URBAN FARM LANDS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIX, Issue 255, 26 September 1929, Page 7

URBAN FARM LANDS.

RATING BILL DISCUSSED. (Special to “Standard.”) FEILDJLNG, Sept. 26. A brief outline of tho Urban Farm Lands Rating Bill was given by the Mayor (Cr. C. E. Taylor) at a special meeting of the Feilding Borough Council this morning, and from the expressions of opinion made it seems likely that municipalities throughout the Dominion will object to the measure which has been framed with the idea of giving rating relief to farm lands situated within borough boundaries or liable to special or general rates levied by borough councils. The Mayor explained that he had called the council together to discuss the measure which was the outcome of the recent commission which sat in Feilding, under tlie presidency of MrR. M. Watson, S.M., and which was shortly to have its third reading before the House. In an explanatory outline of the measure, the Mayor said it affected the rating of farm lands in boroughs and also other lands which were subject to any special or general rates levied by a borough council.

MEASURE EXPLAINED

The Mayor went on to quote extracts from the'bill which, he explained, dealt with all lands that were principally used for agricultural, horticultural or pastoral purposes or for the keeping of bees or of poultry or other live stock and which for the time being were subject to any general, special or separate rates made and levied by a borough council, except in the case of the Otaki Borough Adjustment and Farm Lands Rating Act, 1929, which applied solely to that borough. Clause 4 of the Act, the Mayor explained, dealt with the classification of urban farm lands for rating purposes, and relief was given by the insertion of a clause allowing a petition signed by one or more persons who occupied land rated by a borough council to be presented to the Governor-General praying for a reclassification of land on the grounds that an undue portion of the- rates levied by the council would be on the urban farm lands in the borough. CLASSIFICATION OF LAND.

Clause 5 gave power to the GovernorGeneral to appoint a commission to inquire into the subject matter of the petition and to classify the rateable property into three classes, which the Mayor enumerated as under: (1) Urban farm lands that have no prospective potential or value for building purposes; (2) urban farm lands that have a prospective or potential value for building purposes; (3) all other rateable property. Continuing, the Mayor said that, tor tile purposes of the above classification, farm lands could be deemed to have no prospective or potential building,value if, in the opinion of the commission, they were not likely to be required for building purposes within the period of ten years from the date of classifications© 6, the speaker proceeded, dealt with the provisional scale of differential rates allowed, the rate leviable in respect to the rateable property in class 3 being represented by 100 per cent, as the maximum scale. In class l the rates leviable would be represented by a reduced percentage and the rates leviable in class 2 might- as the commission determined, be represented by the maximum percentage, the minimum or an intermediate percentage. The Mayor went on to explain the provisions of the Act dealing with the objections of any borough council, to the recommendations of the commission, which would consider all objections and amend the provisional classification and scale of rates, or confirm them without alteration, whichever was deemed ht. THREE CLASSES OF RATES. The Mayor stated that there would be three classes of rates being collected from time to time and it would give councils a good deal pf work. Councils would have no idea of their incomes .and the Mayor doubted whether the bill was going to bring relief He feared that perhaps relief was being given one section of the community at the expense of another and he advocated the holding over of the measure so that it could he thoroughly gone into by the Municipal Association and the Town Clerks’ Association, both bodies being experts in this class ol business. As far as Feilding was concerned, it was up against two, propositions. In the first place it was carrying on against a thoroughly unsatisfactory system of valuation, and, secondly, it was time for the ratepayers to determine whether they had the best system of rating in vogue. Objections to the bill had been mado by the Stratford, Palmerston North and Rangiora Borough Councils and his suggestion was that the Government be asked to hold over the measure until it had been thoroughly investigated. TIME FOR CONSIDERATION WANTED.

Cr E. Fair said that probably the finance committee of the council now had a better knowledge of the bill as the result of the Mayor’s explanation and he thought the council should do as the Mayor suggested. It certainly was not right that one section of the community should secure relief at the expense of another. He pointed out that if urban farm lands were suddenly relieved of a portion of their rating it would tend to immediately increase the valuation .of those lands. He moved that the piember for the district be asked to convey to the Government the request that the measure be held over for one year in order to give local and other bodies time to consider it. Cr D. Pryde seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously. i It • was also decided to forward a copy of the resolution to all municipalities in New Zealand asking them to take similar actionh.