The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-21
II There . Dencit IN the City Trsss-


II There . Dehcit IN the City Trsss'
| urys
There II every reason to believe that q
proper investigation Of the city finances would
show deficit Of some three million dollars In
the city treasury. Not that there is at pres
emit any suspicion OF dishonest practices in
the Finance Department, but deficit may
exist without corrupt misappropriation of the
public moneys, as the result of ignorance
Of the provisions and restrictions Of the
law in our financial management. Bur-
plus balances of appropriations are shown on
paper, and arc from time to time transferred
to this or that purpose by the Board of APP
portionment; but it is doubtful whether
the money represented by these figures
is really in the Treasurer's hands
Tho City Chamberlain's last report sets
forth that the balance remaining with
him at the close of the past week was
one million six hundred and thirteen thou
sand dollars, the receipts for the week in
excess of the payments having been about six
hundred thousand dollars. This would leave
only little over one million dollars, besides
the week ssurplus receipts, to represent all the
cash in the treasury, including the incoming
taxes, the receipts from assessments and col
lections of arrears, and the surplus balances
alleged to exist. In view of these facts the res
olutions adopted recently by the Board Of
Apportionment, on the motion of Mr.. Lewis,
President of the Board of Aldermen, calling
for detailed statement from the Comptroller
of all appropriations for the last three years,
of the expenditures from the same, and of the
surplus balances remaining on the S1st day Of
December last, are timely and desirable. Tho
report thus demanded will be awaited with
interest and subjected to careful scrutiny.
The small balance remaining in the treas
ury suggests the inquiry, On what amount
OF deposits has interest been paid by
the deposit banks since the present
Chamberlain entered upon the duties
of his Office, and is money received by
the city from any source whatever suffered to
remain in possession of any public officer
without drawing interest? The present
Comptroller furnishes no detailed informa-
ton of our financial condition, except such
meagre and unintelligible summaries as are
published by him from time to time to cover
formal compliance with the law. Tho city
authorities, who ought to be as familiar with
all these details as the Comptroller himself
the Mayor, the members of the Board of Ap-
portionment and the Aldermen-are kept in
as profound ignorance Of the true state of
our finances and of the manner in which they
are managed as are the people who owe tho
debt and pay the taxes. Hence we grope in
the dark while discussing matters relating to
the Finance Department, and can only hope to
force information by investigation. But it
would seem that the city ought to be
drawing interest on more than one million six
hundred thousand dollars at this time, con-
sidering our sources Of revenue, the surplus
balances that are alleged to exist the collec-
tons that must be made on assessment rolls,
and on arrears of taxes and assessments due in
former years. We therefore insist that, in place
of these resolutions calling for information from
an obstinate, conceited and crafty Comptroller,
We should have searching investigation of
every nook and corner Of his department.,
conducted by Independent and competent
persons.
We also call the attention of the Board of
Apportionment to the evident violation of law
committed whenever q transfer of an unex-
pended balance of any former year is made to
pay expenses in excess of the appropriation of
the current year in any department of the city
government The charter is distinct in pro-
hibiting any expenditure whatever by depart
ment in excess of its appropriation for the
year. An unexpended balance in any
department existing at the close of one year
may be transferred to that or any other depart
ment at the time the estimates and appropra-
tons are made in any succeeding year, thus
reducing the taxation to that amount. But
the balance thus transferred must form part
of the total appropriation fixed upon for the
particular department to which it is given
After the total appropriation for the department
is fixed and determined upon for the year in the
final estimate it cannot be increased by the
transfer to it OF any unexpended balance left
over from former years without increasing the
total appropriation and thus directly violating
the law. These facts deserve the serious
attention of Mayor Wickham, whose duty it
is to take care that the law is properly
observed, and whose first care should be to
discover whether large deficit actua lily exists
in the city treasury.
Rapid Transit in tho Legislature.
The resolution offered in the Assembly by
Mr.. Jacob Hess. member from this city, in
structing one of the committees to frame q
bill comforting on the Common Council
authority ito perfect and put in force a sys-
tenn by which rapid transit can be secured"
seems SO clearly repugnant to the State con-