HOSPITAL BOARD LEVY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14283, 27 April 1917, Page 3

HOSPITAL BOARD LEVY.

;'. w T . . protests." ;. : -.'% ■ ■'■ -■'■■'■ ; . ' >' j .ji, A statement of . .the estimated .receipts and expenditure of the Cook ''Hospital and Charitable Aid Bdard was submitted to the Cook County Council to-day. The statement allowed that the amount to be raised by levies and subsidies was £13,472. The amount apportioned to tbe Cook County to provide was £4731 8a Bd'; of this £230 was to meet the proportion of capital expenditure payable this year. The chairman, Cjr. F. J. Lysnar (who was to-day nominated by the Council as a member of. the Hospital Boa^d), declared that the demand' was a serious matter, and was one that councillors should go into as the Council's levy was being doubled up. Last year's levy was £2700 and this year's was £4731, or £2031 more this year. If further expenditure m view was undertaken their levy would bo actually doubled. Proj ceeding, he pointed- out that the hospital fees collected vas £1500 out of between £7000 to £8000, and the administration, cost £784. In the old days when the hospital had forty beds they used to collect £800. The Board had had new appointments and they were given to understand that the Board was going to collect all the fees... •

Cr. •■ Jones : The change has only just been made. Let us- see what the new man will do. •

The cthairman emphasised that the statement showed it was costing £13,472 to run the hospital for the year, or £16,800 with the proposed new items. Cr. Jex Blake dissented.

The chairman repeated that the estimate for this year was for £13,472, Waikohu being tasked for £1606, Borough £1564, Mangapapa £132. Cr. Jex Blake explained that the Board) had' had to make up a deficiency from last year. .. .. ; The chairman said' he was informed by the clerk the Council's levy was £2081 more than last ■year., '■.'■ . Cr. Jex Blake said " the Board had exceeded its estimat<e.s,' I ,last year. The chairman, referring to the old hospital, pointed out the patients used to ohlv pay £1 a week. Cr. Jex Blake said .the average iromber of patients was tben~about 20, Now the •average was about 86, and eyen at present there were owe. 100 m the hospital. The medical superintendent had told him if they went on- as <they were going the Board '\rotrttfr have to provide further accommodation,. There was no more room. So they -fcould not reduce the expenditure," and the Minister hail been there recently,^ and had said v they must have the laundT-y. 1 * So he could not see how they were, gqitig to reduce the expenditure; ' \ '_'. Cr. Holden : The matter ought to .be looked into . The expenditure is getting too high. At'tho .last meeting of the Hospital Board- the -chairman suggested putting on day laboF*to ffoc up the old hoslpdtal building (as an old) people's home, and oaretakerls cottage, etc., and it was going i to cost about £1200 and they were not going to call for tenders. Fortunately thel'c yrejfe sufficient members 1 there to stop that. . The Chairman: Well, it struck me as chairman of this Council members should look into it. 'When tte place was built th« ratepayers were given to understand it would be quite sufficient for years to come; now the. Board is still . going on proposing to spend, a, few more thousands, and: our share tfiis year is £4731. On top of this all our roads are out of repair; -we will have to strike an --extra rate to get them m order, and thip demand comes m addition. I think we should' strike a ,\sepaL'^te rate for hospital and i<jharitabh> aid, *s$ that ratepayers can see twhat they, are paying. Cr. Jex Blake concurred -with this suggestion. ; - ;:;:., ' ' ; ' The Chairman: It is awfuj, j ;■:

Cr. Jex Blake pointed out that the Cook County hadito pay half the total levy, and. the Borough got off with paying only half what they paid. Half the patients .he considered came from • the Borough. -vv > He , thought this should be brought "before the Borough* The people who .used the hospital. were the. Borough, and they should pay for it. Cr. Witters: ,ils it a free hospital. Don't you collect foes? The Chairman': Last year they collected £1500 oiit of £7000 or £8000.

Cr. Jex Blake said that considering the number of geoplo who were "Hard up" they were -not doing so badly. The Chairman : The Board started off with new. -ideas, -a Mew staff, and were going to ;play wonders. They got rid of the experienced, officers who knew all about the running of the hospital. Cr. Jex Blake "urged that with a bitf institution they could riot expect the expenditure, to be, less, They had to cope with the increased population and if they had an up-to-date hospital at anything like a cost it Was tlio best investment for'tfie district. When the chairman; (Cr/. Lysnar^ got on tho Board he would seethe position fsr himself , and that 1 Was* why he had moved for his nomination. It was a new hospital; local l^d.ies.;;fcoitfd not run things like private people, and had to rely on professional adlvice. The Board had consulted the- Government at the outset, and they had 1 submitted averyihing to them and hadrdone their level besti They were told thaJT,everytliing was right but a lot of thing* wererntit satisfactory and had 1 had to be" replaced. . ! The Chairman : That proves my statement — bad management and extravagance. ■■ : ".* ."*' ■ \ • Cr.'Holden: As a member of the Hospital Board T' say 'things want looking into. , ' j ' The Clhairnian :','l thought it my duty to put the matter^ before you and stir members up. <

Or Matthews asked "how the proportion* was made Tip. • - .• l The , Clerk : On capital valuation. Years ago GaptadirTiicker asked that it should! be en.. population. Oi J . Witters : It Is absolutely wrong, and should be on***a> population basis. There is something radically wrong. The C^airmotk: ->The Hospital Board has. unlimited powei' .to cay what levies the local bodies have to pay. . The discTussion then -dropped,