The record-union., 1893-10-31
CLERK COFFEY SPEAKS.
His Communication to the Board of
Trustees.
Mayor Steinman Says Coffey Has Not
Presented His Quarterly Re-
ports, as He should.

The following communication from NJ.
Coffey. Clerk OF the Water Works, was
read at yesterdays session of the City
Trustees:
To the Honorable Board Of city TIts-
tees-G ENTLEMEN: At several of your re-
cent meetings the President of your
board and Mr.. Hartman in his partial re-
port have made statements in reference
to the collection of water rates which are
untrue, and in order to set myself and the
deputies in my Office right before the
public and the Board Of Trustees now
address this communication to you.
on the Sd of this month [ presented
statement of the amount due from water
takers up to Saturday, September 3O,
1898 The statement was read before the
board and several names were mentioned
in the papers as owing the city for water.
Among the names was that OF }. {. Pier
son.
on the next day, October 4th, Mr.. Pier
son called and settled his bill, as did sew
eral others whose names had been pub
lished.
At the next meeting of the board, on
October 9th, the Mayor took mp the re-
port, then one week old, and which had
not been checked up, and read off several
names, who, in the meantime, had paid
their bills. If he had given the matter
thought, or made any inquiry, he would
have found that there was something
like $1,000 collected between the Sd and
9th of October.
In Mr.. Hartman's partial report he
mentioned hotel on Front street as not
having paid any water rent tor over
year, which was true, as the hotel to
which he Overwhelmingly, the Brook
lyn-was closed for over year. AS proof
Of this l refer you to the License Col
lector, who says he did not receive any
license from the Brooklyn Hotel during
that period.
In reference to the statement made by
the Mayor, that a collector offered TO
compromise water bill amounting to
S24 for 81, / knew nothing of it until l
read il in the papers. That Is some
thing that has never been done by myself
or any other deputy in the Water Works
Office since | took charge. The collector
informs me that he offered to take SI2 on
account, which was nothing more than
has always been done.
During the time that have held this
position, a period OF three years and
seven months, | have turned over to the
City Treasurer the sum of S3O2, l57, which
is away ahead of any former collections,
and l feel proud OF it; and when any per-
son makes an assertion that myself or
any deputy that has been employed in
my office since my term, has ever done
anything wrong. he says that which is
not true, and l defy any person to come
forward and say that he ever paid any
money into my office without getting a
legal receipt, equivalent to the amount he
or she paid.
If the President of your board knows
anything wrong connected with the
water works office, it is his duty to let 1t
be known. l will admit that the ordi-
nauces under which we are working are
not what they might be. The city has to
l., i. 1t.
business or keeping house, and II they
don't pay our only remedy is to shut off
the water, and the shut-of system is in
Door shape. | will venture to say that
over half the houses in town have no in
dividual slOp-cOcks.
Ii there were penalty on every water
taller who had not paid uD to a certain
date then the collections might be kept
up closer.
our collections have kept up the aver
age for the last three years of $50, 900.
While we have gained several new water
takers we have also lost some, through
the effects Of high license and electric
power, instead OF water power and horse
power.
TO SHOW you how faulty the shut-of
system is, will give you an example:
The Capital Gas Company for years has
paid a monthly water bill of S25. Some
Two years ago they built four cottages for
the employees of the gas works, and when
l asked President Steinman Of the gas
company for pay for those four houses,
he refused to pay for them, and they
have not been paid for yet, and am
powerless to compel payment, as they
are using a branch pipe from the gas
works and there is no record of any stop
cock in this Office for those houses.
l will say of the deputies in my Office
that they were appointed by this board
and all of them are under bonds of 80, 900
each. Yours respectfully,
NJ. COFFEY, Clerk of Water Works.
The Mayor stated that tie gas COM
pany pays $50 per month-more than any
other business in the city does-and uses
very little city water. The company had
erected the four cottages, and if Mr..
Coffey thought water rates should be col
lected he should have enforced its collec-
tions or reported it. Mr.. Coffey's duty
was to make quarterly report, but he
had not done so. Only one report had
been made since the speaker came on the
board, and be had to insist on that before
Cotfey made it. Expert HobDie pre-
sented the first report.
Trustee Conklin was sure there had
been two reports made, but the Mayor
insisted that there was only one.
Quite discussion ensued, and Clerk
Cot1ey's report was received and placed
on hle.