St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-12-22
ADDITIONAL ST. PAUL NEWS.
THE CITY,S FUNDS.
A Statement of tile cry treasurer
for Two Years.-Recom ME ud atoms
m In Pairing AshesSmenIs

A Statement of the cry Treasurer
for TWO Years.-k eco m m endatiohs
a. TO Paying Assessments-
City Treasurer Refs yesterday received
the advance sheets of his annual report,
containing some recommendations OF more
than usual interest and a showing OF the
cash received and disbursed by himself DUR
= ing the past year. Among the recommend
ations is one that the fiscal wear of all the
CITY departments be made the same. which
wOuld avoid much trouble and annoyance
He says:
Two years ago the legislature passed an act
allowing the assessment for improvements
leading to the Robert street BRIDGE IN tue
Sixth ward to be paid in installments and
limiting the rate of interest TO be psid by the
prop,rty owners on these assessments 10 .
per cent. These Improvements have oeen
made or are nearly completed costing IN all
for street grading, slopes and cnange OF
grade. about SsG0u0 Some property owners
paid their insta lments, many did not, ana
there is due TO the citf the greater part OF
the assessments as originally made; out
owing to a defect in the law. or clerical
error in the wo ding OF it. the treasurer can
not make any sale of the de- n luent property
and as a consequence, about S5O,OOO cannot
be collected-which we ought necessarily to
have in order 10 meet the estimates and
claims of the contractors which must be
paid.
Inasmuch as judgments have been entered
against the delinquent property before men,
toned, and all proceedings are perfected, so
that il would only require sale to nnlsh up
the business, / have thought that curative
act might be passed, at an early date, OF such
8 nature as / shall explain further on. The
property owners interested would suffer no
HARM for the reason that the rate OF interest
"a
benefit of longer time and the option OF more
partial payments; while on the other haud
the city would get the money necessar TO
pay for the works without being put to the
necessity of borrowing money to cover the
deficiency. If this act
WERE PAS ED IMME"IATTLY
at the beginning of the session Of the legisla-
ture, it would give the city chance to test,
in practical way, whether these local i'm
provement certificates can be sold at this low
rate of interest If the city cannot sell them
at this rate. she will be no worse off than
now because we cannot collect anything on
those improvement assessments any way; and
If they can be sold, then it will be practical
demonstration of what can be done. be-
lieve personally, that these local improve
ment certificates can be sold at quite low
rate of interest. 1t is not high rate OF in
terest that induces investment in these certif-
Gates This can clearly be seen from the fact
per cent. for both special and gen.
eral taxes, but very few general tax
certificates were bought. and those that were
bought were mostly for the purpose of get
ting title TO the property, and but very few as
a money investment. On the contrary, in
the last five years, but very few titles were
obtained from city certificates. In one case,
out of LOO certificates issued, only two lots
were decided by the city-where no owner was
found Yet, after ALL these certificates were
sought as money investments by many hum
dreds of persons, bankers, investment COM
pauies. widows relief funds, etc. They were
all sold like hot cakes. and ten times as many
more could have besn sold if they could have
been had. Partial payments may be made as
many as desired, before sale; and after sale
would favor making them in sums of one or
more tenths of the principal.
The treasurer recommends that the goth
of February. day that comes once in four
years and easy to be remembered. be made
the day when all titles should mature on
which the requirements of the law should
be fulfilled. Below is a statement of funds
handled: