The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-11-22

respectfully submits that under the facts
hereinafter set forth it is entitled to re-
ceive water from Jersey City at the rate
OF 67ts cents per thousand cubic feet of
water consumed by it,. This had been the
rate for their consumption IN Jersey CITY
since November, 1881, until April ~ 1881.
when a new schedule was adopted, fixing
the rate upon all consumers OF water
above 1850, 600 cubic feet per month at 70
cents per thousand and cubic rdde,T feet, by si ths c anat
pany as follows:-
Cubic feet.
May 4,oee,U" W
June 1Veo,ooV
August 4,o'z'oVo
17,s16,OoO
Making a total for four months of H.
/ 616,0N0 cubic feet, amounting, at the rateoI
rs cents per thousand feet, to $I5,362.
IF the reduction requested by this com,
pany is granted, the sum of 1851 Will
be taken from this bill, and the net
amount due Jersey City from this COM
pany will then be $12,o25.s0
The water rents are fixed by your
Board under the provisions of Sections
81. 50 and 50 of the charter of 1871.
Section 81 provided: That the Board
of Public Works Ito whom you have sue
ceeded), shall collect, distribute and use
water in all places and for all purposes
where the same may be required, and
from time to time shall fix the price for
/ the use llSIGOI lit liz llC VI pdy-
Section 50 p-rovides:-eThat no contract
shall be made for a longer period than
three years.
Section So provides:-sThat in fixing the
water rents your Board shall do SO with
out reference to paying from the pro-
ceeds thereof the interest and principal of
the bonds issued for the purposes connect
ed with the water works and for the ex-
tension and maintenance OF the works,
distribution of water, salaries and other
incidental charges
"By section 81 of the same act your
Board has authority for the security and
proper management of the water works
to prevent wastes and improper use of
water; to make bylaws, rules and regu-
lations respecting the use and introduce
ton thereof in houses, tenements, manu-
features and other places from time to
time.
This last section gives your Board full
power to provide for the metering of wa
ter in all cases where you may deem 1t
necessary.
Section 81, above recited. proceeds upon
the theory that your Board shall fix the
price for the consumption of water at
equitable and fair rates, charging the
same prices therefor to all classes of citf-
zens, without discrimination. Our insist
ment is hat by the prices fixed and by the
methods adopted by the department, the
city sells its water at wholesale for nearly
twice the rates received at retail.
.sEor the year 1897 the house rates as
assessed amount to $3.50, 1863 The meas
! ured water at the present rates Tor the
year will amount to $500, $685. making a
total of $50. 1l5.20
"For the past year the average con-
sumption of water in Jersey city has been
$500. COO gallons per day. Out OF this daily
consumption there must, OF course, pc de-
Quoted the water used for pubic bulid-
ings and for fire service. The amount 50
used is estimated by Captain Hooker at
private consumption q, 1000, coo gallons per
day.
Nov, if every person in Jersey City
paid exactly the same price. for water
used, the city would receive for each OF
these %, coo, 900 gallons OF water per Gay
! the sum of sS3.S5 per million gallons, Sew
| enty-fve cents, the rate charged our
! clients for each thousand cubic feet, is
! equivalent to $100.2 per million gallons, or,
in round figures, $1Oe per million gallons.
ssIhus YOU win see that our clients pur-
chase water at wholesale, ana are payins
on an average of sl6.55 more for each mill
ion gallons of water than the average con-
sumer in Jersey City, or about ~ per
cent. nso- r;ty
amounts to about seven and a half million
gallons per day. and yields of the total
income 1904 s6s, S6. The house ems onsum aE5ion
gallons per day and returns to the city
S460, 74s.s 81 In this estimate allow fof
PUBLIC buildings and the FIRE department
sUnder the above figures each and every
| million gallons of metered water pays TO
the city Stills. while each million g Solsas
upon -FOUR schedule brings into the city
$72.13 per million gallons; In other WORDS,
| you charge at wholesale oot2 per cent.
more for your water than you 90 at re-
saThe above figures are official and were
obtained from Mr.. Goar, the Water Puro
veyor, and Captain Hooker, and from the
| President of your Board.
Now let us apply those figures. II
our clients, the American sugar Rehnlng
as the average householder in Jersey CITY
to wit, S72.13 per million gallons, the pres
| emf bill would be reduced from Sl3,362 to
S, 6sS.01. In other words they are asked
to pay for four months S3sF24 more tnan
their share of the expense Of the water
| department of Jersey City. This amounts
to over S11 600 per year.
that they are willing to continue the pay
an injustice to them of over 20 per cent;
but they decline to pay the increase OF
10 per cent which you have recently i'm
| posed on them.
.There is one element in the matter of
these water rents which your. Board has
| evidently lost sight of. Although the
measured water contributes about three
| seventies of the whole income of the wa
| ter department. it does not entail upon the
city more than one-fifth of the cost of coll
lection of the water rents: The~water
rents from the American Sugar Refining
Company amount to $4,000 per year, and
| are collected with as little expense as
| the WdlGT rents against q tWO-Stol II Ills
building amounting to less than SIS per
year.
water department is about $50, 600. To col
lect these particular water rents the time
| of the Water Purveyor is not taken more
than one hour per month and the Regis
trar has merely to mail a bill for the
amount shown by the metre to be due,
and a check has for the past twenty years
always been forthcoming by return mail.
THE present method of delivering water
to householders at liked water rates ir-
respective of consumption has been a very
1 costly experience for Jersey City.
The adjoining city of Bayonne, al
| though paying more than double per mil
lion GALLONS for it's water during the past
twelve years, has been able, through the
extensive use of meters. to make its water
department self-sustaining, and ut the
same time to extend the same.
1.-THE City of Hoboken has had the
same experience. Last year the charges
for water in the City of Hoboken. where
| nearly all the houses are metered, was
s155. 294. 81. BY the census of 1895, Hoboken
had a population of 1883, which makes
the average charge upon each inhabitant
Of the City of Hoboken for water. the
sum of $2.S7. but Jersey City by the same
census, had q population of 1S2, rs, which,
upon the basis of the figures above given,
would make the average cost of the con-
sumption for water for every inhabitant
of Jersey City $4.19, or 46 per cent. in ex-
cess of our sister city.
IF a proper system of metering were
adopted In Jersey City the whole con-
sumption of water would be cut down to
aho,1t 20 600 0N0 gallons per day.