Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-06-07

10 Inc Honorable INC frtoiueub uuu OOiuLuOu
Council of The city OF st. Paul:
respectfully transmit herewith the annual
report OF the chief of police.
In this connection deem 1t proper TO say
that he is the only department officer who has
submitted a report, and that even ne Is not
obliged by law to submit one.
Our city charter-or, possibly, ordinances
would seem to be defective In respect to
reports from the heads of the executive de-
partments of the city government. Some OF
them are required to make reports to the
Cannon council annually and monthly; the
city treasurer to make his annual report IF.
teen days before each annual election, with an
exhibit of receipts and expenditures, and at
the first meeting of the council in each month
he is to report the amount OF city funds un.
der his control. The controller must submit
to the council, annually, at their first stated
meeting IN December of each year, syn0p-
tical report of the financial condition OF the
city; also annually on or before the hrst DAY
Of October, an estimate OF Inc expenses Oh tas
city and the revenue necessary to be raised
for the current year, the fiscal year to COM
mence on the LIST of January of each year. ;.
The present city engineer made his 1lrst
annual report on the 18th day OF January
last, which is very full of valuable Informal
ton. 1t was, of course, filed and published
in the official paper of the city, but beyond
this it has passed into oblivion. 1t is not
obligatory upon him to make an annual
report.
The mayor is required ito take care that
the laws of the state and the ordinances of the
city are duly observed and enforced; and that
all other crccutirc officers of the city discharge
their respective duties" also, 'be shall. from
time to time, give the common council such
information and recommend such measures as
he may deem advantageous to the city,"
He cannot, without great difficulty, prop
erly discharge the duties thus required in the
present disjoiuted, scattered and inaccessible
condition of the laws, ordinary and few re-
ports that have been msde or that are extant.
II the different executive officers (under a
revision of the charter, or by ordinance) were
required to make their annual reports to the
mayor, FOR submission TO the common coun-
Gil, fifteen or twenty days before the COM
mencement OF the fiscal year; If the charter
and ordinances were..compiled, codifed, indexed,
printed and bound flor preservation) than
the mayor ought to be able to give the com.
mon council accurate information from time
to time and make proper recommendations
TIE city has board OF public works,
board of health, a workhouse board, 9
board Of fire commissioners, board OF pla,
commissioners, board OF water commission
ers, board Of control (of the poor, in connec'
ton with the county,, which are supposed TO
be required to keep records and to report their
prcceedings-not all, think-to the common
council, nor are all of the executive officers
thus required to make annual reports.
1t seems 10 me that provision should be
made in the charter, requiring annual reports
to be made, as before suggested, and that the
common council should cause them to be
printed, grouped and bound, in one or more
volumes, together with the messages OF thu
mayors, which are, think, of less importance
than the reports.
The mayors of this city have, for years
from year to year, received by the courtesy Of
other cities, in bound volumes the annual
of departments and the several city boards
connected with their city governments
which are variously styled, "Annual mes:
sages and Reports OF Departments Or"
(aam,ng the cit,); "The City Year Book OF
- "The Year. Book of-;" "The
Municipal Code of--''; etc which are OIL
very great value to our city and to its officials,
| and the present mayor has been repeatedly
written to by the mayors of other cities
and by special agents of the census bureau,
for copies of our charter, ordinances, and re-
ports of our city engineer, treasurer, chiefs
of police, Of the fire departments, which re-
quests could be only partially and imperfectlJ
complied with. The compilation OF the
charter and ordinances of 1875, is but skele
ton of the charter and ordinances now il
forco.
AS matter of comfy we should be able tc
exchange the public documents referred to
with other cities. AS matter Of necessity
for the proper discharge of their duties, oul
city and county officials should be provided
with them; they should be in the hands o.
the Judges of our courts; In our state library
in our city library, and where citizens ant
| professional men can have access to them.
earnestly recommend, therefore, that you
honorable body will take such immediate &C
| lion as will substantially accomplish the OBJ
| jects I have thus pointed out.
Inmy opinion the work should be done I'm.
| der the supervision and direction of the city
| attorney, who should be empowered to EN-
ploy competent assistants to perform tn
clerical part of the work and aid in the codifi
cation of the charter (Which includes all spe
cial laws relating to the city,, and the city or
dinances, as we'll. EDMUND RICE,
Mayor.
MISCELLANEOUS.
! Smith q Lewis and Others protested agains
paving Eighth street, and the protest was re