Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-05-06
TIE NEW CHARTER.
10 the electors Of The CITY Of Los an.

we submit some suggestions for yov
consideration as to the new Charte
framed by your Board of Freeholdel
Of which We are members, and whic
will be submitted for your approval |
the election to be held next Monda,
l. The most important OF tll
changes proposed by the new Cha
ter relate to the organization {
the City Government and th
theory upon which it is to be COZ
dncted. After careful consideratio
oi the subject the Board determine
that the only way to have the bus
ness Of the city properly attended
was to employ competent men to al
tend to it and pay them adequately 70
doing 10, and so far as was right an
practicable to have the heads Of de
partment appointed and subject to re
moval by the City Government, thu
ins,lring more direct responsibility
This necessitated naturally the rednc
ton in the number Of the Council
men. The old system may work rea
sonably well in q small town, but th'
universal experience OF all large o
growing cities, including our own, il
that it is entirely un satisfactory ant
inadequate.
Ordinary business principles mus
be carried into municipal government
or the failure will always be marked
and disastrous. In the scheme pre-
secuted for your acceptance the rights
Of the people are distinctly guarded
BY leaving to their election
/. The Mayor, the Chief Executive
Of the city.
.. The Council, the Legislative
branch of the Government.
8. The City Assessor, the Tax Col
Iector, and License Collector, who
have charge of assessing and collect
ing the taxes you pay.
4. The. Auditor, the watchdog Of
the Treasury, who, AS we'll as the
Mavor, has absolute power Of vetoing
any demand on the City Treasury.
5. The City Treasurer, responsible
for your public funds.
@. The City Clerk, who has charge
OF your archives aud other city p OPP
erty.
z. The City Attorney, the law
officer and adviser of the Govern
ment.
I S. The Police Judges, who admin
lister the laws and enforce your or
dinanccs.
are the peoples officers and
servants, responsible directly and only
to the people.
The remaining officers and en-
Yiioyees are more in the nature OF
buraarI officers, who hold Office at the
will Of the City Government, and are
80 under its control. and can be held
to closer responsibility.
2. The new charter is vast inns
provement upon the old in regard to
methods of opening, improving and
grading the public streets. Its provi-
eions on this point will, we confidently
hope, be found to be more simple, expe-
ditious, inexpensive, and. in the main,
more Just than the cumbersome, un-
certain and tedious provisions OF the
present Charter in these respects.
In this connection an objection has
been urged to the provisions OF Sec
tion 1859, that street shall not be re-
graded and improved after the grade
has once been established "without
the consent Of the majority of prop
erty owners in each block fronting on
said street without compensating
euch owners for any damage which is
occasioned thereby; - and it is urged
that this is unjust to the owners. This
provision was, in fact, inserted at the
instance OF owners of property thus
affected, and for the express purpose
of protecting them, and 1t is difficult
to see how that object could, with JUS
tice to the public interests, be more
sffectually provided for. 1t is hardly
possible that case could occur in
which the interests of the owners Of
property in any one block would be
materially divergent, and such cases
the powers of the Council are ample to
provide for.
8. As to the limit of taxation and
Indebtedness, much objection has
been made to "the dollar limit as
provided in Section 2, Subdivision 10.
One answer to this is that it has
been fonnd to work admirably in San
Francisco in checking the extrava-
gance and waste of the Council and
officers.
Again, the Assessor and the Council,
as Board OF Equalization, have it in
their power, by raising the valuation,
to increase the tax. 1t is evident that
some check should be put on the eX-
penditures OF the city, and mature de-
liberation, after consultation with cit
isens best fitted to judge, led to the
adoption OF the limit of 81 on each
500. The same reasons led to the
adoption of the $2,000,000 limit tor
the ordinary bonded Indebtedness of
the city (See Section 222); but special
exception is made for raising on bonds
all the money that may be necessary
to provide the city with proper water
works and sewerage systems. The
crying need for both OF these improve
ments is SO patent to you all that ar
gument is unnecessary.
A. A great deal has been made out
OF the discrepancy between the pro-
vision of Sections and lie of the
Charter, the former providing that
four members of the Board of Health
shall be appointed by the Mayor and
confirmed by the Council, and the
latter that they shall be appointed by
the Council. This inadvertent dis
crepancy is, of course to, be regretted,
but the mere statement of the case
suggests the answer: G) As legal
proposition the provisions of the last
Section, being especially devoted to
the Board of Health, will control.
(2) Inasmuch as the appointment
must in either case be acceptable to
the Council, the Mayor can appoint
and the Council confirm, and imme-
diately the Council can by separate
action appoint, thus fulfilling the Ie-
auirements of both Sections. (3) fthe
whole system proposed as to the Board
of Health should fall to the ground
the Council has power, constitution
ally and by the Charter, to appoint a
Board and prescribe its duties. The
objection to vesting the power in the
Board of Health to remove smallpox