Middletown transcript., 1899-07-22
COUNTY FINANCES
RECEIPTS MORE THAN EXPENSES As SHOWN
BY AUDITORS.

! with Judge William G. Spruance on Tue
II day their report of their inspection of Il
: accounts of the county comptroller ar
I receiver of taxes and county treasurer Fl
! the year from January 4th, 1898, to Jan
ary Sd, 1899.
i From the report are taken the followin
: The tax levy for county purposes fl
1898 aggregated 1899, 1888; made up :
+ follows: County, 1924, ,224; poor, s44 ,644.7 2
: capitation, $16,269: dog, $2,676 so; inves
, ment (county's share) S13,278.3s; roat
s36, ,946. SO: negro school Wilmington
$s94.5o; total, 1899, 1888.
The total levy of Investment tax wa
$37, ,350.3S, of which $9.337.59 was for til
State of Delaware. S13, 3,278.38, as state
above, for New Castle county, and S14, ,734,4
for the city of Wilmington.
There remained to the credit of the sew
eral appropriations for 1897, on Januar
4th, 1898, the sum of $103, ,o28.38, constitut
ing, as far as could be ascertained on tina
date, the current liabilities of the county
The appropriations for the year 189
amounted to S34o, 1870, after all transfer
had been made, and with the balances re
naming over from 1897, made the tota
amount available for 1898, $443, ,20508. Th'
allowances during the latter year wer'
$318, ,42o.81, leaving appropriated funds or
January Sd. 1899, subject to allowances
aggregating $125, $40 so.
The bonded debt on January 4th, 1898
amounted to $3.50, 800. There was paid
during 1898, $40, 900 of the "Loan for benefit
of the Trustees of ihe Poor" and $4,000 Of
the "Loan for Funding Floating Debt No
l." reducing the total funded Indebtedness
to $685. 800.
The balance in the treasury at the begin
ming of the year was $100,615.7S, divided
| into general funds available for general
county expenses) $93,911.09, road tax
$5,472.94, and negro school tax $1,2S1.75.
The receipts Of all kinds during the year
were county and poor taxes, $24S, ,920.o .o1;
capitation, 1881 .96; dog, $995.47; investment,
$8,115.94; road, $31, ,206.5O; negro school,
81 ,33s.73; and miscellaneous items $34, 1885,
"a, including $4,000 received from the
sureties of John J. Dougherty, collector of
Wilmington hundred in 1890 and $19, ,346. AZ
registration fees The total receipts were
1926, 1855. The disbursements for all
purposes amounted to $685., 1882. OF this
sum 1916, ,522.5 SIS were general funds, 1928,
81 investment tax paid to the State of
Delaware and the city of Wilmington and
for commissions to the county treasurer
2,565.48 road tax, and $1,S12.9s negro
school tax. There remained in the treas
ury at the close of the year $72,687.31,
divided into general funds 67,277.22, in
vestment tax to be apportioned $536,63,
road tax $4,113.96 and negro school tax
S757 so, all deposited in the Farmers Bank,
Wilmington.
RECEIPTS NOT EQUAL TO EXPENDITURES.
!. 1t is established beyond question by the
state of the accounts examined that the
receipts of the county for more than four
years past, have not been equal to the cur
rent expenditure. In respect to the ordi-
nary receipts from taxes, it is evident that
either the assessment on which the tax levy
is laid is unreliable or the collections have
not heretofore been made with that prompt
ness and thoroughness that the needs of the
county would seem to demand.
The comptroller's books showed on
January 4th, 1885, that there were unpaid
balances due from collectors and uncollect-
ed taxes in the hands of the collectors,
amounting to $256, 1885, as follows: Taxes,
1876 s781. .63; 1888, $2,O51.89; 1890, S16, 49,
OF; 1891, $1A951.05; 1892, S31, ,911.84; 1898,
$14, ,26265; 1894, SIS, 1874, 95; 1895, $29.436.53
1896, 32.82541; 1897, S10S, ,O4O,53; total,
1886, 1885.
During 1898 there was collected out of
the taxes stated above, $50, I'll "a. Judge
ments to the amount of $l,253.58 were
against taxpayers in Wilmington,
and there was charged off $78,6S2.65, leav.
ing balances of open accounts with the
receiver of taxes and collectors prior to
1898 to the amount of $106, ,941.06.
The report gives figures which show a
deficit Of $40, ,720.20 for 1895. of $50, ,739.63
for 1896, Of $13, ,73o.6O for 1897, and $26,635.
81 for 1896. total of $50. .82430.
The extraordinary receips from January
1st, 1885, to January 4th, 1898, include these
items; 1895, balance in treasury. ST., 7,827.87;
Water Commissions subscription towards
Washington bridge, $4,000; temporary
loan from Farme.s Bank, 10 900; 1896, tenn
porary loan from Farmers Bank, $4,000;
1897, temporary loans, from First National
Bank, $4,000; from the Misses Latimer.
$25, 900; proceeds of bonds for funding
floating debt No.3, including premium and
interest, $15s, ,361 81; total. S256, 1884.
The extraordinary disbursements, includ-
ing interest and amounts of temporary
loans left a surplus of extraordinary
receipts of $14s, So Deducting from
this the $50 824.3o deficit in ordinary re-
ceipts, leaves $67 ,377. 30 balance in treasury
January Sd last.
LARGE TOTAL OF UNCoLLEcTED TAXES.
The taxes of all kinds on January Sd,
1899, unaccounted for by the collectors,
amounted to $3.50, ,632.08. It will be observ-
ed that part of this large sum is due from
the collectors of delinquent taxes for 1895
and 1896, whose direct accountability to
the county for the amounts placed in their
hands for collection has been and, we
understand, is still an open question. We
directed attention to this question in our
report of last year.
The auditors give, from the best infor-
nation obtainable. statement of the re.
sources and liabilities of the country on ac-
count of general funds, January 3rd, 1899.
The items are:
Balances due from collectors for the years
1876, 1888 and 1890, amounting to So 933 .16;
uncollected taxes for 1885, 1896, 1897 and
1898, aggregating $163,047so the county's
share Of investment tax in the hands of the
treasurer for distribution 1897 81; judgments
against delinquent taxpayers of 1895 and
1896, 81 ,253.5S; subscriptions toward build
ing the Washington bridge, $2.575; eitifi-
cate of Indebtedness of the Mechanics Loan
Association for 81 600 and the cash balance
of general funds, January 3rd, 1899,
amounting to S67, ,377.23, make up the re-
son rses and farm a GRAND fofoI rf @2qr A72