Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-07

dating, numbering, indexing through
each year, etc. A Road book, a Fran
chise book, a Warrant book to be kept
by the auditor" find that
the minute book contains no
order for the allowance of money when
the printed form of demand is presented,
showing only the allowances for indi-
gents and such other matters for which
no demand is presented. The allowance
book shows no orders for allowance of
money, but If simply an index showing
the number of the warrant issued for
the allowance, the date, to whom al
lowed, for what allowed, amount of al
lowance, from what fund, alphabetically
arranged. The modus operandi seems
to be as follows: The demand is exam
ined, marked allowed, signed by the
chairman of the finance committee and
then 0. K. by one and sometimes two
other members of the finance commit
tee; whereupon it is passed to the clerk
sheet, which is signed in duplicate
by the chairman and clerk. 1t is
then sent into the auditor, who draws
the warrant and numbers the sheet
the same as the warrant. The duplicate
10 GCtt w bhO blCdoulCts 4nC OIlRludl,
after having been numbered, is return
ed to the clerk and entered in the al
lowance book, and the allowance sheet
returned to the auditor, leaving the de-
mand itself the only record OF the
from the minutes that the board, as a
board, took any action whatever in
these allowances, and am informed by
the former clerk that it did not. l have
not examined the road book and fran
chise book. but presume they are cor
rectly kept. have called attention to
the warrant register in the report on
the auditors books, showing there was
none kept till January l., 1889.
Section 4073, Political Code, reads
Accounts must be filed prior to ses-
sion." This seems to have been over
looked frequently, If not generally, by the
board. The object OF this clause of the
law is made manifest by Sec. 4071 Pol.
code where it says, ANY citizen and
taxpayer of the county in which he
resides, may appear before the board
and oppose the allowance of any claim
or demand against the county" AS
one of the objects of the Taxpayers
union is to oppose the allowance OF all
claims it may deem illegal, you will see
the Importance of insisting upon strict
compliance with this law, as it will
give your committee an opportunity to
examine the claims before they are
passed upon.
l find that the board took some pecu-
liar action July 80, 1889, to equalize the
balances between the treasurer's and
school superintendent books, that /
desire to lay before your committee. In
December, 1888, the superintendent,
supposing the treasurer had balance
of school funds on hand amounting to
about $1,000, drew his requisition for
few hundred dollars, for which war;
rant was drawn, but on presentation
payment was refused for want of funds,
and upon inquiry the fund with the
treasurer was overdrawn some $1,000.
Whereupon the board employed Mr..
Blackman to expert the account and de-
termine where the difference arose. He
discovered a. fraudulent warrant of
$3840 and errors in the building funds
amounting to $40, ,145.3 .36, and which still
left a difference, as he supposed, of
$l1 ,598.24, but, in fact, difference of
$15, SO; whereupon the board en-
ployed him to suggest plan whereby
the difference should be equalized. In
his report he claims to have found all
the errors, and at the request of the
auditor, the boardIordered the treasurer
to transfer $11, ,598,24 from the unappor-
toned money to the school fund to cor
rect these errors and equalize the bal
ances of the treasurer and school super
intendent. This transaction was illegal.
The Board had no right to use the unap-
portioned money, which is paid into the
treasury for specific purposes, but the
absurdity of requiring this money
to correct an error, if the difference is
the result of an error, is like man
making an error OF 500 on the credit
side of his cash book and taking the 500
out OF his money to make his cash bal
ance. OF course his cash will balance,
but the error is not corrected.
The reason the difference was not en-
tirely reconciled by this transfer was
that they found in one of the interest
and sinking funds with the treasurer
$3843,12 that had been levied and col
lected after all the bonds mad been paid.
hence the board ordered the treasurer
to transfer to the special school fund of
that district, and the auditor instructed
the superintendent to place the same to
the credit of that district on his books,
and as the superintendent charged the
treasurer with the same amount that
the treasurer credited to the fund, the
difference in their balances was not dis
turbed and hence the difference still
exists, together with the $3840 fraud
ulent warrant"