The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-01-03
HIT FROM ALL SIDES
That Promising Looking Revolving
Fund From Which So Much Z.
Was Expected.
Delinquent Taxpayers Annulments
by the City Council, Etc, Cause
Large Shrinkages.

+, When provision was made for a million |
dollar revolving fund for Minneapolis the |
plan of issuing bonds was adopted. It
was explained that no money would be |
expended from the fund until an equal
sum had been assessed against real estate
for permanent improvements and that the
money would all come back, Permanent
Improvement taxes are. payable in five
annual instalments. The fund being prac-
tically sinking fund for its own bonds
all that would be necessary to redeem
the bonds at maturity would be to stop
making disbursem ents for five years in
advance; then when the bonds natured
the million dollars would be waiting in
the city treasury for the hondholders.
| The theory was a pretty one but not
so fine in practice. 1t was. noticed short
ly after the fund was created that it
was shrinking. The explanation is very
simple. People don't pay their taxes.
Officials connected with the work of
levying and collecting taxes estimate that
| IS per cent will become delinquent. To
| some extent the delinquent taxes are Off
lset by penalties and interest, but not
! wholly. L.: ~
! A case in point is shown in connection
with the sewer work on Thirty second
avenue N between Lyndale and Emerson
avenue. There was assessed for this i'm
| provement $4,000. The taxes yielded only
So. 900, so per cent being delinquent. The
state took the property involved ana soid
it for anything that was offered. The re-
voiving fund lost $4,000 right there and
losses of like kind are common.
| AnnuIments, Too.
! Another cause Of a heavy shrinkage IN
| this peculiar fund lies In the custom OF
annulling taxes or assessments Ihere
are four powers which can annull assess
! ments on permanent improvements
| namely, the city council the district court,
the state auditor and the county commits
sioners and all four exercise their author
ity undoubtedly for the benefit OF the m
| terested taxpayers, but the result IS as
astrous to the poor revolving 1unu: ivy
| Engineer C. w. Sublette' has at this very
time q. resolution Of the city council an
| nullins the assessments in excess OF 81
ner front foot on the sewer in Irving ave.
nue. S from Twenty seventh street TO
Lake street. By this transaction alone
| the revolving fund lost 81, 129.42.
| 'rhe actual cost Of this Irving avenue
sewer was S. So per running foot, the as
sessment per front foot on the abuttlng
property on each side being 1898 per foot.
The council annulled $1.93 Of the assess
ment or 1886 of the, cost OF the sewer
per foot.
This action was taken after the cost
} had been taken. from the revolving fund
and the assessment had been iev1eo. Inc
aldermen had good reasons for making the
annullnent reasons which are not neces-
sarily a part Of this story. but 1t hurt the
revolving fund for there IS no way ol
, making good the loss. s
+ Specific cases such as the foregoing can
be cited almost without number ana TOT
every one the revolving fund gets body
blow which weakens it materially and nc
one knows this better than Controller
Joshua Rogers. who handles SO many re-
bates during the year as to make him
very weary. .:..r
Il e., Court Spells a Few. ~,
!; The annulhnents of assessments groWine
:. out of such district court decisions as thai
in the case of J. s. Pillsbury against the
city are also very great. - 49,. 90
' Many other causes contribute TO the
! diminishing of the revolving fund. In the
$ past year the cost Of materials has greatly
= Increased. There is no way OF making
E estimates except on the basis OF prices
prevailing at the time the estimates are
made Thus the city's work. like any
other work, will often cost considerably
more than the estimates, especially Wher
- the latter are made a year ahead. ina
y the city engineers office has been com
PEELED by past unbusinesslike methods t
: make assessments year in advance O.
> the actual work is the fault of the sys
tenn