Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-20
THE COUNTY FUNDS.
A Taxpayer Has Something to Say
of Them.

EDITORS HERALD-Some years ago
Los Angeles county lost its entire funds
in the hands of the County Treasurer by
the failure of a bank. About two years
aso the county lost nearly $40, 900 through
q theft by its Tax-Collector and the cul-
pable lack of prosecution of the sureties.
All these taxes lost had to be paid
again and with interest by the taxpayers.
What has happened may happen again.
As none of us wish and few of us can
afford to double our taxes to meet losses
of the public funds, it becomes proper to
call attention to the dangerous methods
commenced by the new County Treas
urer. This gentleman has already di-
vided the county funds amongst num-
Der of banks in the city OF Los Angeles,
to one at Pasadena, and is said to have
promised to further distribute our money
to q bank in Pomona, to one in Santa
Ana; and why not to Santa Monica,
Anaheim, and to all? The Office of
County Treasurer is thus become a
charitable institute for the encourage
ment of banking and Of extensive loans.
Such policy is inconsistent with the
safety of the county funds. However we
may esteem the solvency of the county
banks or desire to advance their financial
welfare, such good opinion or kind desires
should only be shown III private way
and not at the public risk. If the County
Treasurer has favorite banks that it is his
interest to help, let him do SO at his own
expense and not at the peoples. 1t is
ridiculous to suppose that any person not
an agent of the Federal Government can
keep track of the financial standing Of any
considerable number of banks scattered
through this large county. Under the
new policy the County Treasurer should
also be County Bank Inspector, with a
veto on doubtful loans.
There are several ways of looking at
this unsafe departure. Most important
is the legal one. The laws are the crys-
talized experience of the community as
to its best interests. The law in regard
to the County Treasurer is as follows
s'The County Treasurer must keep all
money belonging to this State or to any
county of this State in hisown possession
until disbursed according to law. He
must not place the same in the possession
Of any person to be used for any purpose,
nor must he loan or in any manner use
or permit any person to use the same as
provided by law. But nothing in this
section prevents him from making special
deposits for the safe keeping Of the pub
lie money"
Under this law, use of the public
money in any way is impossible. An
other legal requirement is that on the
last day of every month the public money
must be counted by the County Auditor,
the District Attorney and the Chairman
of the Board of Supervisors or any two
Of them. Under the new dispensation,
these gentlemen will have to be fur
nished with seven-league boots to cover
the ground between the many city and
county banks where the funds will be, or
may be. The County Treasurer's &C.
counts must also become cumbersome
With such . multiplication of deposit
tories, and the expenses Of the Office will
be increased. Our public-spirited Treas
urer, to cover this and to save himself,
proposes to shovel all such expenses off
on the people, and has already asked the
Board Of Supervisors to allow him three
deputies, q thing heretofore unheard OF
in the county. As the county funds can
only be legally placed in bank as a
special deposit. not to be used in any
way, the question arises as to whether