, 1875-01-10

thus keeping the control of the progress O
the building in the hands of the Board o
Public Works. and under the surveillance O.
public criticism, until completed.
AN UGLY CHAPTER IN THE CITY FL
NANCE3.
It has long been the custom of the Munic
ipal Government of Chicago to spend its
money before it collects it's taxes, and ther
to collect only a part Of them. The tax-levy il
made June 80. On July the full amount
Of the tax is supposed, BY pleasing Official
fiction, to be on hand in the Treasury, and
the different departments Of municipal ad
ministraion set at work forthwith to spend it,
| which they do with avigor and decision in mark,
ed contrast with the way in which they collect
it, nine months or year afterwards. When
SIX months have been occupied in paying out
money, and January has come, feeble be-
ginning in collecting borrowed money that
has been already spent is made. In the pres
ent month The City Treasury will receive, in
driblets Of few hundred or thousand dollars
per day, small fraction Of the taxes levied
last August. This process Of collection will
drag on until the end Of the fiscal year, in
| April Then preparations will be made to
sell out delinquent property. Some time
during the summer the Council will pass an
| order to ask the Probate Court for iudg-
ment against the delinquents. After thnt
some more people-those most easily fright
ened-pay up. After which, say in July, e
year after the appropriation, the Court grants
Judgment against all except the tax-fghte1s,
who escape through loopholes, technicaItics,
informalities, or some legal quibble, and,
failing in that, take appeals to the Circuit
Court, and from the Circuit Court to the
Supreme Court, and eventually manage
to pay no taxes-nothing but lawyers fees.
As to the others against whom judgments
have been obtained, half or two~thirds pay in
their taxes. The remainder let their prop
The per cent penalty not being high enough
to tempt tax-title purchasers, the city is
obliged to buy in the property md hold it till
such times as the delinquents see fit to re-
deem it,-one, two, three, or more years
thereafter The ta1-sales are held in
August or September, and thus, fifteen months
efter the City Council mede the appropria
tions and dcommonced spending the money, are
the taxes, or part q them, paid into
the Treasury.
During all this interval what is the city do
ing for money? Why, borrowing from spe-
cial funds, from the banks, shining, and
issuing certificates Of indebtedness payable
on the 1st Of January following.
About four-ffths Of the tax-leyy is finally
paid into the Treasury bet weon February and
October, and is used to redeem tho certif-
Gates and help the City Government cripple
and kite along the best it can Formerly,
Comptroller, who could be employed for
81, 900 per annum, could manage to borrow
enough money to shin along. Now, it takes
@ higher grade of borrowing genius and re-
quires an $4,000 man to do the necessary
shining and borrowing.
Before long the case will become so COM
plicated and difficult Us to require @ fnancier
who will cost $12, 900 or $4,000 year.
From 10 to Is per cent of the taxes levied !
each year are never collected, but are lost to
the city, through the successful resistance
of the real-estate tax-fghters and personal-tax
absconders. But the money representing the !
delinquency has already been spent to the |
last cent. The paper representing it. there
fore, swells the floating debt.
It was once the custom to fund this float
ing debt, from time to time, in bonds. The
Constitution Of 1870 fixed limit, however,
to the bonded Indebtedness Of the city, end
that limit has been reached We can no
longer fund our certificates. So this resource
fails
There has hitherto been another resource, |
which is also about to fail. After the Con
stitution Of 1870 was adopted, and before it
took effect, the city issued S., 739, 900 Of
bonds for the following purposes:
River improvement 81 ,O2Q COO
beverage and tunnel. Observation-Disclosures 475Co0
School and other buildings. .....,..... 73ooo
The sale Of these bonds furnished fund
which served Is pool from which the city
borrowed money to meet its needs between
July end the time the annual levy was real
zed upon. It thus got temporary loans with
'ut paying interest, end replaced then, with
he proceeds Of the yearly ta1 collected in
august and September Of the year fol-
owing. This pool has steadily grown
mailer, as the improvements for which
he bonds were issued were pushed for |
'ard- The eniver-improvement,s sewerage and I
unne1, and school funds have been wiped I
ut. Only small fraction Of the water fund | I
} on hand. The public buildings fund, re- {
eived from the sole Of the canal lien to the 7
tofa %,,h:o1, n1o- ro,-vn17 M = ~nc1 -,-ns s,~nk-