The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-06-23
Every Branch of the Cleveland
Administration Must Have
More Money.


Tho approach of the day when the
Board of Finance must fix the appropria-
tions and the Board Of Tax Commission
ers the valuations is always regarded
with interest by the community of tax
payers. The annual season Of doubt and
anxiety is upon us now, and the citizens
manifest more than an interest in the
outcome of the deliberations. They
have seen waste. extravaganza, jobbery,
corruption on every side in the admins
tration of municipal affairs. They know
very well that it is for them to pay the
piper for the dance of the public vandals,
and the tax bills that have been awaited
in times past only with interest, are
locke for this year with apprehension
and alarm.
These fears are only too well founded.
1t IS small comfort TO know that the
statute forbidS the imposition of a higher
rate han three per cent; the rateables
are at the mercy of the office holders and
through them they can make the tax
bills as heavy as if the rate could 20 as
high as ten per cent.
Last veal 1t was found necessary to
screw valuations up to the top notch to
realize Oh them, within the prescribed
rate, enough money to meet exigent de-
mands.
Seven millions were added to the tax
values of property In the city, and yet,
even with that raise, the yield was made
quate to meet the wan of the public cor
morants whom Cleveland and his gang
let in upon the city treasury.
A DISHONEST A LEVY.
An election was at hand; it would not
have been a polite thing TO have fright
ened the people by coming down on them
too heavily, n the Board of Finance
planned a dishonest tax levy for their de-
ception. appropriations were purposely
fixed at figures smaller than the Board
Intended to permit the departments to
spend, with the design of having them
pleced out after the election by special
additional appropriations under author
ity of acts of the Legislature. In pursu-
ance of this scheme, the bills were intro
duced and passed during the recent SEES
sion with the aid of the city authorities.
The street cleaning is a notable case in
point. The Board of Finance allowed
$4,000 for it in the last tax levy. 1t knew
at the time that the work could not be
done for less than S35, 000. But the $780,
600 would last through the election. and
the Legislature could be asked, after the
election, to pass an act permitting the
expenditure of SIS, 900 more. The bill
was introduced in pursuance of this plan,
and is now law.
There too was the street lighting con-
tract. One part Of the appropriation for
that branch OF the public service was
$4,000. Without regard to the limit, a
contract calling for the expenditure of
about SIS, 900 was made. That was an act of
dishonesty on it's face. But 1t was part of
the game of deceit and fraud the Cleveland
gang was playing with h public. The
SG0.0 600 would answer through the cleo
ton season. The Legislature could be
asked, after the election, to authorize the
raising and expenditure of the $15, 900 de-
ficiency. The plan was carried out when
the Legislature met. An act for the ex-
penditure of $4,000 more was whipped
through under city auspices and is law
now.
The appropriation list of last year is
full of just such instances of %purposely
arranged frauds to hoodwink the public.
The two referred to are cited only as
samples of the whole lot. But the deceit
is not the worst part of it. Now the piper
must be paid and all these deficiencies
must go into next years tax levy to
swell 1t beyond any proportions it has
eve vet attained. Nor can it escape OBJ
servatton that the deficiency is not the
only item that III go into the new levy.
For if $35, 600 was needed to clean the
streets this year. it will be needed to
clean the streets next year, and the ap-
preparation of $40, 900 in last July's list
must be $4,000 in the coming July's list
to cover the expense of cleaning the
streets next year; and to it must be added
the SIS, 900 deficiency in the present years
appropriation. The $4,000 item in this
years tax levy must therefore grow into
a $4,000 item in next YEARS. tax levy. So
it must be with all the items that were
appropriated short last July; they must
be added to double the amoun of the de-
ficiencY in the coming levy.
EXPENDITURES UNDER COVER.
But this is not the only job Cleveland's
city officials have put up to hide their ex-
travagance from public view. No one be-
gins to conceive of the jugglery with city
funds that is resorted to for the enrich
ment of the vandals. The water account
notably is an endless puzzle to everybody
not directly connected with it. The
Street and Water Board has this fund en-
tirely at it's disposal, and plunges into it
for relief whenever it finds itself short Of
Doodle. The result is that the Water De-
partment, which should be self sustain
ing-which, indeed, is self sustaining
turns up with a deficiency regularly at
the end of every cal. There Is now an
Uaccumulated floating debt Of nearly $780,
100 against it. which must eventually be
acked on to the permanent Indebtedness
of the city. II its moneys were not stolen
for other purposes, 80 that the people can
II OF know how rluch the Board Of Works
is actually spending, the earnings of the
de partment would contribute handsomely
TO wards d%efraying the other pei Of
thu municipal government.
The recent transfer of 81, 900 from as
sessment account to general account, and
its being placed to the credit of the En-
gineering Bureau. disclosed another
method this Board has devised of elud-
ing the public eye. che assessment ac-
count is made up Of the moneys paid into
the city to defray the expenses OF street
improvements. 1t should be reserved for
that purpose and only for that purpose.
But the Board deliberately puts its
hands into it whenever it wants to and
suit is that improvements are not paid
for, and there is in that, as in the water
account, q gradually accumul ating def