The herald., 1894-06-21
THE REVISION THEY ADVISE.
The Citizens League and the
Proposed Charter Changes.
All the Responsibility for Appoint
ments to Be on the Mayor.
The Work ola Committee of Rspres enta-
tive Citizens-superfiuous or.
foes to Be Cut On-Rec-
ommend attons.

The committee OF the Citizens league
has concluded its labors in preparing
draft for new city charter, and for it's
efforts certainly deserve great credit.
The members. who are g. J. Griffith, T.
ID. Stimson, J. s. Slauson, f. w. Wood,
I. w. Brotherton. Abbott Kinney, Kss-
pare Oohn, Otto Brodtbeck, have pre-
pared report to the council committee
on charter revision, which in substance
is as follows:
We believe that several OF the officers
OF our present city government are
superfuous because the duties attached
to them are purely administrative, re-
quiring no exercise of special skill or
Judgment. and could be performed by
deputy at moderate ealary as well as
by department head st large stipend.
Particularly is this true with regard to
the Offices OF street superintendent and
water overseer. In the former We have
an official with large salary who simply
executes the will of the people as ex-
pressed in ordinances OF the council and
the state laws. whose work properly be-
longs in the Office OF the city engineer.
He can do little without the advice and
consent OF the engineer; the latter pre-
cedes him in all work save in the small
matter OF street cleaning. The engineer
Is the originating officer in all things,
and should be the executive officer also.
The same conditions apply equally to
the Office OF water officer, and in addi-
ton thereto there is the fact that the
work of this Office is light. We there
fore propose that the offices of street
superintendent and water overseer be
consolidated with that OF city engineer,
and that the duties heretofore per-
formed by such officials be hereafter
performed by the city engineer through
the medium of deputies.
The offices OF city assessor and city tax
and license collecthr are also unneces-
sary. In the case OF the city assessor we
have an official drawing q good salary,
employing several deputies whose COM
bined pay aggregates very large sum.
The entire work of this Office consists OF
assessing city property, which could
readily be performed by adopting the
assessment OF the county assessor and
his deputies. The latter make thor
ough canvass OF the city property and
make comprehensive record OF it, and
ground, making another 9ssessment We
believe that this double work is unnec-
essary, and have therefore proposed to
abolish the Office of city assessor.
AS regards the city tax and license
collector, the work which he does can as
we'll be done by the county tax collector
at the same time that state and county
taxes are collected. This will add no
burden to the duties OF his office, and
will possess the great advantage OF
making ell taxes payable at one time
and place, besides saving he expense OF
the city tax rnd license collectors office.
The proposed amendments make it
obligatory on the council to limit the
number OF deputies and employees to
the minimum force, and we believe that
this will effect great saving without
hampering the administration of affairs.
In the matter OF salaries we have pro.
ceeded on the theory that the city's
business needs and deserves the services
OF the most competent and upright men
that can be procured, and following this
idea we believe that offices in which q
high degree of teshnical ability is re-
quired OF the head should be paid a
salary which will command the ability
necessary to administer its affairs prop
ctlys Auooo OulCeb WuOe6 FUNCTIONS are
OF a purely administrative nature and
can be conducted by almost any intelli-
gent man, are entitled to receive only
euch salaries as are paid in the business
world to ordinary clerkship.
We believe that the dignity and i'm
portance attached to the office Of or,
and the responsibility placed ther eon
by the proposed amendments, make it
necessary that generous salary should
be paid to that official in order that men
truly representative, and of high char
acter, may accept the office without too
great sacrifice OF their private inter-
ests. and that the incumbent may be
enabled to uphold the dignity and pres
tige OF the city before the world.
The offices OF city auditor, city engi-
neer and city attorney require the
services OF successful professional meE
who can command large compensation
in the outside world, and we therefore
believe that good salaries should be
paid to the incumbents of these offices,
and have proposed such.
We submit that the present form of
our municipal government is radically
wrong in respect to location OF responsi-
blity. Extravaganza and waste is fire..
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