BOROUGH FINANCES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3821, 14 October 1936, Page 5

BOROUGH FINANCES

IN A HEALTHY CONDITION. HALF YEARLY FIGURES TABLED. The statement of receipts and expenditure tor tne six months ended iseptemoer 30, presented to the local norough council meeting on Monday evening oy tne cleric-treasurer, Mr D. Bockevu, mattes interesting reading. The receipts statement showed a credit balance at April Ist ot £1,291, and since men general rates received totalled £1602 Is 2d (including £o9 3s lUd of arrears), ana tne penalty on rate arrears amounted to £3-5 17s. 'lhe Government suosidy on rates paid for the 1935-36 year amounted! to £236 Is Id. Licenses trom various sources yielded £4B» is, and Town Hau nires £64 ids 6a. Kents (saleyards, kerbside pumps, and endowments), provided £lBB los; and sales (sand, etc.) £2l 8s lid. Then, in another group representing £»2 3s Bd, such items as tees tor dumping rubbish 3s, and licfense for iruit-stand at saleyards £2, appear. Another inclusion of interest is tees for use of sheep dip at saleyards £lB 18s 8d; while £33 came from sanitary connection lees, and £5 5s from sealing fees. The penny-in-the-slot machine at the Wiaiton Street conveniences was responsible for £5 ss, and the balance of the £B2 odd was £l7 12s from ratepayers’ contributions for footpath crossings to their premises. The Kihikihi Town Board refunded £l3 3s 3d as its share of the cost of the Waitomo Licensing Committee expenses, and there was a total refund of £ll 13s from benzine tax. Dog registration yielded £l2 7s 6d. A sum of £271 Is was a transfer from the Heavy Traffic Registration Account, and four small items comprised £4 Is making a grand total of £4402 17s Id. On the expenditure side salaries accounted for £291, land the office expenses, teiphones, etc., for £l6 4s lid. A group of items totalling £lB2 18s lOd included legal expenses £35 Ils 7d, Mayor’s allowance £5O, and grant to Beautifying Society £5O. “Unauthorised expenditure” was £2 17s 6d, and the cost of dog registration £3 16s 6d. Items charged to the municipal swimming baths were £1 14s 6d, and to the Municipal Band £57 13s lOd. The Fire Board levy accounted for £123 17s 6d. Advertisingl printing and stationery accounted for an outlay of £26 9s 3d, and accident insurance premium £4 12s. Amounts paid in connection with the Town Hall totalled £ll4 10s, including £6O 19s 8d for chairs, £l4 8s 6d for a stage curtain, £l2 10s for carefaking, £l5 4s 2d for lighting, and £ll 10s 8d for sundries. Maintenance of the pumping station cost £34 2s 7d. Labour on street works cost £282 4s lOd, the materials £327 16s 6d (including £153 12s 5d for cement and £l7l 8s for metal). An item of £4 4s for “Sloane Street widening” does not indicate that the work of widening has actually commenced, or that that is the total cost to tha ratepayers—merely the cost of surveyor’s plan. Tire main highways account totalled £314 13s, railway freights £lO2 Ils lOd, cartage of metal and cement £53 16s, motor lorry registration, benzine, repairs, etc., accounted for £lll 2s, road roller repairs etc., £152 4s JOd, plant and maintenance £l5 17s lOd. The saleyards account represented £9ll 19s lOd, and the only other item of substantial size was the payment of £4OO for the sand-pit. The credit balance at September 30th, was £794 4s 9d. The waterworks account ' showed that at April Ist, the credit balance was £365 14s 2d, and at the end of September £lOOl Is 7d. The Heavy Traffic Registration Account had a credit of £382 11s 5d at April Ist, and of £2Ol 8s 6d at September 30th. The Unemployment Wages Account showed a debit balance at the end of the half-year of £54, as wages refunded by the postmaster and Treasury provided £452 13s lOd whereas the half-year had commenced with a credit of £36 12s 4d, and expenditure of £132 3s on kerbing (schemo 13), £173 11s on saleyards (same scheme), £9l 17s on Convent school grounds, £2B on waterworks tree-planting, and £47 10s 6d on scheme 5, totalled £506 13s lOd. Mr Bockett also tabled a statement of the rates outstanding at the end of the half-year, showing that £2355 0s 4d of the current year’s consolidated rates is still unpaid, besides £664 Ils lid of consolidated rate arrears. There is also £l5B 7s Id of the current year’s water supply rate still unpaid, and £46 3s 7d of water rate arrears. Another item of £2 15s 4d is allocation of rate arrears outstanding. Then there is £6BO 4s 4d of general rate for the current year still unpaid. The" Municipal Saleyards Account shows a total expenditure of £1144 16s 2d, and the three items of receipts were: auctioneer’s licenses £192 10s, rents £152, and scheme 13 subsidy to July 29th, £ll6 11s, so that the account has been overspent £683 15s 2d.

Anticipated rents, licenses and subsidy were computed at an aggregate of £539 Bs, and accounts yet to pay total £lBl Ils 4d. When the half yearly statement of accounts was tabled, Or Rainey, as chairman of the Finance Committee, said the figures compare very favourably with the estimates. Receipts and expenditure totals are about the same as estimated, but some items vary. For instance, the estimate of saleyards expenditure was £6OO, with a further £6OO next year; but it was later decided to push ahead with the work. The estimate for the whole work was about £2600, but under the present scheme the total was expected to be under £l4OO. Timber had been purchased advantageously, and labour in shifting a great amount of spoil was below the estimate. It was anticipated that the whole work would be completed for an outlay from date of £560, of which £3OO was yet to be found. When completed the local saleyards would be as good as any in South Auckland. Continuing, Cr Rainey said the water sunply account was in a very healthy condition, and provided no unforeseen expenses were Incurred this account would be very pleasing at the end of the year. Streets commitments were also being carefully watched, and with careful administration by both the Finance and Works Committees he was confident the year would end with a small credit.

He complimented the clerk-treas-urer upon presenting a very credit-

able statement of the financial position. It was clear and concise, and a credit to him. Cr Montefiore paid a tribute to the works foreman, saying Mr Close had achieved splendid results with limited funds. The work would, when completed, be a credit to all concerned.