The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-09-12

because the city was undergoing the
revaluation. and he would not know
the basis he was to work upon The
law provides that the school assess
ment shall not be over 211 mills upon
the dollar. and if the valuation is cut
from $125, 000,0 900 to $4,000, 600, it will
make a vast difference in the ASSESS
ments. However, l find on more care
full investigation that the reduced VAL
uation would not effect this years rev
enue, but that the tax receipts of 1897
would suffer. / have looked into the
comptroller's reports and recommends
lions and find that there ought to be
| enough money to carry on the schools
this year without trouble, although,
as a matter Nof law / would not adj
wise the board to open the schools
until after the usual recommendations
have been made according to the char
ter. The delay will be but a few days
at most, as the state board of equaliza-
ton will finish its work within a week
and then the council can pass the
! necessary ordinance.
I'm January the council estimated the
amount of money to be raised by the
city for the schools at S150,G00 The
law allows the city to raise 80 per cent
of this by issuing certificates of in
debtedness, which would create fund
OF $120 600. By the comptroller's report
for 1895, page u.s. appears a balance
in the school fund of $S2, 116 The re-
port also shows that the city received
in 1895 in tax receipts the sum of 1922,
T01; from state apportionment, $74,95O
Now 1T Is fair to assume from this re-
pert that if the city receives in 1896
from the tax receipts and the state
apportionment, in addition to the bal
ance on hand, we will have a fund of
| S4S9, 76S. I understand the board of
school inspectors requested $3.50, 900 for
the school year of 1885, In August, 's5'
| the council, by ordinance, set aside
for school purposes SAT-, $50, as follows:
Fer teachers salaries, 1910, 600; for 9TH
er salaries. $55, $50; for fuel. supplies.
ETC., $50, 900; total, SAT-, $50. The funds
would naturally be increased by the
increase in tax receipts, etc. If we have
for the year 1896 tax receipts as high
as indicated in the comptroller's re-
port, we will have enough money to
/ carry on the schools Still / think it
| is wise to wait until after the board
Of equalization fixes the values, and
then we will know the exact amount
to be depended upon for the next two
years. The board, of course, Will have
to rearrange salaries to suit the sum
on hand.
"It is a question in my mind If we
/ have the power to open the schools
until the council has fixed by ordin-
nance the sum available
The section of the charter upon which
the closing Of the schools is based is
| as follows:
And said board Of inspectors shall have
no power authority to create any in
debtedness against the city of st. Paul, or
| to pledge the faith or credit of said city in
any respect whatever until after the common
council or legislative department of the city
government has by ordinance ordained what
! the expenditures for school purposes for the
/ 49, L.
extent of the amounts set apart by or
| oinaces for school purposes for such year;
and in no year shall the aggregate amount
set apart exceed an amount greater than
! two and half mills dollar of the prop
erty assessed for taxation in said city for
such, and any violation of this law shall be
a n1isdemeanor, and, upon conviction, any
person violating the same shall be pun
| ished by Imprisonment in the county Jail for
six months. r--,
MAYOR DORAN'S POSITION.
Mayor Doran, when seen at his home
last night, said: :, r-r'
Il deferred sending the school budget
to the council because, under the re-
duced valuation of all city property,
as returned by the county assessor, it
would be impossible to raise the $780,
900 called for by the budget My pur-
pose in holding it back was to await
the action of the state board of equal
4
body proposed to raise the city xalua-
ton.
Il admit" continued the MAYOR.
that | was ignorant of the provision
OF the charter making it a misde-
meanor for the school board to open
the schools before the council has ap-
proved of the budget However. I
understand that the corporation attor-
ney is of the opinion that it is not too
late for the council to take action. AT
any rate, L shall call meeting of the
| common council tomorrow to see what
can be DONE.
L do not see how the present bud
get can stand in case the city valua-
ton is not raised by the board of
equalization. Soon after the beginning
| OF my term of Office the citizens com
mittee appointed to reassess the value
| OF property in the city, of which COM
mittee William Dawson Sr. was the
| chairman, met in the parlor adjoining
the mayors office. / was called in and
told that as mayor 1 succeeded ex-
Mayor Smith as member of the com
mittee. | attended two meetings. / be-
heVe, and when the question of reduc-
I ing the old valuation of $124, 600, 900 to
| $90, 900, 900 was discussed / called atten-
ton to the school budget, which asked
for $4,000. If the valuation was to
be reduced to $90,000,0O then a tax of
Z1s mills, which is the limit for school
purposes would fail to raise the amount
| OF money required. It would WELD
$225,000, to which, of course, would be
added the state apportionment of $75.-
OOO and the sum of 100000 representing
the L mill county tax, making a total
OF $500, 900 or $4,000 less than the bud
get.
Il understand, however. that Mr.
McCardy informed the school board
and the conference committee last De-
! cember that there was a surplus in
the school fund of about $81 900 that
would be available. On the other
hand, l am informed that the school
board claims that it's surplus is not
/ over S2000G. But of this question I
am not qualified to speak. There
seems to be a decided difference of
! opinion between the school board and
the comptroller, which may possibly
arise out Of the fact that Mr. Nc
Cardy's fiscal year for all departments
begins on Jan. l and ends on Dec. 81
whereas the school board considers
that the fiscal year for the schools be-
gins in September"
Mayor Doran was asked what. In
his opinion, ought to be done in case
1t became necessary to cut down the
budget to any material extent The
1 mayor answered:
Il am first and foremost strongly
impressed that it is the imperative
duty of the city to provide sittings
for all primary pupils, and I am there
fore fully in accord with the action
of the board in recommending the cree
ton of two new school buildings, one
in the Second ward and the other in
the vicinity of Ridgewood park in the
Fifth ward. Consequently, if any
branch Of our educational system
should have to be suspended, in my