Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-08-16
CITY AFFAIRS.
The Retrenchment Commit.
tee Starts Its Work.
THE LAUTERI0 DEFALCATION
The Statement Made Yesterday to
the Board of Supervisors
Other Local Events.
CITY AFFAIRS.
THE LAUTERIo DEFALCATION.

The special Committee on Retrench
ment, of the City Council, met yesterday
morning, Councilmen Hamilton, Bon.
sail, Wirsching and City Clerk Teed and
City Auditor Lopez present. MIR. Wir.
sching was elected Chairman and Mr.
Teed Secretary, and the announcement
was made to the effect that it was the
duty of the committee to recommend q
plan whereby the expenses of the differ.
ent departments of the city government
can be kept within the amount to be
raised by the tax levy during the present
year.
A petition from the Park Commis
sioners ask ing that money be expended
in laying pipe in the parks, so that the
money already expended might not be a
los5, was read.
Major Bonsall said that he was of the
opinion that it would be economy to pro,
tect the work already done, and that
1t would not be wise to refuse to ex-
pend enough money to accomplish this
object. A great deal of money had been
expended on the parks, and that this
should not be loss it would be neces-
6afy 10 lay wafer pipes.
MIR. Teed was of the same opinion. He
thought that it would be good business
policy to protect the work already com.
pleied.
Superintendent Of Parks LIE Grand
stated that it would be necessary to lay
about $500 worth of pipe i'll the West
Lake Park. He also said that it would
be well to lay pipes in tho Elysian Park
but it was decided that it would be too
expensive to pump water over the hills.
Major Bonsall moved that the commit
tee recommend that the Park Commits
sioners be allowed to expend $500 for
laying pipe in the West Lake Park.
Carried.
The question of'insuring the Downey-
avenue and First-street bridges was
brought up, and it was decided that
as they are iron structures there would
be no necessity for insufing them.
The matter of cutting down the ex-
penses in some of the City Departments
was then formally discussed. 1t was
thought by some of the members of the
committee that the Police Force might
be reduced to some extent. 1t was
argued that Los Angeles is remarkably
peaeeable city, and that crime could be
as we'll Kept down with less men. A
suggestion WAS made that the forces OF
the Street Superintendent and OF the
City Engineer could be cut down some
and that the expenses of the Fire De
partment were too large. The City
Auditor WAS instructed to present the
pay rolls of the different departments,
and City Clerk Teed said that he would
have the contracts for street sprinkling,
garbage collecting, and street sweeping
before the committee at the next
meeting.
The matter of street sprinkling was
discussed very shortly. The question
was as to whether the streets should be
sprinkled by the city or by the citizens.
City Clerk Teed claimed that the follow
ing>seetion of the charter meant that the
sprinkling would have to be paid out of
the tax levy: at shall, by ordinance,
provide for maintaining fire alarm and
police telegraph system, and for the
cleaning and sprinkling of graded and
accepted Streets"
The matter was then dropped, although
Major Bonsall said that it was bugbear
and should be carefully considered. Mr..
Wirsching suggested that it would be a
good plan to ask number of the promi-
lent citizens to appear before the COM
mittee and give their ideas as to how the
retrenchment can best be made. The
Secretary was requested to notify some
of these gentlemen.
1t was decided that the committee
should meet hereafter on Wednesday
afternoons, Thursday mornings and Fri
day afternoons, and the committee ad-
iourpad