REDUCTION IN RATES

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21157, 5 July 1940, Page 6

REDUCTION IN RATES

At a time when the burden of paying the cost of the war is falling heavily upon the public the decision of the Hamilton Borough Council to reduce the rates by a halfpenny in the pound will be welcomed by the ratepayers. Reductions in the demands for the hospital and fire-fighting services have largely been instrumental „in making the reduction possible, and in addition the council has decided to exercise economy in street and other works. The position as the council sees it is that the ratepayers cannot attempt too much at one time. War and other national expenditure greater than ever before must be met and consequently civic amenities which would have been acceptable at ordinary times must be withheld in the meantime. Tt might be considered false economy to postpone maintenance cr construction work that obviously should be done to preserve existing roads and streets. Neglect now might prove to be costly later, but the council has made prudent provision for that aspect of borough finance and the ratepayers will applaud its decision to ease the burden while other expenditures have a prior claim. It has been clear that a forward policy in streets improvement in Hamilton has been called for for some time, and for that reason the council recently submitted loan proposals to the ratepayers. But the war and its attendant costs have altered the whole position, and now it is necessary to postpone all other expenditures that can reasonably await a more favourable opportunity.

There may be some discomfort as a result of the postponement of desirable works, but generally it may be said that the efficiency of borough administration and of the civic amenities will not be unduly affected. The public can “carry on” while the emergency lasts with such facilities as it has. What applies to the borough of Hamilton applies also to New Zealand, and it is regrettable that the Government has not been able to face the situation with the same serious effort to prune non-essential expenditure and so make possible a reduction in the national “rates” for civil purposes. Protection of what has already been constructed is amply justified, but the creation of new public works which cannot be classed as absolute essentials is not desirable while the country needs every available penny to fight for its existence.