Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-10-11
ON PAVING
Mayor Knox Will Recommend
Two Ordinances for Twenty
first improvement.
DECLARES PROCEEDING ILLEGAL
Holding Property Owners South
of Third Could Collect Unex-
pended Court Costs.

Mayor Knox mas expressed an in
tention to present to the council at its
next meeting special message in
support of his position on the Twenty
first street paving question and a
recommendation as to what he be-
lieves should be done. When ap-
preached on the subject this morning
he defined his position.
LAS is generally known" he said
sin the paving ordinances the various
estimates are made under different
heads and so they are kept on the
records and closed up in the accounts.
II the actual expenditure falls below
the estimate the property holders who
have raised the fund have right to
ask and receive the surplus in re-
bate. have the advice of good legal
authority, aside from that of the city
at orney, that the diverting of the
sum set aside for court costs would
be illegal and so invalidate the whole
ordinance, also the city would have
to paw the entire cost if the matter
were contested, as was done in Dav-
seen by property holders who assure
into court if the fund is diverted.
Could Collect Rebate, He Says.
"If no contest were made and the
property holders on the street should
dem and rebate on the unexpended
court costs they would be entitled to
it and could collect it, even though it
had been expended under a different
head. l have been told that Judge
Adams signed the assessment rolls
under the i'm preston that the q would
stand the entire cost of paving the
street north of Third avenue
Whether this is true or not l do not
know, or whether the city attorney
alone assumed the responsibility for
the city of paying the 5000 The i'm
provement will cost in addition to the
5000 the q has agreed to pay. it is
not my intention to allow the city 10
take any risks in the matter.
To Recommend Two Ordinances.
aside from the legal aspect of the
case there is the question of equity.
We must remember that We are ex-
empting part of the p operty holders
on the street from 500 of the cost of
the improvement and saddling it upon
the others, court costs or no court
costs. The money is not collected as
regular taxes and does not belong to
the city to expend as is seen fit. L
shall recommend to the council the |
passage of two ordinances, one pro-
viding for the Improvement of the
street above Third avenue and the !
other below it. In this way the upper |
part of the street may be improved |
at once and the other be considered |
as separate proposition"
Public Curiosity Aroused.
In regard to the authority the
mayor quotes as to the legality of
diverting the unexpended portion of
the fund for court costs to other pur-
poses, a number of citiz Ems have ex-
pressed surprise that the mayor
should deem outside legal adv ce
more worthy of his confidence than
the properly constituted municipal
Certainly in regard to the
legality of matter of tnis sort, the
opinions of the latter official. it
would seem, should be given some
To avoid such a poll
~ is to set a bad precedent in ad-
hitting an influence which might
be prompted by selfish mo-