The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-16
CUTTING DOWN EXPENSES.
The Council Figuring Close on the
CITY Budget.

City Budget.
The Deficit This Year to Make Big
Hole, and Very Little to Be Spent
on improvements Next Year-The
Annexed Sections Giving the Alder
men a Good Deal to Think About.
A New Item in the Next Tax ordi-
nance.
The city council held another meeting
last night, as a committee of the whole,
to consider the next years budget. The
budget is now nearly completed, and will
probably require but one more meeting
before it is made public.
All Of the departments have submitted
their estimates of next years expenses,
and these estimates have been passed
upon by the council. In several instances,
II Is said, the estimates were returned to
the heads Of the departments with the
request that further reduction be
Amade. Speaking generally of next years
finances, an alderman said yesterday that
the city will have to cut its cloth very
close in order to make both ends meet
and that there will be very little money
Tor improvements, such as house drainage
and street paving
This years deficit will consume a large
portion of next years income and an in
crease OF expenditure in several depart
ments IS unavoidable. The water
works and quarantine depart
ments will show large de-
crease in expenditures as compared
with the present year, but considerable
additional expense will have to be in
Cured In improving the annexed section
south OF Anderson street
WILL COST GOOD DEAL.
This section promises to prove an incu-
bus to the city for several years to come,
rather than source of income and GER
talnly Will not return as much in taxa
ton for several years as will be expended
IN extending water, sewerage, lights, po-
lice and fire protection over it.
The assessed valuation of the property
in the annexed section is about 81, 900 600.
Asthe rate of city taxation is only IL
per cent, this will return the city treas
ury $1,000 next year and there may
be d1fnculty in collecting some of it.
The failure to provide for the opening
OF the streets south of Anderson street in
the act providing for the annexation of
that section ten years ago, now proves to
have been an immense mistake.
The rights of way could have been Sc
cured then for less than one-ffth what
WY VIZ Npob AlOHs III SOlIlC INSTANCES
property holders are asking more for
rights of way through their property
than they paid for the whole property a
few years ago.
One alderman expressed himself in
favor of combining the expenditures for
improvements in the new section to the
amount OF revenues received by taxation
from the district.
AGAINST CUTTING SALARIES.
1t has been proposed, in order to reduce
expenses next year, to reduce the salaries
of employees of the different depart
ments. A general reduction in
all salaries has been proposed
but the difficulty in the way is that the
heads of the departments were elected
for two years, and have only served one
year OF their terms, and consequently
their salaries cannot be reduced without
their consent. That they should consent
to anything of the kind is very unlikely,
and some of the officials have already ex-
pressed themselves very decidedly upon
this point.
The only thing that can be done is to
reduce the pay of the subordinates. and a
10 to 10 per cent. reduction in their sal
aries is now being considered.
Whether this will be done can
not be said. Some of the aldermen
have expressed themselves as emphat-
lcally opposed TO it.
THE amount saved in this manner"
said an alderman discussing the subject,
would be so small that the saving would
hardly be apparent The subordinate
officers of the city do not receive large
salaries, and reduction of 10 or 10 per
cent would be hardship upon them. 1
am opposed to small salaries on principle.
To secure good men who will give good
service it is necessary to pay good sala-
rles, and it is not sound economy to do
otherwise"
GOING OVER THE TAX ORDINANCE.
. The aldermen spent considerable time
last night in considering the tax ordi-
nance for next year. There will be one
item of revenue included in the ordi-
nance that has not been included in pre-
vious ordinances. This is the tax on
telegraph, telephone and electric railway
poles within the city limits. The bill to
authorize the city to impose such a tax
passed the legislature and is now a law
What will be the rate on poles is not yet
known. 1t was said yesterday on pretty
good authority that it will not be less
than 50 for each pole and it may be as
high as s.. There are said to be about
5000 poles of all descriptions in use in the
city. At % per pole the city would re-
ceive revenue of about $4,000 from this
ent1rca