Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1894-02-15
Report OF Committee.

Hon B. DR1GGs Common Judge County,
Your committee the opinion that the paper prepared
and submitted by the county commissioners not such de-
tailed statement of the financial transactions of the commits
sioners required by law The words borrowed
49, Ooo s45ss9g7 Sale Of bonds an equally
curt phrase used detail transaction of many thousands
detail those involving thousands of dollars Transac
tions of such magnitude and Importance to the people
found in this report would Its object is to inform the
people, require than two words each.
This annual report of the commissioners like all that
true copy the exhibit receipts expenditures
made by the auditor for the same fiscal year The COM
missOners report furnishes information that not found
the paper prepared and published by the auditor few
weeks previous to the filing of this duplicate by the COM
publication of this all and useless waste of labor
and money it is not, believe, such statement as
with the statute it is still useless because it furnishes
formation that be of to the people determining
financial affairs of the county have been properly conducted
The original bills and vouchers file in the commits
examination short easy work From the bills however
it is not difficult to find that the system rather lack of
offices is not in the interest of the people who pay for them
Each official orders such goods he may think needed
be less than the very highest retail prices Blank
books and stationery cost the county from thirty to fifty
Like quality and quantity It seems to your committee that
the commissioners wholly responsible for the exrava
auy ae Of e 5 ne @ nrcasf Ifey
count thought except to order the bills paid when
by the Sa9 f baa ANY
to order goods and the bills paid when duly 90 K d
K of empoye in the Jail and Sam jackson, said to be
anor of the court house. This is not to trans
act the business of the people.
The should the discretion them
by the law the purchase of stationery ETC. They should
prepare lists OF goods needed and invite competition In the
work of furnishing them So far known Belmont county
gets of the advantages of competition the purchase
of such goods used in the public offices and institutions
and this respect decided disadvantage when
compared with any other purchaser IN the county.
Items in this report from which seems j. NJ Beckett
recorder paid for ndexng and 5000 for copying
volume g. plat record have attracted wide attention and
much comment from taxpayers This work was done under
contract made by the with the recorder and
the paid reported considerably less than the
contract called for There is question that the work
well DONE and that it is valuable but Its making at the time
not absolute necessity; and, when the fact
bered that the county heavily indebted and still compe
ed to borrow this work might have been postponed
The agreed price is much higher than the work might have
been contracted This both the work of index
and plating Had the work of copying volume number
plat records been let to the lowest bidder would doubt
less have cost the people only about onehrd of the price
paid for it.
The overdraf in the Pipe creek pike fund illustrates well
the reckess careless business of the affairs of
the county that has been for 1t is fair
state that the commissioners not directly to blame for
the condition of this fund The work under the control
of the pike commissioners The estimates and allowances
made and approved by the experimenting engineer
Mr. Dawson and approved and ordered to be paid by
Pipe creek pike fund.- for thus ordered
paid The fact that there money in the fund made it
the duty of the treasurer to stamp the warrants when
ed mot paid for want of fnds The commissioners
peced by the people exercise general supervision
the business affairs of the county In fact the laws give them
very great control all other officials and correspond
ing responsibility the people, Overdras such funds
the Pipe creek pike fund would be impossible the
conducted their business properly.
In the matter of overafts funds and transfers from
fund to another found fertile of much of the
bad financial the business affairs of the county
There very scant lawful authority for transfers and
overdras except when the overdra marked
not paid for want of funds.
Your committee thinks rigid compliance with both the
letter and spirit of the law to the expenditure of the
pes money required at the present time There should
transfers from fund to another except where there
undoubed legal authority and absolute necessity for such
No contracts should be made that call for the
pendture of money not at that date credit of the fund from
payment be made that has been levied and
process of collection for credit to that particular fund
ANY warrants drawn fund should be charged to that
fund and paid from by the treasurer long only it has
balance When the balance is exhausted the warrants
should be marked required by awno paid for of
funds" As rule there should however, be liability
ated that will make such overdrafts necessary.
ed to cover possible of death by violence The
have been apparently extremely liberal in
the allowance of costs of inquess where there
Even liberal construction of the laws as to nquess would
largely reduce the cost of this em and Just would
diminish it oneha The cost of nine cases examn
I'D and the paid to the officer holding the
inquest is $13.40
Sections $40 and s47 revised statutes direct that the
business of the county shall be transacted in the office of the