The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-12-22

improved Methods of Bookkeeping
IN the Office of the County Commission
| ers.-The Towson correspondent of the Balti
more Sun gives some facts relative to the con
duct of an important public office here that
will meet general approval. He says:
The Commissioners of Baltimore county
are getting the affairs of their Office on bust
ness-like basis and are able to tell in detail how
and where the taxpayers money goes. When
they took charge of the office last December
they found the accounts in rather chaotic
condition and set about to straighten them out
For instance, they found that certain
amounts had been appropriated to the various
districts for road purposes and vouchers were
on Tile showing that certain amounts had been
expended on roads in the districts, but just
how and where the money was spent it was
almost impossible to find out. Even the
vouchers were not SO arranged that the
amounts expended in the districts could be
readily ascertained and it took some research
to learn whether the accounts were overdrawn.
The consequence was that the accounts of
some districts were oyerdrawn almost every
year.
III was the same with other accounts. Gen.
orally speaking, if taxpayer was interested
to know how much had been expended up to
certain time in any year for the maintenance
OF the Fire Department, or for such items as
horse feed, harness, chemicals for the engines,
maintenance of the wires for the lire alarm
telegraph, repairs to fire alarm boxes, he would
have hard time to get his information.
vouchers for the money spent at various
times were probably slowed away i'll the Office
or check stubs might give stray bits of infor-
nation, but beyond this it was hard to 60.
AS for finding out within q reasonable time
the total amount spent up to, say October 49,
from the first of the year for almost any item,
how much had been spent on any one road in
given time, or when a constable was appointed
or when his term expired-well, the taxpayer
could get his information the best way he
could there was no one in the County Uonl.
missioners' office to tell him in an hour, prob
ably not in day, perhaps not in week.
There was practically no modern system of
book keeping, and it was due to such lax
methods probably az much as anything else
that the county developed big debt that was
shifted along from one Board of Commission
ers to. another, growing larger every. year,
until it landed on Messrs. Knox, Slade and
Taylor, amounting in round numbers to
about 100000. The usual receipts of the
county from taxes, not including the amounts
received from liquor and traders licenses,
amount to between S550,000 and S575, 900 a
year. Any firm or corporation in existence
doing an annual business of such magnitude
by such methods would probably be bankrupt
in very brief time @
The present Board of Commissioners real
lied this. They had been left the burden of
big debt. To pay,this off administer the af-
fairs of the county with economy, get full
value for every dollar received ana to keep
down the tax rate was the problem before
them. They grappled the debt problem
promptly and levied 10 cents on the taxable
basis for that purpose alone. This is expected
to yield about SIS, 900. By close economy, ac-
counting for all the money spent and with
another 1O-cent levy next year it is hoped to
pay off the debt, the difference between the
amount realized from the direct tax for the
debt and the amount of the debt itself being
made up by economies in administering the
affairs of the county.
1.-The Commissioners soon found that they
needed good book-keeper, and appointed as
their chief clerk and auditor Mr.. James E.
Green, who had served the county previously
as chief clerk in the County Clerks office.
He opened set of books, such as would be
opened by business man in the conduct of
mercantile business, established accounts with
the various departments of the county gov
ernment and, as the book-keeper of business
house is able to promptly tell his employer
how the accounts of any branch of his bust
ness stand. Mr.. Green is usually able to answer
at short notice any question the Commission
ers or taxpayer may ask about the finances
of the county.
1.-The County Commissioners appreciate the
Importance of having the county's business so
arranged that taxpayers can learn without loss
of time Just how and where their money is
I.1,,