The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-10-25

the one relating to the ordinance.
! passed a week ago by the council pro.
4 posing yearly increase Of $500 il
salaries paid to firemen and policemen
! When the question shall the ordin.
ances pass Notwithstanding the mayor.
! objections therefor came to a vote fF
! the council last evening only Council
\ men Buckle, Howe and Robertson
! voted in the negative
Reasons For the Veto.
The mayors veto message read a.
| follows:
| The ordinance proposing a new salary
schedule for members Of the fire de-
( partment as originally drafted by the
I committee on fire and police. only pro-
/ Ylded for an increase in the salary OF the
electrician from 1850 to $500 per anhum.
1 an advance of S240. while the bill as at
( passed entailed yearly additional ex-
penditure of S1.721. and this was done
without any previous consideration. and
without amy reasons being assigned for
SUCH increase except In regard to the
electrician. The salaries of twemty-six
officers and employees were advanced
upon motions made during the passage Of
the bill and the amendments were tncGr-
porated in it with but little or no opp0si-
ton.
The bill to make a new salary schedule
for the policemen, as it came from the
committee on fire and police. c0rTeTn-
plated no advance in the salaries Of the
present police force. but simply provided
for an additional officer to be known as
detective, and fixed his salary at 81. $50 per
annum. am in doubt however, as to
whether il was the intention Of the c0un-
Gil to advance the salary of the present
acting detective or provide an additional
officer, and do not know how il would be
construed by the court. Upon the passage
of the bill I'm the council ii was amended
and the following yearly salaries raised
on motion without much if any cOrAid-
Grafton or discussion making "a
total additional cost of these two de-
partments of over $500 per annum.
Hasty and Ill-considered.
1 respectfully submit that the hasty and
1Il-considered acton of the council in such
an important matter as this. when the
salaries of sixty-three officers and en-
ployeeS were raised in less than half that
many minutes is not only irregular but
tends to establish a dangerous precedent
So far as known there has been no COM
plaint of the inadequacy Of the present
compensation in these departments They
compare favorably with and i'm some
cases exceed the salaries paid in other
departments of the city government. If
the salaries or compensation Of city Off
GERS or employees are Inadequate to the
duties and responsibilities involved. the
subject should be taken up by the proper
committees and considered in all its bear
ings in an orderly and careful manner.
and SUCH changes and equalization could
then be made in all the departments as
justice and due economy might suggest.
In this way the rights of the people would
be preserved and an economical adninis-
tration of the city government secured.
The bills, therefore, are not approved
Debating the Question.
In moving to sustain the veto Coun-
Gilman Romney declared at length that
the salaries of city officials are now
high enough.
Councilman Robertson took pointed
exception to the mayors charge that
action in the council upon the Ordi-
rances was hasty or without due con-
sideration. He thought the executives
line of argument was weak. compared
with what would have been Rad .1e
reasoning been on the premise that all
salaries Should be restored.
To Patrick it looked bad to pass the
ordinance at such an ipOpportune time
as in campaign season.
FernStrum believed it would be mere
consistent to let the incoming admin
igtration adjust SUCH salaries as are
now unreasonably low, while Howe
made an argument to show that the
injustice done to policemen and hremen
in cutting their salaries last year
should be recti6ed now. Buckle fol-
lowed in the same strain.
1t was proposed by Weller to refer
the ordinance and the veto to the com
mittee on fire and police, but President
Barnes ruled the motion out OF order.
Politicians Talk Politics.
In closing the debate, Romney charg-
ed thst while both Denocf ats and Re
pubiicans voted for the new salary
cChedule, the measure was designed
for campaign effect. Wait until the
city's finances warrant" added Rom
ney land then all can be treated alike
in the raise OF sai2riss
II object to Councilman Rcmney
making a Republican talk interrupt
ed Buckle.
II don't know" retorted ROmney,
which party / am talking for. / ann
not talking for politics. but I believe
Councilman Buckle is making a talk
for political effect. The city treasury
is 900 behind now and
Guess again" cllipped in Robertson,
and the member from the Fourth pre-
cfnct lost his bearings and subsidized.
Dienl declared the ordinances We're
passed too hastily, and notwithstand-
ing he voted for them, he expressed the
opinion that the action was ''peargIts
politics.
The vote on sustaining the veto was:
Ayes-AIlen, Diehl Ferns5rom. Mar
gets, Patrick, RomR@y, Siddoway.
Wallace. Weller. Barnes. Noes
Buckle. Howe, Robertson. Absent
Callister. Morris.
Last week the ordinance passed by
a vote Ct ten to one, Margetts voting
in the negative. At that time Romney.
Morris, Allen and Barnes Were alb
se@t.
To Protect Water Rights.