INCREASED RATES

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 76, Issue 6533, 30 June 1948, Page 11

INCREASED RATES

IN COUNTY OF KAWHIA CHAIRMAN’S FORECAST , At last week’s meeting of Kawhia County Council, Cr F. J. Stokes, toward the end of proceedings, asked if a letter had been received from Mr Semple regarding the Council’s application for a special grant. The engineer (Mr E. R. Hone) replied in the affirmative, saying that at that moment he could not put his hands on it. However, it stated that the application for a special grant could not be entertained as the inspector considered it was wholly and solely for maintenance work. The chairman (Cr E. E. Smith) said that when fixing the current year’s rates, and framing the estimates, they would have to give their financial position serious thought. They might even have to approach M'r Semple for a special grant. The chairman went on to say that the Government auditor had made up their balance-sheet for last year, and this showed that they were £440 on the debit side. The Council had been gradually slipping back financially during the past four years, and it looked as if there was nothing for it but to increase the rates to arrest the downward trend. By next meeting they would have the estimates, and this year’s balance-sheet, when returned from the Audit Office, would be printed. Last year they had had no printed balance-sheet, but of course the clerk was ill. It was important that councillors should have copies of the balance-sheet.

The engineer (Mr E. R. Hone) said that at the Counties’ Conference at Rotorua it was disclosed that the backward financial tendency was general.

The chairman said that Mr R. O. Tompkies, a former engineer to the Kawhia county and now in a similar position to the Hobson county, North Auckland, had told him that a few

years ago that county had a credit balance of £20,000, but now it was all 'gone and they would have to raise the rates this year. Increased costs, added the chairman, were responsible for this state of affairs.

The chairman went on to say that although Kawhia county had wound un ‘the year £440 to the debit side, the Government auditor had pointed out that the position was not so bad as it looked, as they had got a new truck and had really improved £3OO on the previous year’s record. None the less, he had said that the Council would have to increase the rates.