The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-03-22
The Board of Finance Per
fectS a Scheme to Pay
Many of the Debts
Of the City.
THE COUNTY TO BE PAID,
And the Sinking Funds Required
to be Established by Law Are
to be Made Intact.

The Board of Finance and Taxation met
in the Aldermanic Chamber last evening,
and ordered the issuance of bonds to the
amount of exactly Sss69,O0O. They
then appointed Patrick H. O'Neil
assessor for the First district,
MichaelJ O'Rourke, for the Second, and
John Prigge, Jr., for the Fourth, and ad-
journed. They Immediately met as Com
missioners of the Sinking Fund and form
ally lent the city about 100000. This
last was to make valid the issuance of the
bonds, outside of the bonds to pay the
county.
THE GENERAL SCHEME.
There are s676,0O0 of Temporary Loan
bonds in the Sinking Fund of the city.
They run at varying rates of interest,
and on some of them there
have been defaults of interest.
The Board of Finance, after a careful
computation, fixed about 100000 as due
for interest on them and of the new issue
of bonds, ST66, 600 will be for the payment
of the face of these bonds and interest.
There is due to the county for arrearage
the sum of about S5s6,OOO. By arrange
ment with the County Collector this
amount, as already reported in THE JER-
sEY CITY NEWS, is to be paid by city
warrant to the County Collector, and then,
on behalf of the County Sinking Fund
Commissioners, he is to Immediately re-
invest the moneys in city bonds OF equal
amount.
The taxes for the current year have al
.a<afn ITn5f 5fnad ~
borrowing to meet accruing loans, the
Board of Finance has saved interest by
using about $434 900 of the money required
for current expenses of the city. This
money is to be repaid to the current tax
levy BY the issue of bonds of that amount
There is also due to the several sinking
funds of the city $1,082, 306.04 that has
never been paid into them. The payments
have not been made because the
collections in no year have reached
the reserve the law required to be made
for the funds, and the amounts due the
several sinking funds are to be paid into
them by the issue of bonds for that
amount, which will make those funds
intact.
SUMMARY OF THE DEMANDS.
These several demands may be summarized as
TO replace temporary loan bonds in
Sinking Fund. d....,.-..........s... $676 900 90
Interest on same. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES yO,000 w
For county taxes from 1875 to 1887 ,5S5 IS
To replace loans made out of current
expense moneys of present year. 4S4 ,o6s @ So
To make sinking funds intact ..... 1,0S2, 900 90
Total 81, ,s67, ,654 81
Against the debt the City Comptroller
claims that tho city has assets amounting
to $4,250000 outstanding taxes between
1875 and 1887.
MR.. BLAIR's OPINION.
The ball was opened by reading the fol.
odd 70 HnIn nnI
Samuel d. Dickinson, the Comptroller
We find an act passed in 1876 and
amended in 1877, which permits any city
to borrow money Ito provide for present
unfunded or floating Indebtedness" by the
issue of bonds not to exceed ten years, to
run to bear interest at not exceeding seven
per cent, and to be sold at not less than
ninety five per cent. On the same day,
April 81, 1876, another act was passed
authorizing the Department of Finance
with the consent of the governing body OF
any city to issue the bonds for not longer
than two years for an amount not exec j.
ing the amount of tax liens purchased Oy
this city on the sale of unpaid taxes. In
the case of such issue all moneys received
for the redemption of real estate sold for
taxes for which bonds shall be issued are
pledged to the Commissioners of the Sink
ing Fund for the payment OF the bonds SO
issued
An act of April 81, 1884, authorizes the
Board of Finance to issue temporary loan
bonds in anticipation of taxes, and to re
new them to the amount of the taxes
remaining unpaid. Such bonds to run for
a period not exceeding, with renewals, the
time limited by the charter for the sale of
lands for unpaid taxes.
An act of March l. 1886, provides that
when bonds have been issued in anticipa-
tion of taxes and fall due before the col
lection of the taxes, SO much thereof as
may remain unpaid after the application
thereto of the taxes collected, may be reis-
sued for sinking fund to be created by
taxation each year for their payment.
An act passed March 20, 1886, qualities
all the preceding acts by a provision that
no bonds shall be thus issued, which shall
increase the indebtedness of the city SO
long as such city shall remain in arrears
in. the payment of any county or State tax
or other legal Indebtedness for more than
six months.
] understand, however, that it is not de-
signed to increase existing Indebtedness,
but only to issue ten year bonds for exist
ing floating debts | think there is au-
thOrity given to the Board of Finance by
the acts above mentioned to issue bonds
for the purposes stated, not increasing
indebtedness, but merely changing its
form.
There seems to be nothing in the act re-
ferring to the size of the bonds; that ap-
pears to be left to the Board of Finance
Yours respectfully, G. l.. CoRBIN.
/ have no doubt that the acts of 1876,
approved April 21, and the act of 1884,
approved April 81, gives you ample power
to issue the bonds referred to In the
resolution of your Board of this date.
JOHN A. BLAIR
March q, 1888. Corporation Counsel.
THE SCHEME IN DETAIL.
The business of the Board, after passing
few claims, was limited to passing fifteen
resolutions, the first Of which is as follows;
Resolved, That pursuant to the provisions of an
act OF the Legislature OF the State OF New Jersey,
entitled .An act relating to the issue of tenn
t,oaary loan bonds of cities Of this State,' ap-
proved April l. 1884 one more temporary loan
6onds be issued for the sum Of S66 oO0 in antIci-
Years 1873 to 1887 inclusive, said bonds to
be dated April /, 1889, and pay
able as follows; S25o,0Q0 on July J., 1889;