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71
The Council having decided that commencing with the April,
1931, Rate, the General Rate for the Borough should be levied
yearly, they ordered at their meeting in March, 1931, that a General
Rate be made of l1s. in the £ to defray the various precepts and
expenses of the Council for the year ending March 31st, 1932.
London County Council Estates. Collection of Rates with Rent.
The Finance Committee reported to the Council at their
meeting in December that for some time past correspondence had
taken place with the London County Council with reference to their
working class dwellings in this Borough on the subject of making
them an allowance of 2½ per cent, in respect of the collection of the
rates with the rent, thus giving to the tenants the benefit of an
inclusive weekly rent.
It had been pointed out both by the London County Council
and by tenants, that the method of Quarterly collection of rate
in force was inconvenient to the majority of the tenants, and
involved them in financial difficulties.
A deputation representing the tenants of the London County
Council dwellings in the Borough attended a meeting of the
Committee, and urged the desirability of an arrangement being
entered into with the London County Council, both in the interests
of the Borough and the tenants.
The Committee received from the Borough Treasurer and
Controller reports concerning cost of collection of the rate by
quarterly payments and the losses incurred in connection with
similar classes of property to those which were the subject of this
application.
Since, by resolution of the Council, compounding allowances
to owners in respect of the collection of rates, were abolished, no
allowances whatever had been made in this respect to owners,
many of whom continued to collect an inclusive rent and to
pay the Council the rates quarterly, less any allowance to which
they were legally entitled in respect of empty property. The
loss on empty property throughout the Borough, including all
classes of property, was only 1.27 per cent., thus showing that the
decision of the Council to abolish compounding allowances was
justified.
The proposal of the London County Council, however, was
not that a compounding allowance should be made which would
include payment in respect of empty property, but that the Borough
Council should make an allowance of per cent, to reimburse
them for the collection of the rates with the weekly rent, and
deductions would be made both for "empties" and in cases where
they had failed to collect their rent. The cost of collection of the
rates in this Borough was 1.2 per cent., and the Committee were of