The Saint Paul globe., 1899-12-12
OPEN THEIR EYES
MEMBERS OF THE CONFERENCE
COMPTROLLER MCARDY
FIRST SUBMITS HIS BUDGET
FOLLOWS 1T UP WITH A REMARK
ABLE AND EXTRAORDINARY
STATEMENT
WANTS NONE OF NEW CHARTER

Points Out One Way to Build Two
New School HOuses-Is Bitter at
a Number of Board of Education
Ofhcia1s-A Budget That Will
Take a Good Deal of Editing Re-
fore 1t Gets Through the Council.
Comptroller McCardy, at the conference
committee yesterday, submitted his an
nual budget. sh wing the needs Of the
city for next year i'll q financial way but
it was not the figures which startled the
members of the committee. The comp
troller had a new idea to the solution
of the problem of school finances. He
stated that he was opposed to any new
charter. If the comptroller can get the
corporation attorney to stamp ss legal
his scheme of raising money, or rather
transferring money from the general
fund to the support of the schools. there
will be nc need of new charter 1t is
evident from the position taken by the
officials who are connected with the pres
ent administration that every means pos
sihle is to be taken to prevent new
charter being drafted and adopted. If
the school financial question can be ar
ranged for in any way then the adminls-
tration officials think there will be little
chance for a new charter to pass. Comp
troller McCardy, at the meeting of the
conference committee a year ago, had
scheme for helping out the schools by
issuing bonds. The corporation attorney,
however, declare 1t Illegal. This year
Mr.. McCardy has q plan of
PEATJNG THE CHARTER
provisions by taking money from funds
other than that levied for the schools and
building two new school houses and re-
pairing the old buildings. AS to the le-
| gality of such expenditure under the char
| ter the comptroller is not so ciear, but
| he naively says mo taxpayer would OBJ
| ject, and surely the board of education
| would not"
! The council, it is understood, will fol-
! low the ideas of the comptroller, each
| of the members seeing in the plan a
| possibility of having one of the new
buildings erected in his particular ward.
| The conference committee will consider
! the suggestion this afternoon.
The budget, as presented by the comp
troller, calls for 81 1,3436 667 to be raised by
| taxation as against 81, 1888, $50, which was
| fixed by the council for 1S99 There is no
| doubt but what these figures will be in
| creased by the council. if not by the con-
| ference committee. No provision is made
| by the comptroller for the building in
| spector and this reduces the budget be-
low last years figures by $3.50. The
| council, which has the last guess on the
| budget, will insert a provision for this
| office
No provision is made for a judgment
| fund, which in previous years has been
| about SS0,000 The comptroller says there
| Is no need for any such fund this year,
the cases on the court calendar against
the city to the contrary. The lighting
| fund estimate is placed at $145, ,327 but this
| does not include any interest on gas posts
| and mains, which in the budget Of 1899
was figured at $1,000, and no amount is
added for lighting public buildings, which
! is about 81 900 per year The engineering
| department is 81 200 below the figures for
1899 and the board of public works fund
5000, although request will be made for
an additional $3.50 by the board. The gen
eral fund expenditures are increased $685.
900 over 1899 by the addition of $32, 900 fol-
election expenses, additional $4,000 for
garbage and $4,000 to make up losses tC
the treasury by banks failing and the city
not pressing the bondsmen to make good
MORE INCOME FIGURED.
The estimated income from the genera
fund is increased over 1889 $25, 600 by the
comptroller, the expected increase to come
from ten more liquor licenses, $1,000 from
fines in the police court and $4,000 from
miscellaneous receipts, the major par
of which 1t is supposed the street railway
company will pay in next year. The dos
license receipts, which were estimated a
81 coo in 1899, are placed at $1,000 for mex
| year. 1t is always noticeable that il
| a election on,
departments are scaled down by the
comptroller to the very lowest figure il
the budget. Usually it follows that in ths
next years budget there is always from
$4,000 to $4,000 to make up shortages, bu
then there is no election and there is no
SO much need of making a good showing
But little business was transacted a
the meeting yesterday, nearly all the tim,
being occupied by the comptroller who's
, suggestions ran all the way from a con
/, stitutiOnal convention to the proper archi
tectural plan for building school houses
After ordering the printed copies of th
budget distributed, the comptroller com
menced by reading the following prepared
statement:
PREPARED STATEMENT
In submitting the annual budget fo
your consideration this year, there ar,
some matters to which your attention i:
respectfully invited. The question of tax
oCAoll 10 OIle MAICH always presses 1tS6l
: forward and demands very careful con
] sideration. Our general laws on taxa
S tion by long series of years of amend
I ing and repeating have become a piece o
1 patchwork which needs redrafting and /
s is almost absolutely necessary that if h
4 | done. The question of municipal govern
n ment also, in a growing country lix
r ours, Is one in which the municipal law
e do not keep abreast with the times An,
r in the cities of Minnesota, conductin;
s their own affairs in their own way an,
| no two alike. it would seem as thouel
the only way to remedy these matters i
by convention to redraft the state con
stitution Incorporating therein the re
+ quired powers of home rule.
: AS q municipal corporation the city O
I st. Paul is in good condition At tn
i close of the fiscal year dec 81 ther
e will be more money to the credit of tn
d operating departments than of any yea
T in its history, with no unpaid bills, n
Ninety thousand dollars of bonds cam
due this year and have been paid. n
: bonds were issued during the year. ]
t viii be noticed that there Is nothing in
= cluded IN the budget for the payment o
q judgments, there being no judgments t
pay. The years business has been S
conducted that nothing is needed 70
credit Of this account. This is a credi
. mark for the legal department, well earn
! tory of the city for many years that
;, budget was made with this account clos
d ed.
The recommendations made one yea
ago that the duties of building inspecto
be placed upon the engineering depart
r ment is respectfully renewed. 1t wi
II also be observed that there is $3.50 in