PEOPLE PROSPEROUS.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 November 1924, Page 6

PEOPLE PROSPEROUS.

PROMPT PAYMENT OF RATES NEW PLYMOUTH’S EXPERIENCE* SMALL AMOUNT OUTSTANDING. LARGE SUM HANDLED. In the constant procession of rate-paytfß> to the New Plymouth borough office during the \ past few days two outstanding facts have been revealed. One is that the people of New Plymouth are financially sound and the other is that the prosperity which is a marked feature pf the town at the present time is not merely a surface prosperity but is real. These points will be readily conceded when it is stated that up to four o’clock yesterday afternoon, of the total rate demand of £47,915 6s 4d, no less than £46,043 15s 7d had been paid, leaving only £lB7l 10s 9d outstanding. This last amount, it is expected, will be materially reduced by the receipts from this morning’s mail, leaving oply a few hundreds outstanding on which the additional 10 per cent, impost will be made. Yesterday was the last day on which the rates could be pajd without penalty. Another very satisfactory revelation was that of the previous year’s rate demand of £45,756 9s 6d, there is only 12s 7d in arrear. While this amount is technically outstanding, the account is a good one, for the money is in the hands of the Public Trustee in Sydney and will be remitted in the course of a few days. Th® winding up of a deceased person’s estate was responsible for the delay. New Plymouth is therefore in the hgppy position of having all but these few pence of the previous year’s rates collected, and, with half of the current financial year yet t® go, having only a small fraction of the rates outstanding. Last year at the corresponding period the outstanding rates totalled £1633. BUSY DAYS IN OFFICE. The stream of taxpayers at the borougfc offices this week has been a long one. Yesterday morning between 10 o’clock and twelve over £4OOO in cash was taken over the counter by two cashiers in payment of rates, the total takings for the day being £10,485 3s sd. On Wednesday the total was £7,932 6s 4d, so that in the two days no iess than £18,417 9s 9d has been paid into the borough coffers. Apart front these rate payments the cashiers also toolf yesterday £461 8s 3d in settlement of ele& trie light accounts and other accounts foi services rendered by the borough, while on the previous day these takings amounted to £177 3s 6d. It speaks well for the efficiency of the cashiers that threequarters of an hour after the office closed yesterday afternoon they had their books arid cash balanced.

“The result is certainly one for congratulation, although it has been the experience of New Plyniouth year by year,” said the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson) to a Daily News reporter last night after ha had perused the figures. It showed, he said, Fbat New Plymouth was on a perfectly firm foundation and that the proa« perity of the town was real and was not based on ephemeral values. Moreover, when it was borne in mind that the prosperity of the town largely depended on the dairying industry, and that the farmeri wers only now 1 beginning to receive their returns, the large payments which had been made were remarkable. SAVING IN INTEREST.

It was noteworthy, Mr. Wilson further remarked, that New Plymouth made a practice of collecting its rates earlier in (ho financial year than probably any other local authority in the Dominion, and the result was that a vfcry large sum was thereby saved in interest on the overdraft on which local bodies had largely to work throughout the year. Seeing that local bodies wene not permitted by law to have any outstanding liabilities at the end of the year, the council was also able to prosecute the various borough works, the larger part of which were undertaken during the summer months, without any fear of not being able to meet its obligations. CommenAng on the stability of th® borough undertakings, Mr. Wilson said that it was a mattier of great satisfaction to him that on the loans authorised and raised during hifi term of office as Mayor, for hydro electric, waterworks and tramways extensions, not one penny had been charged to the citizens by way of rates to meet interest charges. These loans had totalled about £BO,OOO and all the undertakings on which the money had been spent had been able to meet their engagements.