Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-01-12
SOME CITY HALL MATTERS.
The Natural Gas Ordinance viii Come
Up Tuesday.

Glass House and East Wheeling
People Generally Favor 1.-THE
Annual Financial Statement May
Also Be Taxpayers
Kept in the Dark as to City FL
nances -RumOrso of Increased City
Taxes for 1896, and the Reasons
Assigned
Everybody is looking forward 10 the
regular session Of Council, which IS to
be held Tuesday evening, to see what
disposition Will be made of the natural
gas ordinance The measure, rejected
at the las, session N December, VII be
reintroduced as new business, and will
be accompanied by the petition from the
natural gas consumers. asking that the
measure be passed. This petition con-
tains the names of seven hundred and
seven.y-fve consumers, and represents,
/ s 5 calculated. about two-thirds of the
natural gas consumption Of the city. II
VIII be reinforced. TOO, by the united ef-
| forts Of all those interested in the start
.ng up of the Central glass factory,
wl.ch mus. have gas for It's glory holes,
| if Fl 5 10 compete with other furnaces
/ having gas, and often free gas at that.
All of Eas, Wheeling, and indeed, every
/ business man in the city, is interested in
U q effr rr n
and # a moderate increase in the price
VII irsUrea better supply through extra
/ ordinary efforts on the part OF the Gas
( Company. those having an interest in
the Central say, Pass the ordinance"
/ It is probable that the CITY Clerk will
/ submit his annual statement at Tuesday
nights session, but just what it will
/ show i'm any regard is a matter for the
purest guess work, as. lately, for the
/ frs. tine in at least a dozen years past,
/ Information as 10 the fiscal affairs Of the
city. even In such small matters as re-
ce,Dts from the police department, have
/ been withheld from reporters. 1t was
/ likewise mpCss, BILE, during the las,
| week in December, TO obtain a copy Of
tAe monthly statement of the CITY Clerk,
prepared for the information of Council
and as a result the public is in dense ig-
norance as 20 what balances were car
red over a- the end of the year by the
/ several departments, or how much
| money was spent during 1895 by each
| department. Under other administra-
tons this sort of information has been
at the disposal Of any newspaper want
| .ug it.
As an explanation Of his, It IS limited
( that there is a very decided feeling
among some Of the members Of the ma
| ior.ty party in Council that the increas-
| ed tax levy Of 1895 will have to be con-
/ tinued for 1896, and as an excuse for
this e is stated thar the gas works is still
running behind, and will continue TO do
so during 1896. while the extraordinary
expenditures of the health department IS
assigned as another reason for continu-
ing the high tax rate. OF course, these
| alleged reasons have nothing to do with
/ The case. but in the absence of figures it
IS easy 10 create the impression that the
city Is still 'in a hole" financially
/ speaking. and tina, some extraordinary
revenues for 1896 will be necessary.
It's true tht the Gas Board was not al
| lowed all the money it asked for in 1895,
but the overdue ;nstallments Of electric
I Eight bonds were paid mp and the works
we're given its receipts with the under
Standing that the money was 10 be made
/ go as far as possible. and on top of this
! we had the assurance Of the majority
7 party in Council, and Of is leaders out
of Council, that as soon as they got pos
session Of the works various reforms
would be instituted. and very material
/ saving made Under these conditions,
| it would appear that the revenues OF the
Board for 1896. eked out by some help
from city treasury which will have no
/ extraordinary demands made upon it,
would be adequate TO the situation, with
out any increase Of taxation. If the
/ worst comes to the worst. and the Gas
Board must have assistance, & could
probably be given five or ten thousand
dollars out Of the general city treas
urv. without an increase in taxation.
As for the extraordinary health depart
ment appropriation, that can have no
/ possible bearing upon the situation, as
the original health appropriation was
contained IN the annual appropriation
ordinance. and the second appropriation
was made out of surplus funds, when L
! was discovered that the tax receipts
would run about ten thousand dollars
above the estimate.
And right here IS a little point which
taxpayers should bear IN mind. When
the new Council passed the increased
| taxation measure Il was stated that it
would produce q given amount of money,
| and that the sum would be ample for the
needs of the city. As a matter of fact,
the sum originally named was increas-
/ ed about ten or eleven thousand dollars.