EXTINCTION OF DEBT

Southland Times, Issue 25533, 29 November 1944, Page 6

EXTINCTION OF DEBT

SYSTEM INTRODUCED IN INVERCARGILL Invercargill should be free of debt in about 12 years as a result of the system of debt-extinction that has been introduced, it was stated by Mr W. F. Sturman, the town clerk, in an address on civic administration at the weekly luncheon of the Invercargill Rotary Club yesterday. Invercargill covered about 6000 acres, with a capital value of £8,000,000, and had had a loan debt of about £1,000,000, said Mr Sturman. Almost every service which could come under the control of the municipality was conducted by the council. A system of debt extinction had now been introduced and the city should be free of debt in about 12 years. The actual debt figure was now about £700,000. LOWER HUTT'S GROWTH Whenever an urban local body reached a population of 20,000 it could apply, to be proclaimed a city, said Mr Sturman. The newest city in New Zealand was Lower Hutt, where an enormous industrial and residential population had developed. In Lower Hutt the problem was not to woo industries to come, but to maintain the essential services such as gas and electricity at a sufficient, capacity to meet the needs of the constant inflow of new industries. A peculiarity in New Zealand was that the railways, and consequently most industries, were nearly always on the west of the towns, and it was from the west that the prevailing winds blew. Invercargill was fortunate in the price of building sections and in having flat land with all the services alongside. Arguments for rating on the annual value (or rental value) and for rating on the unimproved value were often heard at municipal conferences. In his view a compromise between the two was the best and this was applied here. There were in the city of Invercargill about 7000 ratepayers and two-thirds of them did not pay more than £lO per year rates. This worked out at about 4/- a week for the average non-commercial ratepayer. For this he received the benefit of the reserves costing £12,000 a year, the library with its reference section, the control of traffic, the inspection of places selling food, the water supply, the removal of rubbish, the fire brigade, the hospital and finally the cemetery. WORK OF PUBLIC MEN Mr Sturman said it appeared to him that the city was on the right lines financially. In 1 2 years, when the debt was paid off it might be possible to bring the rates down by perhaps one-third. That was a matter he could not forecast because he did not know all the contingencies which might arise; but he would suggest that when that stage was reached it might be a good scheme to set aside funds so that new developments required could be paid for as time went on. Out of the 90 miles of streets in Invercargill, he remarked, 37 miles had been sealed so far. They would always find enthusiasts in particular directions such as swimming, the library and so on, in every council and it was well that it should be so, for the enthusiasts were the people who got things done, although what they desired had sometimes to be modified by practical considerations. Councillors gave their services free. Sometimes they had heated arguments prompted by the very sincerity they put into their work, but he had never in his experience seen any suggestion of unfair practice and he thought the thanks of the community were due to the public men who served them so well. A vote of thanks to the speaker was proposed by Dr J. G. Macdonald.