The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1875-01-20
THE COMPTROLLER AND THg CITY GOVERNMENT.
TO THB EDITOR or THE HERALD

TO THE EDITOR or THE HERALD
Your article on the 'City Finances" ana
the questions propounded therein In Saturdays
paper seem to me timely and proper, so much at
tentiOn now being directed to city affairs. the
$3,072, S32 OF which you make mention as appear
ing in the Comptrollers budget for 1875. to be
raised on interest account for temporary debt,
must include the interest on revenue bonds OF
1875, OF which at least $50 900 Will be required
10 be raised before the taxes OF 1875 can be COL
lected The expenses OF 1878 commence January
Il taxes to meet said expenses commence to be
collected during the month OF September; mean
time the expenditures OF the city are only met by
borrowing on revenue bonds, and on said loans,
OF course, we have TO pay interest.
To your second inquiry, "What becomes OF the
interest received from the payers OF assess
ments9" woulu state Tor information that all in
terest received by the City on all dues, taxes, as
sessments, &C., is paid directly into the general
fund aud makes up alarge portion OF the S. 900
that fund Is estimated to produce duriug the year
1875, and Is applied to the reduction OF taxation
rs much - II at first directly applied to the re-
ducti0n OF the interest Appropriation.
1.-The Comptroller ia authorized, under chapter
756, OF the Laws OF 1873, to issue consolidated
stock OF the city, to pay assessments upon the
real estate belonging to the city, and to meet the
amounts fastened on the city BY reason OF de.
fciency or vacation OF assessments. How much
stock has been Issued for that purpose and Is
properly belonging TO the funded deot"
To this portion OF your article would state that
something like So 100000 has so been issued III
ON correctly intormed), reducing the temporary
OF the temporary debt that should In that way be
'.The Comptroller reports the amount of debt
payable from the sinking fund o. which interest Is
due in 1875 TO be S23, S26. He asked in the
Board OF Apportionment that the interest on
nj a mr. ha of-nA nv fox
tion and the required sum, $780, 052 is included in
the So 800 900 appropriated for interest IN the tax
only, or on less than half the sinking und debt, to
be paid from The receipts Of the sinking fund to
the interest on the whole OF the sinking fund debt
be paid from this interest fundS WHAT are the
t6erep Whv is it that it only Yields enough to pay
interest on less than one nalr OF the sinking fund
debtf How much interest does the Comptroller
really pay out OF the fund In question: and, II
there Is a surplus, what becomes OF 1T"
TO this / would answer that the interest on
ment OF interest are 'Croton water bonds and
are so specially provided for by '1aw," for the
OF Croton water TO DE paid into this special fund.-
the surplus Of that fund, yearly alter meeting the
revenues Of the general luna. p''''"''0 " INC
"Of the debt on which interest is paid by taxa
ton, five hundred thousand dollars is at i've per
cent. fiity-three millions at six per cent and
eIghty-eig ht millions-oesides revenue bonds and
newly issued stock and bonds for the current
year-at seven per cent. competen 1nancier
would not nave continued for three years to pay
seven per cent interest on nearly two-thlrds OF
the debt, and on all new bonds and Ock when
money could easily have been had at five per cent.
But the trouble IS that Mr.. Green is not imam
the city government Tor his personal purposes,
and who is altogether too small for the position ne
What should have been done Is the passage of
law authorizing the issue say OF 100000, 900 gold
their certificate OF debt running say thirty Years
at least. and drawing not more than five per cent
interest In gold tree from city tax. and soon the
credit oil the city would stand high as any city
~ the world and Its stock quoted on all the stock
And besides this, We require an able board Of
practical fnanclers, well versed with the subject
OF finance IN all Its details, such board as could
easily be selected TINS city consisting of sucn
men as President Tappen, OF the Gallatin Hunter.
OF The Peoples; w. Il. Duncan, j. Van Setback, w.
~, ~. Vermiiye and John }. Cisco, gentleman with
IKE qualncatlons to prepare general law that
would cover the fifty or more present .statutesv
governing the operation OF our Finance Depart
pedient to be retained should be embraced
IN In one general act, said act should require
held By the sinking A fund, thereby e '0n re-.
ducing the amount TO be raised on in.
terest account g. 600 at least per annum Sec
rom taxes aud assessments, should be paid Into
one general fund toward the expenses o. the year,
and all interest should be paid from taxes and each
year certain specified sum should be raised by
! !!sI, ana applied 70 the reduction OF the
THIS, With honest government and right ability in
| the Finance Department our rate OF taxation
neea not DC over two ana half per cent and
could soon be reduced even TO two per cent, and
with no stoppage OF needed pubic improvements
that are required TO increase the taxable value OF
our real estate
deem 1t also advisable to suggest on account Of
the magnitude or the operation OF the Finance
Department. and the increase OF business that
viii naturally accrue to II In the future growth OF
! our cliy, that the department should be composed
OF poaro OF three MEMBERS the president Of
| OF New York.
shall refer again, II you so DESIRE to this SUBJ
! lect. Respectfully. ANDREW w. LEGGAT.
! No. ~ IaiQnt street.