The San Francisco call., 1904-02-02
BEGINS TO FIX
WATER RATES
Board OF Supervisors inquiries
Into Financial Operations
. Of Spring Valley Company
INQUIRY rs DESULToRY
Grunsky Says Plant Is Worth
$24,673,212 and Schussler
Values It. at S4O.Q00,G0O

Tho Board of Supervisors yesterday
met as a -committea of the wnoie to
investigate. the financial operations
during 1903 of the Spring Valley Wa
ter Company for the purpose. of fixing
the water rates for the next fiscal year.
Little progress was made into fae ex-
animation of the representatives of
the company. owing to az ufsunder-
standing as to the character of the
questions to be asked at the initial in
Quiry and as a result the inquiry Has
"a desultory one.
Mayor lSchmztz was present at the
investigation and at his side sat Rus
seH T.; Dufin, who Has been appointed
special assistant engineer during 3he
investigation by. the Board Of Works,
while, City Engi4eer Grunsily sat with
Supervisor d 'Ancona, chairman of tie
Water Committee.
D'Ancona said that the line of iRYeS-
.tigation would incklde the cause of
change of the corporate name from
Spring Valley Water WORKS ITO
cSpTing Valley Water Company"
Braunhart quoted from the decision of
the United States court that only prop
erty actually III use could be used as
basis for fixing the valuation of the
plant. The Investigations of the six
preceding years were made part of
the record. o.
Pelham .Ames, secretary of the com>
pany, was the first and only witness
sworn and he agreed TO file a fiscal his
tory of the company's operations for
one ana a half years past, Ames was
questioned regarding the new con-
structfon 8vcrk by the company, FOR
which he gave the segregated items.
COAIPANY'S STATEMENT
The company had fled statement
Showing its receipts during 1908 to
have been as follows:
Water rents
city and county .'....,...;..... lS5, 50 so
Shlpping .~-.'..:.": '''...':.'''. 96932 40
S2.o26. .834 90.
Other sources. ...............:.... 55,e4s 10
Total income .....:......:.. 81. .o75, ,oss 90
Operating expenses .........,,... $5I9,4i1 81
Intefest Has9s .'..'...... so so 3. IS 40 20
H. 81, $50. !o7 16
Dividends, gine months. 529, 200 90
Paid for permanent Improvements. 7e7 OIL
The statement is segregated so as
to show 'the Financial operations from
January l, 1903, to September "A of
the Spring Vaney Water Works and
those LOT the IGLudlnueE OF the. year,
when the corporate name was changed
to the Spring Valley Water Company.
The statement also shows the name
of each water rate payer. his place of
residence and the amount he has. paid
for water during the year.
Explaining an item of $500 for
discount on bonds, Ames said that the
sum had been written off as loss on
new construction account because the
bonds had been sold below par and
the money raised had been used to pay
a floating debt incurred for new con-
struction work.
FIXES VALUE OF PLANT.
The Board of Public Works trans
mitted to the Supervisors the ap-
praisement prepared by City Engineer
Grunsky of the properties of the
Spring Valley Water Company actually
used in furnishing the city and its in
habitants with pure supply of water.
Grunsky states that the appraisement
agrees in the main with those sub
mitted in preceding years, betterments
being added at about cost to the
original valuation. 1t does not in
Clude suche properties as the PortoIa
reservoir. the upper sections of the
Locks Creek aqueduct, the Lobos
Creek lands and the Market-street
reservoir site, which are not at pres
ent in use. The capitulation of the
report follows:
Peninsula system-
san Andreas system. m................ 1892 7O1