BOROUGH COUNCIL

Southland Times, Issue 20792, 5 June 1929, Page 6

BOROUGH COUNCIL

ESTIMATES SUBMITTED SALIENT FEATURES OF ACCOUNTS REVIEW BY MAYOR At the meeting of the Borough Council last night the Mayor, Mr J. D. Campbell, made the following statement in connection with the estimates for 1929-30:— I am gratified to be in a position at this early date to present to you the estimates of receipts and expenditure for the current year. This has been made possible by the excellent work done by each of the committees in framing their requirements and in co-operating with me in keeping the proposed expenditure within reasonable limits. The estimates have been approved by the Finance Committee and are now recommended for approval by council. In this statement I will briefly refer to any outstanding features in the various accounts. The published accounts of the corporation which are issued annually in book form will afford the fullest information in respect of the statutory accounts and financial position of the corporation. Councillors have already been furnished with a copy of the last abstract of'accounts, that is, for the year ended March 31, 1929. This memorandum and attached statements are framed entirely as an analysis of the current position and with a view to determining, as the council is bound to do, what money is required for its purposes and ■subsequently what rates it will be necessary to strike. Maturity Loans. The maturing loan obligations which the council"will have to arrange to meet this year are:—■ Name of Loan Amount Est. Date amount Matursinking ity. fund at maturity i £ Sew. house conM. No. 2 „ 2,000 296 1/10/29 Tramways No 1 .. 75,000 31,600 1/4/30 Trams and Elec. No. 2 20,000 1/4/30 Sink. Fund on trams, portion £11,900 .. *«, 3,355 1/4/30 Sink, Fund on Elec, portion £B,lOO .. 8,000 1/4/30 Trams and Elec. Redemption 4,700 Sink. Fund on Trams, portion £2,800 .... 400 Sink. Fund on Eloc portion £1,900 — — 270 1/4/30 It will be the duty of the council under the authority it possesses to reissue so many of the debentures as is necessary after applying the accumulated sinking funds in partial redemption of the loans. The Loans Board will no doubt require more adequate sinking funds to be established in respect of the redemption loans. Rates. The total of the rates on the unimproved value which the council is recommended to strike is approximately one half-penny in the pound in excess of last year's figure. The increase is, in the main, due to the interest account, in which a substantial rate operates. It is struck to cover, after transferring from the various trading departments which provide interest on their own loans, a sufficient amount to meet the council’s liability for interest and sinking fund charges on its loans. It is interesting to note that the total interest and charges which will be paid this year by the Corporation upon its loans is estimated at £70,100, and that after the transference of credits from the separate accounts such as waterworks, electricity, tramways, gas, theatre, abattoirs, harbour, library and quarry, the sum of £41,556 must be provided by a rate of 6.07 d. This is £4,189 in advance of the amount for last year, and is accounted for by new interest charges in respect of the £74,000 and £60,000 streets loans, the Oreti bridge loan, the south area sewer and water reticulation loan, etc. For comparative purposes a table is set out hereunder showing the rates struck last year and the proposed rates for the current year:— 1929-30 1928-29. d. in £ d. in £. ‘General .. 4.1 3.775 ‘Special • 6.07 5.600 ‘Street Lighting 5 .480 ‘Sewerage .75 .750 ‘Water Consumers 9 1.200 ‘Water Non-consumers .. .45 .600 Hospital & Charitable Aid Annual Value 3.9 4.100 Refuse Removal— Weekly service .. .. 7/6 7/6 Daily service 32/6 32/6 Nightsoil Removal .. .. 25/- 25/‘Unimproved value. General Account. Difficulty in keeping down expenditure Was experienced by the committee controlling departments which are dependent on votes from the general account. Each year it becomes harder to restrict the finance owing to the increased standards which everywhere are demanded, no less in street services than in other interests. The total estimated receipts in the general account arc £37,137 and expenditure £36,178. Hospital and Charitable Aid Account. It is proposed to reduce the rate necessary to provide the levy of the Southland Hospital Board by .2d on the annual value. Harbour. Provision is made for augmenting the harbour dredging fund by £5OO. The fund at present stands at £3,179. The harbour account will not be so buoyant this year on account of the heavy falling off in dues consequent on the suspension of the main shipping to the port. It is anticipated that the present credit balance of £530 will be reduced to £206. Theatre. * Provision is made for augmenting the theatre renovation account which at present stands at £5OB, by £125. The matter of the renovation and improvement of the theatre and Town Hall buildings is receiving consideration at the hands of the Finance Committee. Street Lighting! The progress of the change-over from the gas lighting of the streets to electric lighting is responsible for an increase in the cost of street lighting and necessitates raising the rate by .02d. Abattoirs. It is anticipated that the satisfactory condition of the abattoirs account will be maintained and that the year will close with a credit balance of £764. Depreciation—Trading Undertakings. During last-session of Parliament the Municipal Corporations Act was amended to provide that proper depreciation shall be charged against the depreciation assets of trading undertakings. In arriving at the amount to be charged for depreciation council is entitled to take into consideration sums paid to jinking funds and moneys expended'out of revenue on renewals and replacements. In the absence of any informa-

