BURDEN OF RATES

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19338, 31 May 1937, Page 4

BURDEN OF RATES

GISBORNE FLAT LAND INCREASE IN COSTS "A STAGGERING AMOUNT" DEPUTATION TO MINISTER ■Relief from the great burden of rates with which the farm lands on the Gisborne flats will be saddled was sought from the Minister of Public Works, the linn. U. Semple, by n deputation of councillors and settlers who waited on him in Gisborne on Sajtirday evening.

Assistance suggested included the restoration of the 1:2! per cent rebate. on rates, the rate subsidy to apply to all rales collected without the present limit of £2. r >oo, that the Main Highways Board should lake over past loan expenditure on the present State highways, and the derating of farm lands.

To these matters, the Minister said they were all policy questions, and he could give no definite answer to them without consulting the Cabinet.

The deputation comprised members of the Cook County Council and some of its ratepayers, and included: Mr. Clias. .Matthews, county chairman, Messrs. J. K. Benson, S. T. Gray, W. G. Slierratt and E. 11. Baker, councillors, Mr. P. T. Robinson, county clerk, .Mr. K. J' 1 . Jones, county engineer, .Messrs. (i. V. Smith, S.' D. Briant, .1. E. Hnisman, Harry Cooper and R, >". Murphy. The deputation was introduced 'by the Mayor, Mr. D. W Coleman"; M.P., in his office. The Riding Accounts When laying before the Ministei the county point of view, Mr. Mat thews said the council had followed the Minister's idea of abolishing the riding system. The council also had adopted the 40-hour week and provided the increased wages necessary, and this, with overtime paid, had increased the cost of wages alone to the council for the current financial year to an estimated amount of £4OOO.

"Our particular trouble to-day, after falling in with the idea of abolishing the riding accounts," Mr. Matthews said, " is on our Hat. lands which are given over to dairying, inai/.o growing and fat lamb raising. The rate on this area has been raised from a little over Mid in the .£ to Gjjd. This is a very heavy burden on the small farmers. The Gisborne riding rale last year was :i !)/l(id."

Thai, increase in rates, Mr. Matthews continued, was without any proposed increase in road work. The relief from expenditure on the State highways meant a saving of £IO,OOO to the Cook County Council, which, however, was still raising loan moneys to give access to back country settlers. The council's present indebtedness, .including the £153,000 loan and the 10 per cent additional, was £244,047. The council had a sinking fund totalling £24,813, leaving the council with a liability of £219,234, on which the annual cost of interest and repayment was £II,OOO. When suggesting the restoration of the 12/, per cent rate rebate, the extension of the subsidy limit of £2500, relief from past loan expenditure on present. State highways, ami the dorating of land, Mr. Matthews said thai the council had heavy loan charges on the present State highways. "Had We Sat Still" "Had we sat stiil and done nothing," Mr. Matthews said, "the highways would have been made foi us when the Government took them over. Then there is the old cry of derating the land. 1 do not think that complete derating should be considered yet, but partial derating might

Some of the back country settler 1 were saddled with special rates of u] to (id in the £, and they would like some relief from the heavy burden.

Mr. Briant, who was appointed by the Makaraka meeting to represent, the settlers at the deputation, spoke of tho plight of the small farmers, who, he said, were penalised by the increase in the rate to a staggering amount. They were so concerned over it that they met in two of the largest meetings of ratepayers yet held in the county. The county was unfortunately situated geographically in that large areas of hill land witli low rateable values were combined with flat land with high rateable values. Various schemes for the purpose of giving relief to heavily rated settlers had been considered, Mr. Briant said, such as derating and amalgamation of local bodies. In the event of amalgamation, the ratepayers would want to know who would be their bedfellows. Some of the local bodies might not agree to amalgamation with Cook County. lie appealed to Air. Semplc, not only as a Minister, but also as a practical man if he expected ratepayers to pay something approaching £1 an acre as rates. "The Prime Minister has told us," Air. Briant continued; "that no one will be hurt by (lie Government's legislation. Wo have been hurt, not intentionally on the Government's part, I will agree, but nevertheless we have been hurt. We ask you to carry out an investigation into this matter, and give us all the help possible. Change Back Impossible Air. Smith said he came to seek a solution of the ratepayers' problems. He did not like to go begging for something, but he had the idea of trying to find :t solution to the heavy rating imposed on the flat land as a result of tho present system of rating on the unimproved value, to which the county changed some years ago. The Alinister: The people themselves made that decision.

Mr. Smith: And we cannot change it back, because we are in the minority. If we could gef the Hal laud grouped in one area such as in the river boards and rated independently from the hills, 1 think it would go a long wily in solving the problem.

Mr. .1. E, Ilaisman, a small farmer on the Hats, then gave a number of figures showing the burden of rating on the flats. Tho county chairman was about to introduce another speaker, but. the Minister said he did not think it necessary to hear tiny more, for the matter seemed to have been very fully covered. Air. Matthews agreed that it had, and the Minister gave his reply, as reported in the next column,