St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-28
NO RELIEF IN SIGHT.
Shall the Fire Department Be
Crippled or Plunge Into
Debt?
The Mayors Funding Scheme
Reposed Upon by the
Comptroller.
A Cut in the Salaries Of the
Firemen Now Seems
Inevitable.
Wheelock Says to Follow the
Charter Means Strait
Jackets.

She fire department fund, and when the
meeting closed no conclusion had been
arrived at. The mayor brought to light
another scheme by which the shortage
IN the police and fire department funds
gould be blidged over. The mayors
plan was to renew when due the certifi-
rates of indebtedness which had been
purchased from city funds not in
use, and take the money to help
put departments which were short in
stead of paying the amount back to the
fund from which the money was taken.
This plan, however, although advocated
very strongly by the mayor, did not meet
with the sanction of the comptroller,
who emphatically said it would not
work. One of the amusing features OF
the session was the rapid manner in
which the mayor. figuratively speaking,
Jumped from one side of the fence to
the other. 1t was very evident that his
honor had been discussing the law
under which the conference commit
tee works with Assistant Corpora
ton Attorney Phillips. For as
MIR. Phillips dropped in at the
meeting the mayor was reading
from the charter a clause by which the
conference committee is empowered to
call the attention of any department
when, in the opinion of the committee.
it will not De able to go through the
fiscal year without overdrawing the
amount named in the tax estimate for
the use of the department. The mayor
Immediately asked the opinion of the
city attorney on the point as to whether
the fire department, which was allowed
9215, 900 in the tax estimate, would come
within the
Meaning of This Clause.
Mr.. Phillips gave it as his opinion that
the conference committee had nothing
to do with departments until they had
reached or exceeded the amounts set
apart for them in the tax estimate. As
the fire department is down in the tax
estimate FOR S215,O0O, the mayor at once
Giecided the action of the conference in
calling down the fire board was not
legal.
This was all right at the time, but
few moments later when the president
of the fire board read from statement
that $4,000 had been expended by the
fire department in the first five months
of the year Mr.. Phillips inter
rupted TO say that if this
was the case it would seem as
though the conference had some action
in the matter, 1t was then that the
mayor vaultpd over the fence again and
said ii was the understanding that the
fire board were to reduce their expenaes
at once, although but moment before
his honor was contending that there
must be no reduction in the apparatus
or salaries, as it would ieopardlZe the
interests of the city.
The mayor had a new scheme which
he proceeded to lay before the
members. The charter, he said. pro.
vjded that by three-fourths vote sur
plus funds might be invested in certif-
Gates of Indebtedness. This, as he I'M
ders God it. had been done, and when
the certificates became due his idea was
to, instead of taking the certificates up
and placing the money back in the
funds, renew the same and use the
money i'll keeping running the depart
mentS which were short. The money
so used, he claimed, could be replaced
as soon as the delinquent taxes were
collected. This was possible way, he
said, OUT of the difficulty. and would pre-
vent the police and fire departments
From Being Crippled.
The comptroller, when asked for his
opinion of the plan, said it would not
do. The certificates when due, he said,
must be paid, and the money placed
back in the funds from which it was
taken. 1t was very fortunate, he con-
tinued, that the plan of purchasing GER
1ifieateS from supIus funds had been in
augurated, for by this plan it was posi-
bic to pay the May salaries on July u.
The mayor appealed to Mr.. Phillips,
who said there vas no legal objection
to the certificates which had been
bought with surplus funds being re-
newed when due, and it would be about
as legal as business man allowing his
notes to go to protest. If it were done,
however, he thought there would be no
objection. The mayor said the income
OF the fire department was $4,000 per
year. To this the comptroller took
objections and said the income was not
that sum unless the money came in. The
income OF the fire department for the
year 1898 was STE, 900, which was from
the sale of certificates amounting to 50
per cent of the estimate and such share
of the tax collections as might be paid
in. The plan suggested by the mayor
would allow the fire department to an
ticipate the collection of delinquent
taxes. which was indefinite as to amount
and the time when they would be col
Iected. Aside from this there was no
fund from Which the certificates
could be renewed, as the money
was needed III all the funds
for the legitimate needs of each fund.
lie said there was only one way for each
department to do, and that was to con-
fine expenditures to the so per cent and
the amount allowed to their credit from
the general fund, together with the
amount from delinquent tax collections.
The mayer still insisted that there was
nothing Illegal in his plan to renew the
certificates when they came due, bnt the
comptroller said it would
Not Be Good Plan.
The report of the fire commissioners
was then called for. Mr. Freeman said
before he submitted his report he
wanted to know if $4,000 would be
available this year. The comptroller
said it had been estimated the depart
ment would receive $4,000 from delin-
Quent tax collections, and if this were
correct the department would have to
their credit S195,000 for the year. Mr..
Freeman said there was no way in
which any department could be
run on an uncertain amount. The
fire commissioners did not know
whether they would have 1885,
900, or less than that tc
run on for the year 1t was possible
that there would not be $4,000 in de-
linQuent taxes collected, and if there
were not the amount mentioned would
not be available Mr.. MeCardy said he
had notified the fire board last fall thai
they would have about S195, 600 to rnr
the department on this year. but no at
teRtion was paid to his warming and il
the first five months of this year over
$4,000 more had been expended than il
the same time last year, the eXpendi-
lures up to June l belng S1l60C0. 1t VIA
not fair, he said, for the fire commission
ers 10 come in and insist on being
told how much delinquent taxes woulG
be collected this year. He could no
guess how much delinquent taxes
would be collected any better than The
fro In ffiS flS