San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-01-14
MESSAGE FROM MAYOR ELMEN-
D0RF.
Engineer Gray Reports That More
Care in Putting in the Sewers
be Taken-Resignation Of
Buck Hice, Etc.

-
Just passed has been peaceful and I'M
eventful in the history of our city it 4
1 still our duty, and the citizens demand
: that we give them an account Of our stew
j ardship in the past and what our plan!
l may be for the immediate future. While
J the financial condition OF the city Is bet
! ter than heretofore, there still remains
: much to be done to place it on a cash OF
\ pay as you go basis
by the issuance of bonds and by pay.
] ments from general fund revenues, we
have reduced our floating debt of S403,
1904 on March l, 1888, to SIT, 1870 on
January 1, 1896.
"The financial condition of the city is
as follows:
City's Indebtedness on January 1, 1896,
was:
Sundry vouchers to December
81, 1898. ................... ..S is 29O 1t
Due San Antonio Gas Co. to De-
cember 81, 1895. .......... 17,125 II
Due on pay rolls November and
December, 1895. .............. 27,190 As
Due Alamo National bank. 49,. 1911 "a
Total. 77,737 70
son March 1, 1898, the city owed the
following floating debt:
Due San Antonio National bank
for general fund and sinking
fund, including interest. -. .S254, 675 IS
Due f. Groos & Co., two notes 1000 90
Due sundry judgments and
| open accounts. .............. l46,923 30
! Total, NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. s403, 500 Al
Son July %, 1894, the city issued bonds
to the amount of S300,O the proceeds of
which were applied TO the extinguishment
| OF portion Of the above floating or So
! n q llad n Z Hna inAahfadpncc nd ha
present entire floating general fund debt
OF the city is only SIT, 1879, il will be seen
| that So, SCI so of our current general fund
revenue was applied to the payment of
the old Indebtedness.
"This will disprove the assertion made
by some that the city is now financially
worse off than three years ago. Further
sinking fund, where we had an oyerdraft
OF nearly $40 900 three years ago, showing
another difference of 100000 in favor of
January l, 1896.
THE UNCoLLECTED TAXES.
"The uncollected taxes on March 1.
1898, amounted to s194, 340.s3, and on
January l, 1896, S442, 140 of this amount
about 1924, 760 is due the general fund;
S110,535 to the sinking fund, S31,S45 to
the school fund. If at this ratio delin-
qnent tax paying is permitted to go on 1t
no revenue at all.
"The city attorney informs me that by
a recent decision of the Supreme court
the action Of a city collector In selling
and levying on property sold for taxes
was sustained, and that the charter and |
laws governing the city whence the de- |
cision emanated are Identical with our
own. There is no reason why we should |
not be successful in collecting the taxes !
due the city and thereby be enabled to |
pay as we go.
IA great deal of dissatisfaction is ex-
pressed by the employees and creditors of |
the city on account OF slow payment Of |
wages and accounts due, and it has been |
suggested that loan be m ade in order to |
tide us over until next June. when the |
taxes will again be due and payable. In !
answer to this suggestion would say
that banks will not loan or advance money |
unless they have an assurance that 1t will |
be repaid In due time, and what assur- |
ance can we give them II our laws against |
delinquent taxpayers cannot be enforced? |
Even should we succeed in securing a |
loan to pay wages and accounts June l |
next, the sum would have to be repaid |
out of the first taxes received after June |
and we would soon relapse into the |
same state of affairs, and unless the de-
linquent taxpayers can be compelled TO
pay up 1 see no way out of the dilemma.
Inc pTdCtlC6 III NORu6 u dllOW
delinquent taxpayer to have his assess
ment reduced and interest and all costs
RENTED years after his taxes have
become due should not be tolerated; or,
II so, only in extreme cases where 1t is
plainly shown that an error on the part
of the assessor or collector has been COM
mitted. This practice Is in my mind in
part responsible for the non collection of
taxes when due. An individual can make
better use Of his money than paying his
taxes IL he knows or thinks that in two or
three years his taxes will be received
without penalty or interest added.
The total bonded debt of the city
amounts to So Sc, 063,5 500 and the annual
interest on the same is Sill, ITO; S42, 500 of
public improvement refunding bonds
bearing 6 per cent interest became due
on Jan. l, 1896, and are now in process of
being refunded with 1-2 per cent bonds,
as per ordinance adopted by this Council
on Nov. %, 1885,"
MARKET HOUSES.
On several occasions | have called your
attention to the necessity OF building
market houses for the accommodation and
demands of our citizens. That they are
| a necessity both for the convenience of
the public and as source of revenue for
| the city is unquestioHable. Twenty years
ago when our population was less than
one-third what IL is now two small mar
ket houses yielded a revenue of more than
| s15, 600 per annum over and above what 1t
J cost to conduct them; aud IL built now
/ the annual revenue after paying interest
and sinking fund on bonds would be oS25,-
| 900 to $4,000 annually which could be ex-
pended for street and other public i'm
provements.
81 would, therefore, recommend the i'm
mediate issuance of $4,000 public i'm
provement bonds for, the purpose of at
once beginning the construction OF two
market houses one to be located on the