COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18257, 16 August 1921, Page 9

COUNTY COUNCIL FINANCE.

LIMIT OF OVERDRAFT IN SIGHT. APPEAL TO RATEPAYERS. With an overdraft of nearly £12,000 the Waitotara County Council is not a little perturbed as to its financial future. The tact that it has been cited to come under a Labourers’ Award (with its probably higher wages, Irksome conditions and disputes) does not tend to equanimity. When accounts totalling nearly £llOO were passed for payment yesterday the engineer was at once told that this amount would have to be reduced to £BOO a month or the overdraft would soon be at its limit (£15,000) and then everything would have to stop completely. The councillors then proceeded to discuss how retrenchment could be affected, or, in the alternative, where they cocld get some more revenue. It was suggested that ratepayers should be made to pay their rates before the due date but this proposal did not meet with much approv. al. Cr. C. G Russell: Are there any who can pay if they want to? The chairman said some of the smaller men might. It would do no harm to ask them just as the Borough Council had done. Cr. C. Smith: That is the idea. Cr. D. Ross said if 10 per cent, discount were offered there would be some inducement for farmers to pay. That, however, could not be donee so he did not think they would receive more than a few hundred which would not be worth bothering about. Cr. Smith said they might get enough to save them sacking the men for a month. The Council therefore decided to advertise asking ratepayers to pay their rates in advance or to pay an instalment so as to help to keep the Council going to keep its men employed.