Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-04-04
MORE N[ED[DR[FDRNS
Haphaxa ard System Of Collecting
and Handling City Funds
Criticised.
Opportunity For Many Errors to
Be Made Thru Carelessness
OF Officials.
Mr.. Sears Points Out Unbusiness-
like Methods in Vogue at
Present.


Times-R Republican: In my former ar
ticle made some suggestions as to the
dangerous tendency of giving officers
the fees in place of fixed salary. I'M
this l wish to offer some suggestions
as to a system of checks for one de-
nartment of the city government
against the other. AT present there is
absolutely no check against any official,
whether mayor, clerk or street cS,nmis-
sioner. II either official wishes TO steal
sor makes mistake in his collections,
III is happy accident If the city ever
sGiscoyers its AT the present time each
office has a book from which the license
cr receiptis taken, leaving in the book
u stub which is supposed to give a
memorandum of the date, amount OF
money paid. by whom paid and the
business for which issued. If the officer
fills in such stub correctly, then the
stub will of course show the transact
ton. If he fills it in Incorrectly or
|onits 1t entirely, then the city is wholly
All sea as to the transaction. The onis-
SION may be the result of carelessness
or it may be the result of criminal ii,-
ltent to defraud the city. Iii the latter
case nothing would be easier than for
the officer to provide himself with
duplicate book from which to issue re-
ceipts or licenses and the stubs of
which would never be filed in or come
Into the possession of the city. That
omissions to fill in the stubs have al
lsready occurred. whether thru careless
lness or thru fraud, the recent procssd-
ling of the city council most clearly
demonstrates. 1t is TO be presumed that
licficers honest or dishonest Will have
ttheir reports correspond 10 the stubs
Iactually filed in. The so-ealled quarter
lly examinations by committees of the
| council, however honest the committees
| and however solemn and wise they may
Ihave looked when checking the reports
sof the officers With the stubs, have in.
/ fact always been roaring farces. The
trouble lies not in what the stubs show
/ but what they do not show. In fact
\ have had much sympathy for the
members of the committees in the crit
icisms recently made upon them 1t
was the system in my opinion that
! should have received the criticism rath-.
Ter than the committees. The members
| POSSIBLY may have been too child-like
| in their faith but the real fault was In
the system that the city has always
had
In my judgment every license OF off
cial receipt issued by the mayor should
| be countersigned by the clerk and b;
stim entered in a book kept by him in
1 his office for that purpose. which book
should show the name of the person to
| whom the license or receipt is issued.
its date, the amount thereof and the
business for which 1t is given. The
! street commissioner Should also be re-
Hauired to have all receipts given by
/ him for poll taxes or other purpose
countersigned by the clerk who should
a.so enter in a book kept by him in his
I Office for that purpose the name of the
person to whom given, its date. and
4 .he amount.
4 The clerk Should also be required to
4 file at least five days before May LIST
/ rnd November 1st of each year with the
mayor a statement in book form. show
ling the water rents that should be coll
llected for the ensuing six months, Civ
Ling in detail the amounts, persons and
lrremises from which due. The receipts
| gwen by the clerk should be counter
4 signed by the mayor and entered In a
/ hook kept by him in his Office for that
purpose. giving the name of the person
Ito whom issued the number of the
premises. the date and the amount
i paid. which should then be checked off
/ the statement furnished him by the
| clerk. All licenses and receipts should
! then have printed across their face in
ink of different color that such instru-
1 ment is void unless countersigned by
the proper official.
AS matters are now the mayor can
issue licenses and receipts to any
/ amount which may agree with the
stubs or not. or even be taken from ar
ether book, and the city is none the
wiser or richer for ii. For there is
lrothing by which his doings can be
! checked. So with the street commits
sioner: he can isue poll tax receipts by
the thousand and yet report for only as
\ many hundreds. There is no way to
check him up and ascertain what he has
i collected. II is the same with the
clerks office: he can raise or reduce the
water rents due on any premises or
emit them altogether and there is no
! way to ascertain his raises or reduc-
4 tons, his omissions or errors. There is
absolutely no check against him. I'm
der the system suggested he would be
lcharged with the total amount reported
TO the mayor and credited with the
amount of cash collected and turned
over to the city treasury, and with such
corrections as he is authorized TO allow
and with such amounts as he reports as
/ uncollectable The balance, if any he
will owe the city, If after the filing of
his ,book statement with the mayor.
4 there are any new or increased water
rents due the mayor will SO ascertain
before countersigning the receipts.
] further suggest that the mayor and
clerk and street commissioner be re-
CURED to report in writing at least
quarterly to the city council the
amounts of money collected by them,
4 giving in detail the name of each per-
son from whom collected. the amount
4 and the date and that once year there
shall be an annual report published and
distributed among the citizens showing
\ in detail what moneys have been re-
oeived and from whom and what have
been paid out and to whom In this
way every citizen may have the oppor-
| tunity of knowing where the money
comes from and where 1t goes. The
people are willing to bear burdens even
tho heavy II they have confidence that
their money is being honestly and eco
| nomically used In advancing tho gov,