The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-01-07
HOBOKHN'S SCANDAL.
Adjustment Commissioners
Make Some Startling
Discoveries.

The Adjustment Commissioners Of
Hoboken: Colonel E. A. Stevens, Coun-
sellor E. r. Russ and Mr.. Aaron S. Bald
win, have discovered a system of
levying assessments on city street
improvements. whereby the citizens
have been cheated out of thousands
Of dollars and contractors have reaped a
rich harvest. The first the Commission
ers heard of the matter was when the
property owners on Harrison, Ferry,
Fourth and Fifth streets complained.
The assessments for improvements upon
these streets were outrR2eously large and
were levied for work never done.
The Commissioners first Investigated
the manner in which the assessment was
levied by the Assessment Commissioners.
The ordinance requires each piece OF
Engineer. This 1t seems was not dones
Iivy & Smith We're the engineers
on these improvements and they
merely made scattering borelng.
and surveys, on the old cubic yard sys-
tenn. aud Then averaged the amount or
filling on the whole line of the improve
nlent. adding the enormous amount of 90
per cent. for s~hrinkages. On the Harrison
and Ferry streets improvements they
allowed some 10 1.2 feet. while, by actual
tests made by Engineer Thos. Mccain for
the Adjustment Commissioners the filling
nowhere exceeded ten feet, and in most
cases ran between five and ten feet. On
the Fourth and Fifth street improve
mepts Tiyy & Smith allowed about
eleven and a half feet, while Mccain
found that nowhere did it go over eleven
feet.
THE ERRORS DISCOVERED.
McCann, in making the surveys. used
what is called the jib jet, ana allowed 10
per cent. for shriEkage, which they said
was q liberal allowance. On the
Harrison and Ferry streets improve
cents per. cubic yard. On the Fourth
street Improvement, made later. the bid
wal ~thirty-f1vs cents, and on the Fifth
street improvement, thirty-eight cents.
In this way, IL a man had filled In his
property, would have to pay for the filling
again under Troy & Smiths surveys.
In some cases the assessment levied
exceeded the value of the lot. The ADJ
justment Commissioners have no power
to increase an assessment or TO reassess,
but they can decrease. or course all these
improvements have been paid for by the
city, and whatever deductions are now
made must be borne by the city at large.
TO REMEDY H EVIL.
In all this matter the Commissioners
have worked with the greatest care, and
do not charge fraud against any one.
They also discovered that the system of
bookkeeping in the several city depart
ments is anything but what 1t should be.
When these facts had been a~scertained
a long preamble aud resolution offered by
Colonel Stevens was adopted. After set
ting forth the facts as stated above It was
Resolved, The assessments for benefits con-
ferred by the improvements of Ferry street, APP
proved December 2, 1891; of Fourth street, ap-
proved July 20. 1901, and of Fifth street, approx
ed July go. 1891, are in excess of the benefit
actually conferred upon the property so as
sessed, and
Whereas, 1t Is impracticable la the case Of this
improvement 10 determine the benefit conferred
upon each lot by the amount of filing In front
of said lot. be 1t
Resolved, That each and every lot assessed for
the Improvement of said streets and returned to
this Commission as In arrears for such assess
ment shall be adjusted for such assessment at
$3.50 for each lot on Fourth and Fifth streets, and
at $500 at Ferry street; provided, however, that
the amount of the assessment, as originally as
sessed against any lot, sha II not be increased by
virtue of anything contained herein.
The Commissioners are satisfied that in
the past there lave been fragrant in
stances Of gross negligence; wrong
methods have been employed in arriving
at the assessments; tee people along the
line of the improvements have be6n I'M
justly burdened, and the people cheated
out Of thousands Of dollars.