Morning journal and courier., 1886-01-30
THE MAYORS MESSAGE.

| Gentlemen of the Court of Common | Council:
 We are assembled this evening to review 1 the work accomplished by our executive | officials during the past year, the cost of the same, the prospects of the ensuing year, the 1 state of our finances, the general condition of the city as to the protection of life, health | and prosperity, and, in short, to so look into | the affairs of the past that we may learn from them how to be of use and benefit to those whom we have agreed to serve.O Of the moneys needed for the running of our city, aside from the fixed charges for interest on the bonded funded and floating debt, and the sums needed to meet such DOT ions of the pIinci- pal as may fall due from year to year and
 the salaries of the executive officials, and the | money needed to light our streets, the expen- allure of the vast bulk therefor is placed in the hands of our several boards of commits sioners.
 By passing orders for more work of any kind than the money appropriated for that particular kind of work will warrant in the absence of any charter direction to the or der ill which the commissioners shall carry out your directions, you throw upon the sev- | eral commissions not only the responsibility of carefully and honestly expending the
 money appropriated, but also wide discre- 1 ton as to the comparative merits of the sev- 1 eral improvements ordered.
 | For instance, if you appropriate $5e,000 |
 ders to the Board of Public Works for pay | ing which will cost from S75, 900 to s100, 900, | you will make it impossible to have all your | orders carried out and you will leave to the Board of Public Works discretion as to 1 which of your orders shall be executed. l do not propose to discuss the question | whether such discretion ought or ought
 not to exist, but simply to call your atten- 1 tion to this, that while the charter does not l provide for any such discretion it necessarily must be exercised. It is doubtless agreeable to | Aldermen and Councilmen to accomplish for their immediate constituents what may be sought for, and thus secure the passage of orders for work, with no money to carry the work out with. By doing so in the past | the Court of Common Council has caused | the Board of Public Works to be often l placed in false position, by compelling the l Board to appear to act arbitrarily in its re- | fusal to carry out the orders unless ont of their own pockets. Many of you will doubt ! less be surprised to learn that there are at | present uneXecuted orders in the hands of 1 the Board of Public Works which would
 necessitate the expenditure of upwards of l $200. 900 more than the money appropriated | will allow.
 I believe that it is the plain intention of l the charter that the money appropriated at the end of each year for the expenses of the | ensuing year should be limited within mar row bounds clearly expressed in the item of appropriations.
 This intention is carried out in all the de partments that of Public Works, and in this latter department as well can be done under the circumstances. Public improvements ought never to be ordered un- til provision is made for carrying the order into effect By continuing to appropriate sum of money in bulk under such general heads as "pavements, /" sewers" or bridges, ard then ordering the construction of large quantities of work under such heads, you force the persons entrusted
 with the execution of your orders to assume discretion which the charter never intend ed to bestow on them. Unless this matter receives prompt attention and correction, 1 believe that within a few years the citizens | at the increase in taxation which it will occa- sion.
 From a perusal of the auditors annual re- port you will be informed in detail of the sources of revenue and items of expenditure during the last fiscal year, and I shall here only attempt to give you brief statement of our financial condition.
 BONDED AND FUNDED DEBT.
 Derby railroad bonds due in ESQ.,. ....S 2O, 900 Sewerage bonds, due Oct 1, 1889. 249 900 Sewerage bonds, due oct 1, 1901 2500O0 Sewerage bonds. due $15OOO yearly Feb. l, 1885, to Feb 1904 904-..-.................-. 10000 ss19,ooo FLOATING DEBT.
 Note of William Fitch, trustee on account of Derby railroad, on which the interest is paid by the Derby railroad, $25, ,000. Total indebtedness, $844, 1000.
 RESOURCES.
 Cash on hand uuexpended in general ac
 Cash % on hand unexpended in sewer ac- i'
 
 Municipal. ..- 5S,S2161
 s2o5, ,728 s4 Which sum being deducted from the gross indebtedness, $o44 ,OOe, leaves the net 1ndebt- edness December i 1884, $590, ,96S. .57.
 Increase during the year ending December 1, 1885, $47, ,30759.
 The treasurer's book shows a balance on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year in the general account of $16, ,591 .S6, while the auditors account only calls for SIS, 725 19 This difference is due to the fact that orders for the balance are outstanding and have not been presented for payment. The increase in the debt was due mainly to the large amount of work done in constructing main sewers, as will appear later on in my remarks on the Board of Public Works. Much neees- sary work for the improvement of our sewer age system is contemplated and will be done in the present year, and with this exception there will be no extraordinary outlay this year. The total amount of the estimated ex- penses for this year is $6S1, 161. 90, and of the resources, S6s9, 100 Our grand list is estimated at about $45, DOC, 900, and the rate of taxation has been fixed at 10t6 mills. The fact that the grand list Is now more than nine millions of dollars below what 1t was twelve years ago ought not to be lost sight of by persons interested in local expenditure and taxation, aa 1t accounts in great meas ure for q seemingly high rats of taxation.
 Board of Public Works.
 Before reeitlng In detail the work accom- pllshed in the department of Public Works,