The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-22
RELIEF OF SCHOOLS
1T NOT IN DISOBEDIENCE OF
CHARTER
MEANING M'cARDY's PLAN
In Letter to the Council. the Corr
pOratiOn Attorney Advises Plain
ly Against Any .DaIliAnCe With
the Plan suGRested to the Con
ference Committee by the City
Treasury Watch Dog.

the Plan Suggested to the Com
ference Committee by the City
Treasury Watch Dog.
Corporation Attorney Markham took up
the question of diverting money from the
general fund to the school fund last even
Ing at q meeting of the assembly
The conference committee, after listen
ing to the suggestions of Comptroller
McCardy, that 1t would be advisable and
proper to take $4,000 from the general
fund for the purpose OF building new
school houses and repairing old ones
passed a resolution recommending that
the council take such action.
Rather than have the council go into
the matter blindly the corporation attor-
ney prepared an opinion on the subject,
| which he presented to the assembly last
evening. Mr.. Markham holds that the
money In the general fund, under the
/ charter, cannot be diverted TO any other
fund, and the council has not the power
or authority to so divert-it
AS to the money raised under reso-
luton of the council passed in Decem-
/ Der, 1891, directing that 5000 be placed
! in the estimate each year by the comp
! troller for an insurance fund, and when
| this fund amounted TO 900 the amount
could be taken for the purpose of build
! ing a school, Mr.. Markham holds that
| $4,000 of the $35, 900 now in the fund can
| be used for the maintenance of the
! schools. He assumes in his opinion that
| the 5000 placed in the fund each year
! by the comptroller was taken from the
money raised for the schools by taxa ton.
Comptroller McCardy, however, says
| the $1,000 placed annually in the insur-
anCe fund for several years was taken
from the general fund.- and not from the
money raised for school purposes. On
| the theory that as the $1,000 has been
taken from the general fund, the comp
! troller contends that 1t would be perfect
| ly legal to take more than this amount
| and give 1t to the schools Corporation
| Attorney Markham, however. when this
| point raised, at once declared that if
| the $35, 900 now in the insurance fund was
raised from the general fund each year,
! instead of being taken from the school
| moneys then 1t would be illegal to use
! any portion of 1t for the schools, and
| the entire amount, or as much as has
| been raised from the general fund, would
| have to be turned back to that fund.
| Mr.. Markham stated to the assembly,
| after reading his opinion, that he had
| made by the comptroller and widely
! discussed by the citizens, and had ar
rived at his conclusions after a thorough
examination of the charter and the law.
| There should be, he said, no factious feel
! ing between the council and the school
! board. If the board would not reduce
! salaries or expenses so as to conform to
the ordinance passed by the council, then
/ the council should do all In its power TO
/ keep the schools open for the full term,
| and he suggested that the resolution Of
| 1891 be so amended to give the school
| board the $40, coo for the maintenance OF
the schools and allow them to be contln-
ued to June /.
! The opinion was laid on the table and
will be taken up when the tax budget Is
considered, at adjourned meetings Of the
assembly and board of aldermen Wednes-
/ dav night In his opinion Mr.. Markham
| says:
The city comptroller, at the recent
meeting of the conference committee, re-
I ported that there is in the city treasury
| the sum of $4,000 to the credit OF what IS
known as the INSURANCE fund me
common council on Dec. 2. 1881, adopted
a resolution directing that all policies OF
! insurance on the school buildings In the
city should be Cancelled and the money
! received from returned premiums paio
| into the city treasury to be held as
fund TO cover loss or damage by nre on
any of the school buildings OF the city.
| 1t is understood that the returned preInl-
ums at that time amount to ABOUT ~ 'oVo'
| and this amount seems to have been
| credited to what has been known as the
| school board insurance FUND, ana by
resolution of the common council paSSeO
/ q little over year ago this amount was
| turned over to the general school main
| tenance fund" as I understand It, In OF
| der that necessary and essential repairs
might be made upon some of the school
| buildings The resolution of December,
1891. also directed that the city comp
! troller in each year thereafter should in
clude In the annual tax estimate the sum
of S. 000 to be used exclusively FOR the
purpose of reconstructing or repairing all
! public buildings owned by the city, de-
! stroyed or damaged by fire. And it was
! further provided, that when the fund SO
accumulated should amount to $4,000. the
common council might appropriate wv
600 thereof toward the erection or any
| new school building which might De or
dered by the common council.
The only authority under the charter
for raising money by taxation for the
purpose of creating an insurance fund
under the terms of the resolution is the
provision authorizing an annual tax levy
not to exceed two and half mills upon
the dollar of the taxable property within
the limits of the city for the support
and maintenance of the pubic free
| schools and the provision that of the
amount so raised sum not to exceed
half mill on the dollar may be set side
for the erection of addition buildings
for school purposes, or for creating
pose exclusively. 1t will be assumed.
| therefore. that this fund has been accu-
| mulated under the authority so conferred
as part of the annual school tax levy
While this fund has been accumulated,
under the direction of the resolution
! above referred to. for the specific purpose
of repairing public hui :dings. injured or
damaged by fire; or under the p 'S'tlons
specified for the cons;@u <e.9n of new
school buildings, ! think 1t is within the
power and authority Of the common coun-
ell in it's discretion. by amendment or
repeal of the resolution, to use the FUND
thus accumulated for the general main
tenance of he free public school system.
Mr. McCardy, at the same time, made
the further suggestion to the conference
committee that by an indirect method IN
dictated by him, $50. GG0 might be with
drawn from the general fund. and this.
Ing a total of $4,000. might be expended
under the direction of the common council
| in the construction of two additional
school buildings and the making of certain
urgent and necessary repairs upon the
I school buildings now in use. / will an
swer this suggestion briefly by saying,
that after careful consideration of the
| provisions of the charter l am satisfied
that this cannot be done. In view of ex-
that the 600 above referred to was
raised by taxation under the authority
conferred upon the council to levy an an
nual tax for the support of the public
schools because had it been accumulated
under the authority to levy tax for the
crea ton of the general fund" of the city.
1t could not now be diverted from that
! fund or used for school purposes
|. The charter provides that the common
III g. l. So y.