The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-08-19
1t Seems to Be Only Stumbling
Block Before Commission.
Feared That Proposed Charter
Would Hamper Progress.
Provisions to Make 1t More
Drastic Voted Down.
From Mondays Daily.

From Mondays Daily.
The charter commission held a meet
ing Saturday evening, with ten members
present, and devoted the entire evening
to the portion of the new charter re-
lating to public improvements. As
drawn, the provision is much more dras
tic than the corresponding one in the
present charter, and might delay the
city from undertaking any street paw
ing or possibly other improvements
where the property owners elect to make
the payments over a term of years. The
property owners are given the right to
have the payments of special assess
ments extend over series of years, the
city to issue certificates of Indebtedness
for the same, to be taken up as these
payments come in. The city is also re-
quired to pay for street intersections
and in front of city property. Whenever
the city's limit of indebtedness has been
reached, the tax levy is limited to the
actual running expenses of the city, ex-
cept that two mills levy may be made
for sinking fund. The practical effect
of this might be that when the city's
limit of indebtedness is reached, nothing
more could be done in the way of making
permanent street improvements at least.
That limit would be more than reached
if the city as whole should have to
pay for the paving of Broad street, and
it might be some time before anything
more could be done.
Some of the members of the commits
sion felt that it was not expedient to
tie the hands of the city in such
a manner as this, and did not believe
that the voters would stand for it if
provision. 1t was felt that the result
of the provisions would be that attorneys
for Directing property owners could take
advantage of these provisions and defeat
needed improvements, even though favor
ed by large majority of the property
owners affected.
HI. l.. Schmitt, of the subcommittee
that drew the charter, presented an
amendment that would result in making
it still more difficult to have any per-
manent street improvements made. 1t
provided that whenever after bids for
such work have been opened, circumstance
lie presented, signed by two-thirds of the
property owners, representing two-thirds
of the property, the council must at
once drop the proposed improvement. 1t
was felt by some of the members of the
commission that with such a provision
in the charter there would never be any
more permanent street improvement done
in the city, and that it would be handi-
capped in its race with other cities. 1t
would be an easy matter for wealthy
property owners, who could well afford
to pay their assessments, and who could
devote their whole time to agitating
against proposed improvements, mot be-
ing tied up by private business, to Sc
cure enough signatures to remonstrance
through persuasion, misrepresentation,
or by means of requests for "delay for a
year," ETC., to defeat any improvement
on any street in the city. Then, again,
nonresident property holders are almost
always opposed to improvements that
cost them anything, even though they
may be drawing large revenues from
the property.
Those who favored the amendment
maintained that no improvement ought
to be undertaken without the consent of
considerable proportion of the property
owners, who also ought to have the say
what kind of material should be used
in making the improvement.
The amendment was defeated by vote
of five to four.
An amendment to allow the council
to levy taxes to pay for street inter
sections, when the limit of Indebtedness
is reached, the same as the council had
done this year, was offered, and after
discussion was laid over until tonight,
when another meeting of the commission
will be held. This matter of public i'm
provements is the only stumbling block
that the commission has before it.
1t is likely that the matter will be set.
tied tonight without loss of time, as
attorneys who have been consulted today
believe that some of the fears that have
been felt about the present provisions