St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-17
WILL HURT OUR CREDIT
Comptroller R ~ Ids to the City COun-
Gil His OPP on the Ontario
Plan,"
In Which He Says the System Would In
lure the Oity's Financial
Standing.
rho Com ntrolIer Believes in st. Paul's
Present system of Ordering PuD-
lie improvements.

CITY COmptrOlleT ROCHE Seub W tiS Oi'y
council last night rather lengthy commu-
aication on the system OF ordering and pay
mo- for CITY impro vementS. In the dOcu-
ment he directly opposes the Ontario plan
Df making assessments. The questions
discussed are of general interest to prop
erty owners The communication was sent
to the committees Oh streets and leglsla-
ton and it was voted to have it printed and
a copv sent to each alderman. The comp
troller says:
The next session of the state legislature
will soon convene and it is propable that the
local assessment and general tax laws Will
to be modified, and no time should be lost ID
perfecting laws that will not distress owners
OF property, but absoutelyprotect them, ana
the parties purchasing at the Sales anu
at the same time guard the public interests.
As the city charter honors the city comp
troller with the privilege of making suggest
ions. and as there is a moral obligation due TO
thepublic, I most espectfuilypreSentmy views
as to the city OF st. Pauls adopting the IN
tario PLAN in making assessments Tor local
improvements.
After having carefully examined the
methods of Chicago. Omaha and other
cities, particularly the "Ontarie plan, since
il has been advocate for adoption IN ST.
Paul l consider the present system IN 81.
Paul. without making any change whatever,
TO be preferable to any existing local assess
ment law of any city in the United states or
the Canadas. on account of the simplicity or
its execution and the protection 1t gives
the city in her financial honor.
Some of the most serious objections TO the
"Ontario plan' are that the city making i'm
provements under it does not possess abso-
lutte control of her finances; her faith and
credit are not irrevocably pledged Tor the
payment of principal and interest. The
holders of such bonds are supposed to have
1ia,, ha rall estate assessed for the I'M
Drovement, but in case the holders have to
sue the property for the payment, and should
any irregularity develop on the part OF the
city government in making or collecting the
assessment-then defeat would follow and
there would be no redress-whlch IN the
course of time would inevitably bring ruin
10 the financial credit of any city making
heavy improvements like the city of St. Paul,
costing millions of dollars, enormously in
crcasing taxation for the general expenses OF
government, and affecting proPortonately
all the business iuteres IS of the community,
as the private business interests of the peo-
ple depend upon the financial standing and
honor of the city.
The only apparent good feature in the ION
tario plan is the privilege Of paying an as
sessment in full or in part, from time to time
through the course OF years. Under
the ST. Paul method the owners of property
are privileged to pay in full
or in part, up to the day when judgment
against the property is applied for, but not
afterwards, unless paid in full. me law
prescribes three years time for the redemp-
ton from the day of sale, with interest at the
rate of Is per cent. per annum up to the day
OF REDEMPTION. Deeds are issued by the city
to the owners of the certificates of sale for
the property upon which the redemption eX-
1ired. which deeds are supposed to give abso-
Lutte title. There is no particular modihca-
ton necessary after the confirmation OF an
assessment I'D to the daV when
JUDGMENT Is APPLIED FOR,
as an assessment may be paid in full, or
in part, during the interim, at the option OF
the property owner. Property owners and
all interested parties should have the priv
ilege of making partial pay ments in the re-
demption Of their property at any time during
five wears from the day of sale, and the mini
mum partial payment should be fixed at S.,
which would enable poor people to protect
themselves against distress and make them
more hopeful.
The partial payments made by property
owners after the day of sale when paid by the
city treasurer TO the owner of the ''certhcate
of sale' should be Endorsed by the city treas
urer upon the certificate, and the owner OF
the said certificate should receipt to the city
treasurer in a bound book OF receipts regu-
larly numbered and stubbed, receipting the
stub also. The receipt attached to the stub
should be the city treaSurer'S voucher for the
partial payment paid to the owner OF the
certificate. But in all cases where property
changes ownership, a full redemption should
be required before the city treasurers cert
tificate is placed upon deed, as in such
case there would be no distress, as the prop
erty owner is placed in condition to redeem
out of the consideration received by him from
his sale. The rate of interest should be re-
duCed from Is per cent. per annum to 10 per
cent per annum from the day of sale up TO
the day OF redemption upon the full amount
for which the property was sold.
The time Of redemption should be changed
from three years from the day of sale (Which
is complete forfeiture as the law now stands
to anY time after the expiration OF hVe years
from the dar of sale al the option of the
owner of the cert ficate of sale, after he, the
owner of the certificate, has given the city
treasurer q notice III writing that it is his
intention 10 make d demand upon the owner
OF the property for the amount due upon tie
certificate of sale. The owner OF the certlh-
cate should also be required to give notice
OF ninety days (the last days publication
being the first day of the ninety days notice.
by two days successive publications in each
OF the dail5 newspapers, describing the prop
erty, number OF the certificate OF sale. amount
of sale, nature of Improvement, date of sale
and supposed owner of the property. A copy
OF the publications and cost with afidavIts
by the printer attached, should be filed in the
office OF the city comptroller by the owner OF
the certificate of sale, the property paying
Ce:nptio should expire not before the end OF
one year from the expiration of the ninety
days after the second days publication OF the
notice. The city comptroller to give
the regular redemption notice at least thirty
days previous to the final redemption.
The board of public works makes all assess
mentS and untlinchingly confirms IFS own
acts. The result of the confirmation OF an
assessment by the board, without a just con-
sideration, often has
BROUGHT GREAT DISTRESS
to the property owner, particularly in the
changes of street grades, and the taking OF
land for the opening of streets and alleys, etc.
I have considered the matter most carefully
and have at times thought that all assess
ments made by the board of public works
should be confirmed by the common council,
as the parties assessed would be better salts
fed But l have concluded that it is 6
necessary evil for the board to confirm
only the assessments for the grading OF
streets Except those streets for which prop
erty outside of the line of Improvement i:
assessed), alleys, construction Of sewers anc
sidewalks as the growth of the city and the
public interests demand prompt acton. Fur
thermore, assessments for changes of street
grades opening of streets and alleys and fol-
the grading of streets for which property out
side of the line of the street graded is
assessed should be confirmed by the common
council, with the power TO make such change:
as the common council may deem proper.
There should be system adopted in order
ing public improvements and as it has beer
suggested by President Barrett. of the board
of public works, to let all the contracts in thu
fall of the preceding year for work to be done