The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1898-01-05


S19,S70.29 per year. NOW, If an ifHNease
| In consumption Of 100000 gallons daily
has furnished S59311.80 gross per an
mum. q further increase of 1000, coo gal
Ions ought to furnish in addition $1O1,-
6U.37, or a total of Sl60.9S9.17 yearly.
Aguln. on the Same basis, although
the records show decreasing rate in
cost of delivering water. the average
| annual cost of delivering water for
twenty years would be 53.93549. AS a
consequences the net annual revenue
would average sl07,053.66, or for. the
whole period total of $2,141 ,O73.GO, and
| this with Il consumption OF only ten
million gallons.
| All this is, of course, dependent on
our acquiring an additional water sup
ply. as we have not at present sufii-
| Client ITO furnish 10000, 900 gallons per
| diem. l
RETIREMENT OF BONDS.
Now, out of this revenue, 1t will be
necessary TO pay interest on our bonds.
Money ut present is cheap and we
ought 10 be able to float bonds at
per cent. The s per cent. bonds ma
ture in 1901, and If the amount received
for taxes be placed in the sinking
| fund for the next three years we ought
to retire 100000 of these bonds. Should
| this be done our interest for the. next
| twenty years will amount to 100000 for
three years and S36, 900 for seventeen
| years, or $4,000 total. Then, again.
| 1t Will be necessary to set aside a sum
| for extensions OF 1aaihs. This has
| cost during the last twenty years about
| $4,000, and while a large part of the
territory to he severed In the near
future is already piped, still to be safe,
| we can apply 100000 for this purpose,
and 100000 for n new thirty inch sup
| Elementary main. This will leave
Sl.1d9. 073.G0 as net revenue, sS50,000 OF
which can be applied to taking up all
our water bonds, leaving 5000. 073.G0 for
| extraordinary expenses. if necessary,
and this without the estimated water
| tax of $4,000 for seventeen years, and
the estimated saving of $4,000 per an
| mum for twenty years in getting rid of
pumping into the reservoirs.
Counting these last items There
ought to he balance of over 5000, 600
In the hands of the Water Board. with
the entire works paid for and all future
revenue net.
Basing the future. from actual rasults
| In the past (the most probably way of
| getting at the truth). we are COM
PEELED to arrive Mt this prospectus OF
the value OF our water works. and this
| without counting the inestimable value
| of free water for fire, sewer and street,
cleaning purposes. Taking the numberj
of fire hydrunts, flush tanks, publ.c'
| buildings. street sprinkling, etc, and
| basing the price of furnishing them on
! what is actually paid private water
companies for such supply, we can
safely estimate that this alone Is and
will be worth $4,000 per annlm during
| the next twenty years, or 100000 to be
| added to the 100000 above mentioned.
Now having arrived at a just con-
| ccH!ion of the value of our water
works we can take up more intelligent
| ly the offers that are made by private
parties.
First. the offer OF N1essrs. Watts &
| Hotton, of the Portsmouth and Suffolk
Water company. They simply offer to
| supply from one to three million gal
Ions to the city of Norfolk for $4,000
| per million Without going into the
| que =tion of whether or not the 20-nch
| main now being laid by them can, af-
! ter furnishing Suffolk and Portsmouth.
furnish three million gallons to this
city, and without considering what
pressure they will give their supply on
| delivery, il is simply necessary To
| point out the folly of paying $50 90 for
| that which we are now obtaining for
| less than twenty. Therefore we do
| not deem ii necessary to consider this
| offer further
STATEMENTS CHALLENGED
| Second. as to the offer of the Hy.
| draulic Construction company, Of New
| York. They offer TO lease our works
Tor forty or fifty years at an annual
! rental OF $4,000, and then to turn them
| back to the city, the city paying the
hrst cost of all additions to the works
inc language OF the offer Is in part as
| Follows: 1--WE will pay the city $35, 600
per annum rental for your existing
| works. This will cover the interest on
| your present bonds by adding the direct
| water tax now charged. and would
| gradually wipe ont your bond issues"
The inquiry Is naturally. is this so.
| Let us see. Our present annual inter
| est Is $4,000. $4,000 from this would
leave $4,000. For the last two years
| the tax collected has been less than
| $4,000. This would not pay off the
| Sla,OoO deficit mentioned above and In
| creased taxes would have 10 be resorted
| to to make up the deficiency. This an
| nuai deficit will exist until the refund
| ing of our 100000 s per cent. bonds
| when If We are able to refund for per
| cent. We would still have an annual
| interest account If $50, 900. and then only
would our net income from the water
! works amount to $1,000 per annum
How long would it take to wipe out
100000 of bonds by paying $1,000 an
nually. Only l4G years. Truly we would
| gradually wipe them out but how cX-
| cccdingly gradually.
| To look at their offer from another
standpoint: They say: "4\t the end of
| twenty years Your entire Indebtedness
| would be wiped out, and the city would
| he receiving $4,000 per annum from its
works, which cost them nothing, your
| bonds refunded and the entire revenue
| net" Is this fact?
| AT the end of twenty years we will
have received from the Hydraulic com
nany 100000. we will have expended
! 100000 interest until the rcfundine of
our Der cent bonds. then il $500 900
bonds are refunded for per cent. we