D. -1

130

The estimated revenue for the current year from the same sources is £510,000, made up as follows :— £ Transfer from Consolidated Fund .. .. .. .. .. 35,000 Proceeds of tax on tires and tubes, collected through the Customs Department .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 175,000 Registration and license fees payable by motor-vehicle owners .. .. 300,000 £510,000 In addition, subsidiary sources of income are estimated to yield £20,000, making a total of £530,000. At the time of writing this report the total applications for funds submitted in connection with the current year's maintenance appropriations amount to £700,000, to which must be added overhead expenses, interest charges on capital borrowed, as well as expenditure on plant, &c. The indications are that the total cash required from the Revenue Fund will approximate £750,000. For the year ending 31st March, 1927, the appropriations and expenditure under the Revenue Fund were as follows : —

It will be seen that the total expenditure for the past year from the Board's Revenue Fund has been £547,090. The corresponding figure for the year ending 31st March, 1926, was £321,016. There are three main reasons for this substantial increase in expenditure —(1) The increase in the Board's maintenance subsidy from £1 for £1 to £1 10s. for £1 from the 9th September, 1926 ; (2) the willingness of local authorities to find a greater amount towards the cost of maintenance of the main-highways system, partly brought about by the Board's improved subsidy; and (3) the alteration by the Board on the 2nd December, 1926, of its definition of " maintenance " to include tar and bituminous sealing or surface treatment. An analysis of the Board's expenditure and the expenditure by local authorities on actual maintenance, as distinct from interest on loans and other overhead charges, shows the following position : —

It will be seen that the local authorities have contributed towards the maintenance of main highways during the past year a total sum of £276,349. The corresponding figure for the year ending 31st March, 1926, was £185,015, so that there has been an increase in twelve months of almost exactly 50 per cent. When announcing improved maintenance subsidies in the past, the Board has always pointed out that any additional funds thereby becoming available to the local authorities were for the purpose of meeting the additional cost of maintenance brought about by the increased motor traffic, and not for the purpose of reducing the amounts which the local authorities had already been finding towards the cost of maintenance of main highways. The above figures show conclusively that not only have the local authorities met the Board in this direction, but they have increased their annual burden by a very substantial amount. Moreover, the Board is quite satisfied in the cases of certain local authorities that the limit in this direction has been reached. The above figures also disclose that the Board is finding a greater percentage of the cost of maintenance of the main highways of the South Island than it is finding in the case of the North Island, the respective proportions being T96 to 1 and 1-44 to 1.

a -i v.! f ! 1 Percentage of j A T? 1 a - °,. or Appropriated. ! Expenditure. Expenditure to Authorization. * Appropriations. I I J £ £ £ North Island .. .. .. 364,087 364,087 284,594 78-17 South Island .. .. .. 167,220 167,220 154,168 92*19 Administration charges .. .. 30,000 30,000 27,118 90-39 Commission paid to Postal Depart- 21,500 21,500 8,885 41-33 ment for collection of motor registration and license fees Miscellaneous payments, including 65,500 65,500 72,325 110'42 recoupment of interest on loans to Consolidated Fund Totals .. .. 648,307 648,307 547,090 ! 84-38

T i , Percentage Local r> j' Local -Percentage , ,, n 6 .,. , p 4°^ r +• Authorities' Total. Board's Contribu- r^i° r l- les + Contribution. n , , , Contribution to Contribution. tion to lotal. Total £ £ i £ North Island .. .. 284,594 197,691 482,285 59*01 40*99 South Island .. .. 154,168 78,658 232,826 66*22 33*78 Totals .. .. 438,762 276,349 715,111 61*36 38*64