Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-14

fore the next meeting of the council all viii
be heard from-if they desire to talk
The reporter met Col. J. p. Smith. mayor,
yesterday afternoon, and in answer to the
query if he perused the opinions of those
OF the aldermen seen Wednesday, and if he
had anything to say further on the subject,
said, i'll substance:
Yes: | read them carefully
''Do you care to say anything further,
colonell''
Not particularly anxious, no; but you
may say for me that it has been the policy
of the city to levy taxes 10 pay the current
running expenses of the city and to raise
the necessary funds for permanent i'm
pr0vements by the issue of bonds on long
time and at Z low rate Of interest. If bonds
at ) per cent interest on thirty years time
can be sold at par and the money invested
in permanent improvements, the work can
be done at once and the payment equaIized
over thirty years. When we issued our
first bonds we had Sl3, 225, 600 taxable val
ues. We now have 81, Ia 600 bonded debt, and
SOB, OO0,0O0 taxable values. This has OBJ
CURED in eight years time.
''When the bonds recently sold were
issued last March, we could have sold at %
cents net to the city. This we regarded as
too low and we insisted on par. The work
designed to be paid out of the issue was in
progress and paid for out of the general
Iuuu CUIlSclSu lIDul IiNGtloU. oDIlt .O-.-
600 was 50 transferred in the last six
months, which exhausted the general fund
and made it impossible for the city to pay
her current monthly expenses. This has
forced the city employees to sell their
monthly pay certificates at discount, or to
pledge them to the merchant or banker to
tide then. over until the city could replace
the funds SO diverted and resume monthly
payment. These claims are all registered
and allowed monty, and must be paid in
order out of the first money to the credit of
the general fund.
The interest and sinking funds for the
several series of city bonds cannot be trans
terred or used Tor any other purpose, and
have always been held and invested in in
terest-bearing securities, as required by
law. but 1t has always been customary in
the management OF the city's finances to
borrow or transfer money from one to an
other of the different funds, as the wants of
the city might require, to be returned when
the funds borrowing should be in condition
to pay.
100000 have been transferred from the
general fund for permanent Improvement
account. If 60 to 30 per cent Of this sum
were replaced out OF the pro-
ceeds of the sale of bonds, the city could
easily pay all claims when the city taxes
are collected.
1t was never contemplated to build
city hall out Of the seven series OF bonds.
when the recent tax levy was under
discussion it was proposed to make levy
OF Is per cent, but IL was agreed that the
amounts transferred from the general to
tie various Improvement funds should be
returned out of the proceeds of the sale of
bonds, when sold, and the levy under that
agreement was fixed at Sl.15 on the 800
valuation, instead of LIS per cent"
Nh. Barter, alderman, was caught on the
fly, and in a running conversation, the re-
porter culled the following:
Il believe, of course, it is right for the
city to pay its debts. From my investiga-
ton the bonds were issued for street i'm
proyement, sewer improvement, and public
building purposes, and that all debts ere
ated by the city council with the expectation
of applying the proceeds of these bonds for
the payment of same should be paid out Of
said proceeds, and any money borrowed
on said Improvements might be replaced
ont Of the funds derived from the sale of
said bonds. l think it is the duty OF the
finance committee to see that the money
derived from the sale of these bonds is
properly applied in carrying out these
measures, and am confident they will do So
Really, as f:tr as [ am concerned, propose
to act upon the advice of the city'S legal ad-
visor, 7. J. Pc sell, in these matters. / am
strictly in favor of paying ali debts that can
be paid at present in a legal manner-come
in and let me show YOU some data about the
proposed new bridge
Here the reporter made his escape