New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-03-09
PEDRO AWNING THE BOARD OF ESTIMATE.

REORG AIMING THE BOARD Of EoIIMh1E'
The effort on the part of leading taxpayers to
reorgapize the Board of Estimate will no doubt
meet with popular favor. Two legislative COM
n,;t+oosb have recommended such change, and
soveral bodies of citizens have at different
times given the proposition their approval.
various differences of opinion, however, over
details, and the hostility of Interested ONCE
holders. have operated to defeat the project.
The provisions of the bill which has now been
nrenored on the subject, rs given elsewhere III
to-dav,s TRIBUNE, seem to meet past objections.
Tho hill has one defect, in that il does not
nclude the Controller among tho members OF
the proposed Board OF Estimate. Ills Kho"i-
edge on all matters OF financial detail makes
him valuable member of the Board.
1t is a universally recognized iprlucipie Id
the science of government that the men VINO
eypend public money should not have the
mower to fix their own limit of expenditures,
and TO be at the same time the contracting
auditing and paying power. But that principle
is wholly violated in the city government. The
BOARD of Estimate is now made up OF admins
trative officers. 1t is proposed to reorganHe IT,
and 10 make the majority OF the Board consist
OF citizen taxpayers not otherwise connected
with the city government. That these men
shall represent the actual taxpayers, ana not
the politicians, is the purpose OF giving their
onnoiutment into the hands OF Board consist
ING of the Mayor and the presidents of the
Chamber of Commerce. Produce Exchange,
the Clearing House and Board OF Fire
Underwriters There may be constitutional
objections to such q Board but the matter is at
Al. fol iInrnt in A
Legislature
Members Of the present Board OF Estimate
COMPLAIN that for lack of information they
cannot always net intelligently in voting away
public money. They have to rely on such
information rs is furnished by department
heads. who are generally politicians Interested
in getting every dollar possible. Under such
circumstances, it is to be expected that every
head of department should consltlcr his own
administration to be perfection-a sample oil
the highest efficiency coupled with the greatest
ECONOMY. When Senate committee inyestl-
gated the affairs of the city government a few
wears ago, these efficient Ulcers, Including the
overpaid Register, County Clerk and sheriff
all declared that not an assistant Or subordinate
could be dispensed with, not a salary could DC
reduced, and that to compel the one or the
other would be to sacrifice the interests oil the
city.
Ii is such information as that which now
ruides the Board of Estimate. and which
accounts for the fact that the city OF London
with about three times the population and three
times the area of New York, expends no more
for its ordinary municipal expenses, while
Paris, nearly twice as large as New York.
cxpends for the same purposes considerably less
than this city. In the proposed reorganization
of the Board of Estimate it is made the duty OF
the members personally each year to inycsti-
gate every department. and to compel every
| official to give under oath all required infor-
nation. In that way the Board can act Will
| intelligence, and can enforce economy, and
reform the present badly regulated. badly
administered and incxcusably expensive city
government.