The herald., 1894-11-18
TIE PROPOSED CITY CHARTER

The advantages which will accrue
ter amendments are so many and are go
thoroughly distributed throughout the
whole system OF the city government as
to preclude the possibility OF enumerat-
| ing them all in one article, but some
are so manifestly desirable as to attract
particular attention and be worthy of
careful note.
Although the changes made by the
council have altered some " hat the idea
of placing responsibility as originally
proposed by the Citizens league, still
there is enough of that provision re-
naming to make it strong point in IA
vor OF the approval OF the amendments.
The present condition of affairs, where
in the mayor is simply figurehead to
the city government and has little or
no opportunity to exercise what ability
and frmness he may possess, in the
management OF city affairs and the cor
rection of abuses, and where officers are
independent of all others and hardly
any check can be placed upon them, has
led to a general maladministration
which has reducsd the efficiency OF the
management of city affairs in some
cases to very low point and has en-
tailed great extravagance which is in
creasine annually. Under the amend.
ments, this will be remedied, a. least to
a large degree, for many OF the officers
who now claim great independence on
account OF election or appointment by
irresponsible commissions, will either
be appointed by the mayor and con-.
frmed by the council, o. the com mis-.
sions by whom they are named will be
appointed by the mayor. and by this
means the responsibility can be defn.
itely located with the mayor and he
must either control their actions for
good or remove them.
Another very important improvement
is that which provides for the auditors
establishing thorough system of book
keeping in all offices. By this the pres.
ent exceedingly slipshod method,
through which the auditor lie never able
to know the condition of the accounts of
any other official except by q special
investigation, and by which great extrav.
agances are practiced because there lie no
comprehensive and intelligent record by
which they may be detected, will be en-
tirely abolished and in its place will be
substituted thorough method OF &C.
counting, such as is in use in all we'll
managed private business houses,
whereby the auditor will be able to keep
the city's accounts in practical, busi-
ness-like manner, and by which items Of
expense and extravaganza will come
quickly to the surface and may be easily
corrected.
One of the most beneficial points in
these amendments is the entire eepara-
tion of the city elections from all others
and the placing of them so far away as
to prevent partisan influences from affect.
ing them, Every two years we have a
strong partisan election. either state
and county or national, and only month
after we have our city election and it ia
well.known fact that the former exer,
else very strong influence over the
latter. This ia not OF necessity an evil,
but it has proven to be such in many
instances, by the election to city offices
OF men, under strong party feeling, who,
by reason of incompeteucy or other dis
qualification, could never be successful
if the people were at liberty to cast their
ballots with only the one thought in
their minds OF getting the beat men for
the good of the city. The holding OF
the city elections in March will allow
sufficient time for partisan fesiing to
subside and permit the good, sober iudg-
ment of the people, which lie seldom
wrong, to prevail.
The decrease in expenditures which
will be effected by the approval of these
amendments forms one of the strongest
points in their favor. 1t ia believed that
the honor and distinction which attaches
to the ayoralty OF our great city rend-
ers it unnecessary to pay him very
large salary, while on the othe- hand it
should be sufficient to permit abba and
HOnoeb huou W WhO hio hot Woditny W lOlu
the office and not confine it to the
wealthy class, SO this salary has been
placed at $4,000 per year. Two hundred
dollars per month 10 very good pay for @
book-kseper, 30 the auditors salary has
been placed at that figure. The street
perlntendent does not earn nor will
the duties of his Office permit him to
justly earn. more than $4,000 per annum
Other reductions are made, which taken
altogether, make a saving OF some $4,000
per year in the ealsries, and there must
be added to this the large amount which
the abolition OF the Offices OF assessor
end tax collector will save. The cost
for salaries of these two officials and
their deputies and their Office expenses
exceed $2l, 900 per annum, while under
the new arrangement of having the taxes
assessed and collected by county Gift
ials, the same expense will be but little
moro than $1,000 per year, saving OF
some $4,000 per year. In addition to
these the increased efficiency which the
supervision OF tho mayor will give, to-
gether with the reductions which the
improved system Of book keeping will
make in checking useless expense
promptly, will swell the total GO that it
o sale to cay that the adoption of the