WANGANUI MUNICIPAL YEAR

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 117, 22 May 1946, Page 7

WANGANUI MUNICIPAL YEAR

OFFICERS’ ANNUAL REPORTS PROBLEMS OF GAS INDUSTRY Every phase of the vast municipal undertaking- in Wanganui was dealt with when reports of executive officers, covering the year ended March 31, last, were tabled at the City Council’s ordinary meeting last night. . The reports indicated further increases in revenue, all niuniaccounts, with the exception of the Gas Department, closing year with credit balances. Due to higher costs, principally coal, the Gas Department account had a debit of £1592. The Mayor. Hon. W, J. Kogers. M.L.C., pointed out in his annual report, however, that the Stabilisation Commission had approved of a subsidy of £5153 as an offset against higher costs, principally coal. In the meantime, £2589 had been paid on account, but if the total amount had been received in time the gas account would have closed with a credit of £972. ‘"The commission was informed that the council dislikes this annual approach, ‘cap in hand’ as it were, for a subsidy, and-Would prefer to chargp an increased price for gas to cover present-day working expenses,” the Mayor added. “This cannot be done, however, while the Economic Stabilisation Regulations remain in force. It does not appear likely that they will be modified or repeated at ' the present time.”

The reports reviewed the council’s operations in detail and were made by the town clerk (Mr. C. R. White), the city treasurer (Mr| F. J. Best), the city engineer (Mr. L. F. Row), the engineer and manager of the Gas Department (Mr. J. Stone), and the chief city librarian (Miss A. M. Blackett). Attached to the city engineer’s report were reports from the superintendent of parks and reserves (Mr. S. I. Cox), the chief mechanic (Mr. F. J. Lundon), the chief building and sanitary inspector (Mr. W. J. Steele), and the chief traffic inspector (Mr. H. E. Tipper). The honorary director of the city observatory, Mr. W. H. Ward, also reported to the council. CREDIT BALANCES With the exception of the Gas Department, all municipal accounts closed with credit balances, reported the city treasurer (Mr. Best). The general account had a credit of £2159, compared with £4544 last year, the library account a credit of £5lB (£891), the street lighting account, £24 (£57), the hospital rating account, £296 (£147), and the interest rate account, £620 (£1037). The total credit of these items was £3619, compared with £6777 last year. The Gas Department, however, showed a debit balance of £1592, last year’s debit begin £1643. • The city treasurer added that the tramway account had also improved, K red it balance being £1279, comwith £269 the previous year. hen the estimates for 1945-46 considered early in the year, it tgreed that the city could not continue to absorb the increased demands of the other local bodies without a serious lowering of the standard of city works, and it was decided, after four years on approximately the same total rate levy, to collect an additional sum of £20,807, of which the city benefited to the extent of £18.290, the balance going to the other bodies,” Mr. Best stated. TOTAL RATE LEVY. Last year, 1945-46, the total rate levy was £155,769, including £19,668 levied on behalf of the Wanganui Harbour Board. During 1944-45 the total levy was £134,962, and for 1943-44 the levy was £133,721. “The proportion of the total levy , taken by other local bodies,” Mr. Best adde’d. “is seen more clearly if the ! figures are given as follows <1945-46, 1944-45, 1943-44. in that order):— “Harbour Board, £19,668. £19.578, £19.476; Hospital Board. £l6 208. £13.894, £13495; Fire Board, £5766, £5653. £5749; totals. £41.642, £39,125, £38.720: city (general purposes), £114,127, £95.837, £95.001; totals, I £155,769. £134,962, £133,721. ‘‘Percentage of total levy taken by Me other local bodies, 26.73, 28.99. I W95.” By way of comparison, Mr. Best stated, the Harbour Board levy in 1935-36 was £11.465. as against £19,668 last year, an increase of 71.5 per cent. During the same period the Hosoital Board levy had r.creased by 222.8 per cent; the sum required from the citv in 1935-36 being £5021. as against £16,208 last year. At the same time, the Wanganui Fire Board’s levy had increased from £3215 to £5766. or 79.4 ner cent. During the same period, however, the city rate struck for general purposes had increased by only *2.5 per cent. CITY REVALUATIONS "For the purpose of striking the rates in the £ an estimated unimproved valuation of £1,575,000 was used last year, ’ Mr. Best stated. “As pointed out in earlier reports, it is impossible to ascertain by how much the year’s total valuation will be reduced oy applications for revaluations. The reduction during 194f-46 was not as great as expected, and the amended valuation for the year, £1,579,426, produced a small excess of rate levy. This accounts for the difference between the estimated imount of £154,685 in the summary of the general and sepaj’rate accounts, and the actual total of £155,769. The reduction in the unimproved value from 1944-45 was •17.878, compared with the previous year’s reduction of £36,817. “According to the Municipal Corporations Act, 1933. the general rate may not exceed 2d in the £ on the capital value of all rateable property within the borough. On the rateable “a pi tai value of £6 333,147 for 1945-46, general rate was limited to £52,776. The rate of Bd. In the £ struck on the rateable unimproved value produced r 52,649, or £127 less than the maximum,” Mr. Best added. "Any further reduction of the total unimproved value must of necessity reduce the total carital value, and. in consequence, the maximum general rate which may be collected. In turn, ♦ his will limit the amount of work usually carried our from this source of revenue. Foi'J-nate’y, the decline in ♦he capital value has, until now. been offset by increased values created by ‘he subdivision of land for housing, particularly in recent years. State 'Rising

"In apite of the increase of £20,807 n the total rate levy, the total amount f 1945-46 rates collected fell short of ie previous year’s collection by only 7 percent. The percentage collected 95,98, and as .07 per cent, of the *.te levy represents only £95. the eolation ran for practical purposes be "•sldered equal to that of the preis year.

“The collection of arrears of rates amounted to £4493 as against £4574 in 1944-45. It will be noted that the total of current rates and arrears nearly equalled the rate levy for the year. In other words, the uncollected current rates were almost offset by the arrears of rates received.

“Outstanding rates at March 31, 1946, in respect of the years 1937-38 to 1945-46, totalled £16,400 in round figures and should eventually be worth about £9OOO to £10.000.” MORE REVENUE

Receipts from all sources last year, other than rates, exceeded the estimates by £5440. Very few items produced less than their estimates," Mr. Best stated. General expenditure exceeded the estimates by £1964, but as the total included £1952 of recoverable expenditure. the estimates and the amount spent were nearly equal. “It has already been stated that for the year just ended it was necessary to obtain £20,807 additional rate revenue to finance the increases in otheilocal body levies and the increased cost of city works, in the previous year the Tramway Department contributed £6680, a considerable sum, towards the latter, Mr. Best added. “As the tramway account balance at March 31,1945, was insufficient to permit of a transfer being made for 194546, and as the credit balance in the general account was £B3B less than at the beginning of the previous year, £7,518 was required out of the rates. A comparison of the two years, 194445 and 1945-46 discloses the following additional expenditure:— “Hospital levy, £2314; Fire Board levy, £113; works and services, £8495; properties. £814; library, £913; administration, £1664; transfer to Gas Works Account. £1.644 (there was no transfer in the previous year): and a transfer to the crematorium account, £892; in all. an additional £16,849. “The general account receipts, however. were £3236 greater, which gives a net increased expenditure of £l3.bi3. Disregarding smaller items and adding to this amount the £7,518 referred to above, we arrive at the additional rate levy which was required for the financial year just ended,” Mr. Best stated.