The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-19
Tine Heavy City Taxation-How Car
the Burden BE Ltghteneds

The rate of taxation in the city of New
York for 1874 reaches the unusual amount
of So 40 on every 500 valuation of taxable
property. person who owns small home
stead worth $4,000 will be called upon to pay
$40 for taxes alone this year, and the owner
of a house worth $25, 900 will be taxed $3.50
Out of the large total required to be raised,
the sum of 500, 100000. in round numbers, is
for the expense of carrying on the reformed
city government The exact final estimate is
S25, TAO TAG, from which is deducted 81, OOO, 900
of estimated revenues. 1t would seem that
there should be some room for reduction
in these figures, especially as the expenses of
conducting the public business are higher
now than under the worst year of Tammany
rule, and it certainly is the duty
of the Legislature and of the city
authorities to tighten the burden of taxation if
it be possible to do So The only question is,
How can this desirable result be accomplished
without interfering with necessary works of
public improvement and without injuring the
taxpayers more by false economy than they
will be injured by submitting to the present
exorbitant rate of taxation?
Mayor Havemeyer has sent up two bills to
the Legislature which he tells us will enable
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to
cut down the expenses. They authorize the
Board for that purpose to reopen and rear
range the estimates for the year. This APP
pears plausible enough upon its face, but
there is something suspicious in the fact that
there should be any necessity to ask for
law to reopen and rearrange esti-
mates which were only finally passed
a few weeks ago, after they had been for
months under examination and had been
acted upon twice by the Board of Estimate
and once by the Board of Aldermen. 1t
would be natural enough for the Legislature
to require information as to what new light
has suddenly shone in upon the Commission
ers of Estimate and Apportionment to con-
vince them that they ignorantly or carelessly
threw away the peoples money on extrava-
CANT appropriations less than two months ago,
even If the city government was running
smoothly and tremendously. But when it is
notorious that scandalous jealousies exist be-
tween the different municipal departments it
| is we'll to provide against the danger
of too liberal appropriations to friends
and too great parsimony with enemies without
regard to the interests Of the city. With the
| object of insuring that reductions may be made
where they can and ought to be made we
advised the Legislature to call for information
as to what appointments are too high, and
then to so frame the bill as to authorize the
reopening Of the estimate, for the purpose of
making those special reductions, and for that
purpose alone. Acting upon this suggestion.
the Senate Committee on Cities has called for
statement from the Mayor and Comptroller,
''showing in detail the particulars wherein
the estimate and apportionment can be
reduced, with an explanation as to each item
of such proposed reduction, Of their reasons
| for the same and, if such reasons existed
when the original estimate and apportionment
were made why effect was not then given to the
same, such statement to be transmitted within
| ten days"
We believe that reductions ought to be made
in the estimates for the present year If the
Mayor and Comptroller are honestly in favor
of making them, and Of making them in the
proper places, there can be no good reason
| why they should object to specify them,
| and to insert them in the bills author
izing the reopening. The objection to do
so would seem to imply a dishonest pur-
pose. We can name several items which are
needless or extravagant, and which ought to
be stricken ont or reduced. The 81, 59S, 767
appropriated for the Fourth avenue improve
ment," under the provisions of chapter TOP of
the Laws of 1872, and chapter IS, Laws Of 1873,
section 4, need not be raised by taxation this
year. This amount the Comptroller admits he
is anxious to strike out Half million dol
lars appropriated for especial contingencies"
which, in fact, is little better than a corrup-
! ton fund to be squandered on lobbying law
yers at Albany and similar expenditures
! should never have been admitted into the
estimates, and should not be taken out of the
pockets of the taxpayers. This outrageous
! item was rejected by the Board of Aldermen,
but reinserted by the Board of Apportion-
ment. The court expenses for clerks, messen-
gers, stenographers attendants, and so on
through the whole army of legal subordinates,
are q shameful fraud upon the citizens, and
should be reduced at least 500, 0O0 The Fire
Department has over $780, 900 outside its regu-
lar expenses, of which 1852, $50 is for Sex
penses of the department for the Twenty
third and Twenty-fourth wards" The new
wards would prefer to have this sum appro-
priated to laying Croton water pipes. An
nexation does not give them on the moment
any greater number of buildings or any in
creased danger of fire, and they can do with
out the Fire Departments expenditure for
another year at least This amount, with
sufficient reduction from the large appropria-
ton for supplies repairs and new buildings