ASHBURTON RATES.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 364, 4 March 1932, Page 2

ASHBURTON RATES.

£10,178 Still Outstanding, says Report. (Special to the "Star.”) ASHBURTON, March 4. The monthly meeting of the Ashburton County Council was held to-day* the chairman, Mr H. C. B. Withell. presiding. In his monthly statement the chairman reported that out of a total of £19,906 rates struck £10,178 was still outstanding. It was anticipated that the greater portion would be paid before March 31, as after that date the special rebate of 12£ per cent would not be allowed. In the case of defaulters, the county solicitor had been instructed to take legal action. The engineer (Mr A. A. Fooks) reported that since the heavy rains the water supply had been replenished and there was now ample for all requirements. The inspector (Mr E. N. Johnston) reported that only fc-ur infectious cases were notified during the month, three of tuberculosis and one of pneumonic influenza. Thirteen motor drivers’ licenses had been issued, making a total to date of 2933. A number of lorries had been operating without heavy traffic licenses and summonses had been issued against four offenders, Relief Work Expenditure. Since the commencement of the unemployment scheme the council has expended £15,290 6s Id on relief work, the wages being refunded by the Unemployment Board. A detailed statement presented showed that £3561 3s 3d was spent on drainage, £3154 3s 3d being at Isleworth. The balance was expended as follows:—Main highways £606 8s 6d, county roads £ll7 5s 6d, bridges £4lO Ss 6d, fords £l4 19s Bd, willow clearing (Ashburton riverbed) £562 17s 6d, reserves and gravel pits £7347 11s 2d, water supply £215 3s sd, river protection £66 Ss, store yard £BIO 4s 6d, cemeteries £B2 3s 6d, domains £36 0s 6d, schools £l9O 12s, farmers’ scheme £691 4s, miscellaneous £577 16s. Ziocal Body Bebts. A suggestion has been made that the local body debt of New Zealand should be consolidated, stated the chairman. This was being urged, he explained, to give better security to bond holders, and with a view to making possible a reduction in the rate of interest, and if any local body was forced to default the credit of the whole Dominion would suffer. The local body loan debt, Mr Withell stated, was £71,207,539, and the gross debt in the Ashburton district was £430,046, made up as follows:—County Council £17,324, Borough Council £69,072, Power Board £343,650. The County Council’s loans amounted to £23,487 3s sd. Full particulars of the proposal, he concluded, had not been published, but a careful watch should be kept in case the liabilities of other local bodies who were in difficulty were imposed on the Ashburton district.