AUDITORS’ TAGS

Southland Times, Issue 18618, 16 August 1919, Page 5

AUDITORS’ TAGS

COUNTY COUNCIL AND ITS BALANCESHEET. THE CHAIRMAN FINED. (Per United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, August 15. At the Magistrate’s Court to-day Richard Evans, chairman of the Waipara County Council, was charged with (1) that being chairman of the Council he did not, within ten days aft6r its receipt by the Council, publish the yearly balance-sheet; (2) that he did not publish in that sheet the exceptions taken to it by the Government Auditor. In regard to the first charge it was stated by counsel for the Audit Department that the Council had sought a warrant to publish the balance-sheet by sending printed copies to ratepayers, but the Minister had hot granted the warrant and the Council had decided to take the responsibility of not complying with the Counties Act in reference to publishing the balance-sheet in a paper circulating in the district. In regard to the second charge, the Auditor-General had affined a tag to the 1918 balance-sheet pointing out that certain money had been paid into the County Fund account, instead of into a separate account, and that the County was paying interest on some unpaid purchase money for land, which was held to be illegal. In the printed copies of the balance-sheet forwarded to the ratepayers *hese exceptions were not alluded to. The first charge was withdrawn and on the second defendant was fined 40s.