Omaha daily bee., 1896-01-26
KELLEY, STIGER & CO.,
Cor. Farnam and Fifteenth streets.
TRYING TO LOWER THE LEVY.

City Council Finance Committee Sets
About the Problem.
The charter provides that the annual tax
levy shall be made at the first regular meet
ing of the city council in February, and as
this will be one week from next Tuesday
night, the amount and distribution of the
levy is live question in municipal circles.
For three years past the levy has aggregated
"A mills, the only difference being the extent
to which the various funds were represented.
This year the sentiment in favor of a reduc-
tion in the levy is too general to be over
looked and the primary aim of the finance
committee is to discover means for cutting
down the demands Of the various departments
to figure that will permit of this reduction.
AS rule, the estimates of departments are
but little less than the amounts that they
obtained last year and it is positively given
out that some one Is going to be disap-'
pointed.
The finance committee is working on the
basis of a levy of 39 or 40 mills. The latter
figure will be the more probable result and
considering the decrease in the valuation
from last year, this Is more radical reduc
ton than the figures seem to indicate. The
1895 valuation of property in the city was
$19, ,654 ,466 on which the levy of "A mills
indicates revenue of 1864, 1860. This year
the valuation is slightly less than $18, loo, 900,
on which a levy of 40 mills will yield about
S724 900, or more than $4,000 less than the
total tax of last year.
WILL CUT SCHOOL LEVY.
Just where the reduction is to be applied
has not been entirely decided. 1t is practi-
cally settled that at least 2 mills will ccme
out Of the school fund. This has been the
position of the council from the start, while
the Board of Education has insisted that it
must have at least mills, the same as last
year. Councilmen Kennard, Benawa and
kment held session with the special COM
mittee of the board Friday at which each
side stated its position with the result that
neither succeeded in inducing the other to
modify its demands 1t was agreed that the
receipts from fines, licenses, state apportion-
ment and other sources during 1896 would
aggregate about $235,000. The members of
the board stated that it would cost them
$37O,0OO to run the schools through the year
and with the utmost they could accomplish
In the way of retrenchment they would re-
qulre 100000 additional. More than this,
they wanted 100000 to wipe out the deficit
that now exists.
Mr.. Kennard declared positively that the
council would not provide for the deficit this
year. The board might consider itself for
tUrate If 1t obtained enough to run the
schools on the most economical basis, with
out considering the shortage. Benawa sug-
gested cut In teachers salaries and both
he and Kennard wanted to know why the
janitors' salaries had not been cut, but
neither suggestion found favor with the
con mittee of the board. So the conference
concluded with the understanding that each
proposed to stick to the original position.
According to present plans there Is only
cne fund for which the levy will be increased.
That is the sinking fund.- which must be
materially reinforced in order to meet ma
turing obligations in the east. The levy
for this fund last year was Sh mills and
the fund Is now in arrears 1t Is proposed
to make the 1896 levy an even 10 mills
- .t,.. l..
city to pull through without any failure
to meet its obligations.
BONDS TO BE PROTECTED.
Chairman Kennard of the finance COM
mittee says that it is the intention of the
committee to take care of this fund, no
matter how much the others may be com
PEELED to lose in the operation. He says
that the municipal departments can stand
a forced economy II necessary, but no pay
ment of the bonded obligations of the city
can be delayed without immediate and ir-
reparable injury to the credit Of Omaha
The credit OF the city must be protected at
all hazards, even II the burden falls some
what heavily on some of the local depart
ments.
The general fund levy will probably be
10 mills 1t was a quarter of a mill more
than that last year. 1t is expected that the
maximum levy of mills for the fire de-
partment will not be sufficient to carry the
department through the year and that the
difference will again have to be made up
out of the general fund. It is expected that
about 2 mills will be required for this pur-
pose. so the actual levy for general fund
purposes will be about mills.
1t develops that the levy is even cutting
some figure In the contest over filling the
vacancies In the council from the First ward.
II is well known that the local corporations
are behind the candidacy OF Wheeler and Has
call, and the opponents Of these gentlemen
are circulating the impression that one OF
the main reasons why the corporations are
so anxious to get them into the council is that
they want to sdetrack the movement toward
reduction Of the levy. The corporations
pay a comparatively small tax on their prop
erty, and It is argued that II the levy is re-
duced the difference In their taxes will be
insignificant. while their source Of revenue
from the city will be likely to be materially
reduced This argument is not entirely with
out effect. and 1t is stated that one or two
Of the votes which have belonged to Wheeler
from the start will now forsake him on that
account. II this is the case 1t will probably
result In an effort to consolidate a majority
In a combination by which both Wheeler
and Hasoall will be shut out. This affords
possibility that the councilmanic contro-
vsrsy may take an entirely aew phase before
Tuesday night.