CONFIDENTIAL
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(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
that Government would be prepared to consider the making
of annual or capital grants to meet additional expenditure arising out of new or exceptionally increased statutory duties imposed on the Council or out of requests by the Government that the Council voluntarily undertake new or increased non-statutory activities.
that the Urban Council should in future be charged for services rendered to it by the various departments of Government, e.g. for the maintenance of all U.S.D. transport by P.W.D. The annual cost of these various services has been provisionally estimated at $13.7 million and an equivalent provision will be included in the calculation of the initial rate. If additional charges
under this head arise after the initial rate has been determined, the proposal is that the Urban Council rate should be increased to cover them at the expense of the Government rate. The purpose of these charges is to encourage economy in the use of such resources by levying the full charge of the service on the user, i.e. the Urban Council.
that the Council would be free at any time after the initial rate has been fixed to present an application for an increased rate to the Legislative Council for approval. Such applications should normally be made in the context of the presentation to Legislative Council of the Urban Council's annual budget.
the income calculations in Table 1 are based on the present level of fee income, but the Urban Council will be free to raise its charges to the public, e.g. licence fees, in order to reduce its dependence on rate income. The present arrangement is that fees under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance, Cap. 132 (i.e. the great majority of Urban Council fees) are determined
CONFIDENTIAL
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