HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID RATES.

Colonist, Volume LVI, Issue 13489, 8 June 1914, Page 6

HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID RATES.

(To the Editor of "The Colonist.")

Sir, —I notice in your report of the last meeting of the City Council that the following remit is to be forwarded to the Municipal Association : (a) "That hospital and charitable- aid boards be empowered to levy and collect their own .rates." Why yhould the unfortunate ratepayers Jbe subjected to this large and -imneces'sary expense? At present it is a comparatively simple matter for the different local bodies when collecting their own rates to add the extra hospital rate; whereas if the Hospital Board had to do their own collecting it. would need a largo extra clerical staff, and tho expense of all this would fall on the ratepayers. Have they seriously considered what the cost of. collecting" all those small rates separately would be, not only from Ihe city, but from Takaka, Colling wood, Wakeficld, Murchison, Richmond, etc , and how much this rat« would have to be increased to .pay for this? Then, too there would be the inconvenience of having to pay rates four times a year—twice to the city and twice to thf> board. Remit "b" appears to be also to be a retrograde stop, and likely to add to the expense without any gain whatsoever. Surely it is better to have as many elections as possible on one day.

I am, etc., J. B. HARRISON