•tion from the Government regarding the approved rate per cent, to be charged for depreciation the figure has been fixed at 3 per cent, over all. The accounts affected are gasworks, tramways and electricity. « Gasworks. A satisfactory year’s working is projected for the gasworks. It is proposed to charge against revenue account capital expenditure amounting to £1,265 for new mains, meters, services, etc. By appropriating £1,820 to the gasworks loans sinking fund and £2,000 to the depreciation fund th? requirements of the Municipal Corporations Act regarding depreciation will be met. The prospective credit balance is £2,717, which is £74 more than at March 31 last. Tramways. The year opened with a debit balance of £2,869 which, it is expected, will be increased to £3,659 by the end of the year. Provision has been made to meet that loss through the electricity" account. By appropriating £l,lOO to sinking funds and £1,225 to depreciation account and by expending £l,OOO out of revenue on renewals and replacements the requirements of the Act regarding depreciation will be met. The total estimated revenue from the operation of the tramways is £25,685. Electricity. . ' Capital expenditure to .a total of £8,600 is provided out of revenue for new plant and general extensions required to enable the department to cope with the steadily increasing load. Provision is made for the transfer of £2,500 to the general account. By appropriating £2,860 to sinking funds and by expending £l,OOO out of revenue on renewals and replacements the requirements of the Act regarding depreciation will be met. revenue from the sale of current, etc., is expected to reach £46,900. Baths. The estimated deficiency on the baths account is £l,lOB, which amount will .be made up from the general account. The interest and sinking fund charges on the baths loans will be met out of special rates. Endowments, Reserves, etc. The reserves, etc., estimates have been cut down considerably from the original figures. The amount to be expended on behalf of the Returned Soldiers' Association will be £175 less than last year. The General Account will supply the deficits in the Reserves Accounts. Public Library. Provision is made for necessary repairs and renovations to the Athenaeum and Colonial Chambers Buildings at an estimated cost of £6OO also for payment to the special rate account of £287 on account of interest and sinking fund on the new Library site. The projected credit balance at the end of the year is £l6l. Public Works. Tho vote for maintenance of footpaths has been increased from £1,500 to £2,000. The vote for streets maintenance remains the same, viz. £7,000. The transfer from General Account will be £660 more than last year. Quarry. Adequate provision has been made for the proper maintenance of the quarry plant. The expenditure will be balanced by the sales of metal to various accounts. Sewerage. The charges in connection with the maintenance etc. of sewers are in advance of those for last year but by utilising portion of the credit balance the rate can remain the same. Waterworks. Provision has been made for the installation of new pumps and motors and the carrying out of improvements at the waterworks to the extent of £3,460. The prospective credit balance is £453. The rubbish collection fees are unaltered. Motor Spirits Taxation Fund. To relieve the interest charges on the £74,000 streets Loan it is proposed to transfer £l,OOO from the Motor Spirits Taxation Fund to the special rate account. A balance of £1,190 is left for reconstruction and maintenance of continuations of Main Highways through the Borough. Conclusion. It is the policy of the present administration 1 to harmonize the work of the departments, remove overlapping and encourage loyalty and initiative in the heads of departments and the staff generally Vigilance will be exercised in the financial matters of the borough, every avenue of legitimate revenue will be exploited and economy and business methods will be practised in all .the Council’s operations. To achieve the results projected in the estimates the closest control at short intervals will be required throughout the year and Council will realize that no work can be undertaken which is not .provided for. I- am indebted to chairmen and members of committees for the manner in which they have expedited the preparation of the estimates and to the Town Clerk and his staff for the speeding up of a large range of work following the disturbance from the elections and for furnishing under pressure of work much of the material for this memorandum and the estimates. THE GENERAL ACCOUNT COMING YEAR AND LAST YEAR. Tho estimates,as far as the general account is concerned anticipate a credit balance on March 31, 1930, of £2,600, the total estimated receipts totalling £38,778 and the estimated expenditure £36,178. The principal individual items are, with the actual figures for last year in parentheses:— Receipts. ~ ; By-law fees £1,610 (£1,139) ; license fees, motor vehicles, £1,610 (£1,411); transfer from electricity department, £2,500 (£2,500) ; general rate 4.1 d estimated to yield £24,755 (£22,460); transfer from electricity account, £3,659 (nil) ; South Invercargill adjustment £lOO (nil) ; South Invercargill adjustment arrears, £25 (nil). Expenditure. Salaries and overtime, Town Clerk and staff £4,000 (£3,852), less clerical transfer £2,885 (£1,965) ; Mayor’s honorarium, £3OO (£300) ; borough inspectors, £603 (£603); motor and traffic inspection, £6OO (£547); rent of offices, £4OO (£400) ; miscellaneous subsidies, £4OO (£354) ; district electors’ roll, £203 (nil); elections and polls, £5OO (£2). Transfers .to the Separate Account.— Public Works £14,725 (£16,845); endowments, etc., £2,125 (£1,442), Waihopai Reserve £251 (£259), Queen’s Park £652 (£511), cemetery £5l (nil), sanitary £B4B (£462),' quarry nil (£209), baths £l,lOB (£1,501), tramways £3,659 (nil). Special Allocations. —Standard survey .£4OO (£75), advertising loan proposal £5O (£8), Waihopai Reserve Extension £250 (£250), tramway passes for limbless soldiers £125 (£125), redemption of loan expenses £2O (£74), purchase section corner Tayand Deveron streets £3OO (£200), Fire Board levy £2,671 (£2,674), - contingencies £(>00, maintenance Invercargill-Bluff road £222 (£72).