The Savannah morning news., 1901-12-06
EXPECTS NO FIGHT
MAYOR BELIEVES THE CITY BUD
GET WILL BE ADJUSTED.
WITHOUT JAR OR FRICTION.
SOME OF THE ALDERMEN NEW AT
ARRANGING A BUDGET.

Mayor Thinks That They Will
See Clearly That All Cannot Get
the Appropriations They Seek for
Their Departments Alderman
Frank Called Upon the Mayor to
Disavow Any Intention of Putting
Appropriation of $1O3,OOO-MayOr
Says People Like TO See Money
Spent for ImprOvements-Fix
Charges Should Not Be Increased.
Il do not think there will be any
fight over the city budget of expenses
for next year" said Mayor Myers yes
terday. Some of the members of the
Board of Aldermen are now serving
their first terms. They have never
made up a budget, and. consequently,
DO not know how it is done. When
they learn, however, they will see that
Council is disposed to deal justly with
all departments. / expect the budget
to be arranged without the least dis
cord
This opinion of the Mayor had been
strengthened just a few minutes be-
fore he expressed it to a representative
of the Morning News. Alderman Frank,
who had been expected to introduce an
element of discard into the delibera-
tions of the board upon the question
of the budget. had called upon the
Mayor to assure him that he had been
misquoted by those who had said that
ho MI o. 10
of his estimate of S1O3O for the police
department for next year, even though
it might entail a fight against the APP
preparations for other purposes, notably
permanent improvements.
The alderman, who is chairman of
the Police Committee, had been quot
ed as saying that "It takes seven
votes to pave a street" He didn't like
that, as he told the Mayor that it was
untrue and that he had not said it,
The Mayor called his attention to the
fact that the Morning News had not
stated that the alderman had given
such an expression to one of it's repre-
sentatives, but merely that he was re-
ported to have made the implied threat.
This was true, for from several sources
Exchange.
If Alderman Frank should adopt an
attitude of fight and should care to
antagonize street paving if it militat-
ed against his police appropriation, his
position would be even stronger than
his alleged remark would indicate for
it doesn't require as many votes to
defeat a paving ordinance. Five would
do the business. 1t takes nine votes
fx,e ct. L, IL,
jority rule operates, as such is the law.
THE new members of the board"
said the Mayor, should remember that
1t has been the history of the municipal
government that the several depart
ments get their estimates reduced
when the budget is made up. All that
is asked cannot be appropriated, even
though 1t should be considered that
certain improvements in the depart
ments were absolutely necessary.
What the people want to see is
provement-material improvement.
They are better satisfied when they
pay in taxes and see some of the money
expended for something besides the
conduct of the admins tration. The
fixed charges should be kept down.
Though the value of property should
increase. it is not expected by the peo-
pie that the fixed charges should adj
fdHNS III StlIllidI w nat
they want is to see improvements made
that will add to the value of their
property and to their ease and COM
fort.
"It is not proper that the cost of the
conduct of the several departments
should be allowed to outstrip similar
expenses of cities of about the same
size as Savannah. l have made COM
parisons of the expenses of Savannah
and other cities, and l find that ours
are high enough. This is particularly
true of the police and fire departments.
The fire department, especially, by a
comparison with those of cities corre-
spending in size with Savannah, is
shown to be faring we'll in the matter
of appropriations. The department
does excellent work, however, and there
should be no fault found. Still, its
expenses should be kept down. The
extra fire insurance assessments upon
Savannah property have been removed
in view of the efficient work of the
department, and that is something that
taxpayers have to consider. The cpl
demic of fires of some few years ago
was due largely. consider, to incen-
diarism and an element of hard luck