The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-18
ESTIMATING The EXPENSES.
Heads Of the City Departments Making
Calculations for Next Year.

calculations Tor Next Year.
The Letter Urging Retrenchment Sent
Out by instruction of Mayor McDon-
ouEh and Not Acting Mayor Mills.
Estimates Wanted Upon Which to
Base Appropriations for Next Years
Budget-The Tax Ordinance to Be In
troduced at the Next Meeting of
Council
The publication Of the circular letter
addressed by the clerk of council to the
chairmen of the various committees of
council, in yesterdays Morning News,
| calling for retrenchment of expenses, and
! requesting that they submit careful esu-
| mates of the expenses of their respective
departments for the coming year. caused
some embarrassment to Alderman Mills.
who has been acting chairman of council
during the absence of Mayor McDOnough
from the city.
A mistake was caused by the insertion
of the two short words pro tenn" after
the word mayor in the first line of the
letter, when the words had no business
to be there, caused the trouble. The letter
was sent out by instruction of Mayor
| McDOnough, and not by the mayor pro
TEN. As explained to a Morning News re
porter yesterday by both Mayor McDon-
ough and Clerk Rebarer, Mayor McDon-
ough gave instructions for the preparation
of this letter before he left for the north,
and the mention of the acting mayor was
merely by courtesy. The several recur-
renCes of the words mayor and mayor
pro tenn in the letter is where the con
fusion came in, and is what caused some
of the aldermen to think that perhaps
the acting mayor was taking advantage
of his position to bring himself into prom
inence as an advocate of reform and econ
omy in the departments. If they had con-
sidered it seriously at all however, they
would have understood it differently.
Mayor McDonough was asked what the
object of laying so much stress upon the
preparation of estimates of expenses of
the various departments for the coming
year. He explained that the tax ordi-
nance for 1895 would probably be read for
the first time a the next meeting of coun-
Gill; and the preparation of next years
budget will consume the greater part of
the time of the committee of the whole at
the meeting to be held ~stween now and
the close of the year. Council was greatly
handicapped in making up last years bud
get by the failure of some of the depart
ments to present estimates of their ex-
penses for the coming year, and the fur
Their fact that some of the estimates pre-
sented did not go sufficiently into detail
1t was with the object of avoiding a SINH
lar inconvenience this year that steps were
taken to secure all the data needed from
each department To this end the execu-
| tive head of each department has been in
structed to furnish a careful estimate of
the amounts which will be needed for the
conduct of their departments during the
coming year. These estimates are to be
4
be furnished to the mayor and the other
to the chairman of the committee having
the department in charge. The chairman
of the committees have been requested to
give these estimates their careful consid-
Grafton
Mayor McDonough was asked for some
statement as to what the probable eXpen-
| ditures of the city would be next year, es-
pecially on the line of new improvements.
He said he could not do so, however until
after the estimates have been made up
and some idea can be got of what the
running expenses of the city for the next
year will be. As the city will not be called
upon to make any large expenditures
on account of the new waterworks there
will doubtless be a balance over the reg
ular expenditures, which can be devoted
to street and drainage improvements The
house drainage question will naturally
come up again for consideration. 1t was
| drainage
this year, but there was no money which
could be devoted to the purpose Some
money will also be spent in charging the
watermains in the business section of the
city for the improvement of the fire SER
vice.
The present council is likely to be very
conservative in outlining the expendi-
lures of the city for the ensuing year, as
it is generally apparent that there will
be considerable alteration in the complex
ion of the board with the incoming of the
| next administration, no matter which DO
litical faction is successful. Several of
the members of the present board have
already stated that they will not be can
didates for reelection. Some of the Older
members think they have been in har-
ness long enough, and some of the newer
members have acknowledged that there
IS more work than fun in being a city ia
Their, especially when they get little credit
for what they do while criticism of an
unfriendly character is always plentiful