of natives. The existence of an agreement! made in 1877 between the then Council and various natives exempting the land through which the roal fitam Totara Point to Hikutaia parces from the payment of rates for all time, was referred to by the Solicitor for the natives, and the matter was referred to the Council. The engineer was subsequently directed to prepare a plan showing the Native blocks adjoining the road, and I would now like instructions as to the land to be exempted so that I may resume acf<jn against the remaining Native

owners,

BY-LAWS,

Some months ago the Council passed at a Special meeting by-laws providing for cattle found wandering at large, and other amendments. A clause was also incorporated to compel owners c<f land to fence their road frontages. As some doubt existed whether the Council could legally do this the question was referred to the County solicitors. Messrs Miller and Son stated that they were afraid no authority existed enabling the Council to, do this, and it was decided to defer the matter pending an opinion being obtained from the Counties Association solicitor. . His opinion has now been: received, and confirms Messrs. Miller and Son's opinion. Unfortunately, however, the Special Order passed by the Council has now become null and void, and it will be necessavy to pass the by-laws in the amended form at a Special meeting.

KOPU FERRY CONTRACTS

Messrs Kennedy and Taylor have been asked to sign the contracts held by them, but they have expressed a desire to meet the Council before doing so. I have therefore invited them to meet the Council in the matter at •this annual meeting. The audited balance sheet for the year ended March 31, 1917,. has been received from the Auditor-General. It will be necessary to hold! a Special meeting of the Council, to paiss the samei atfter which it requires to be published. As to the mode of publishing I think the practice usually" followed of having the balance-sheet printed and copies placed at the pisposal of all ratepayers applying for same will be sufficient. The Act of course provides that it be published in a newspaper, but from information I have received I find that very few counties in New Zealand do this, and these few simply do it because they are able to make cheaper terms with the publishers. In the case of this county the cost of printing say 100 copies would be abbut £15, whereas to publish it in the newspapers would probably cost more than double this amount. There are several accounts requiring your authority'for payments at this meeting, a list of which is attached hereto.

WAITAKARURU ROAD LOAN CONTRACT.

At the council meeting held on September last a recommendation from the special quarry equipment committee was adopted accepting- tenders from Messrs 'Winstone, Ltd. and the Auckland Shingle Company for a supply of 8500 yards of shingle for the Waitakaruru roads. Subsequently the question of substituting shell in place of shingle was raised and it was not deemed advisable to notify either firm of the acceptance of the tenders pending the settlement of the master. At the last meeting of the Council a notice of motiion to rescind the adoption ;oif the committee's recommenldations was withdrawn alfter hearing from the Council's solicitor the legal interpretation of the conditions under which the loan was raised. As, however, seme doubt still exists whether the tenders should be accepted I have not officially notified either firm of their acceptance,; but have intimated that the matter is

still under consideration. I would like definite instructions how to proceed, as the Council still holds the deposits lodged! with ths tenders.

Since typing the above report an Amendment to the Local Bb_"i L-ans Act has reached me providing that loans authorised by the ratepayers at! a poll shall not lapse biy reason of not being borrowed until' two years after the termination of the war.