The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-03-11

be wholly insufficient to pay the neces
sary costs and expenses of defendant fo
the year 1904 properly payable out o
said funds, exclusive of any cost or ex
penses of or in relation to the said i'm
provement on Broad street.
81. That there never have been any
taxes authorized, levied, assessed or col
lected by defendant for the payment O
; said improvement upon Broad street o.
any part thereof. That there never have
been any funds on hand and available
for the payment of said improvement OF
any part thereof That there never have
been any funds in any amount whatso
ever set apart or appropriated for the
doing or payment of such works or any
part thereof. That at the time of the
making of the contract exhibit "C'' here
inbefore referred to no appropriation had
been made for the doing or payment OF
such work or any part tAraof and there
were no funds on hand available for that
purpose That there was on hand at
that time the sum of $5,4l7.5S in the
bills payable fund and S9l7.05 in the
sinking fund and that such amounts were
the only funds then on hand That the
sinking fund created and established for
the payment of the bonded Indebtedness
of defendant was then overdrawn in the
sum of $4,000 in which sum the defend
ant was then indebted to said fund and
every other fund except as above noted
| was oyerdrawn to a greater OF less
amount. That all of the foregoing facts
were we'll known to the plaintiff at all
! times.
| d. That at the time of the ordering
of the Improvement upon Broad street
as hereinbefore alleged and at the time
of the execution of the contract exhibit
| "C" and at all times thereafter the
| bonded indebtedness of defendant was
| and now is $l97 500, distributed as fol-
| lows: Water bonds issued August lst,
. 1899, due August lst, 1919, for the sum
of 100000, bearing interest payable
| annually at the rate of three and one
half cent per annum; bridge bonds, is
sued October lst, 1899, due October lst,
1919, for the sum of $S,000.00, bearing in
terest payable annually at the rate of
three and onehalf per cent per annum;
water bonds, issued January lst, 1900,
due January lst, 1920, for the sum of
$l2,00O.00, bearing interest, payable an
nually, at the rate of four per cent per
annum; railroad bonds issued January
LIST, 1887, due January lst, 1907, for the
sum of $500, bearing interest, payable
annually, at the rate of five per cent per
annum; park bonds, issued September
lst, 1887, due September LIST, 1907, for
the sum of $4,000, bearing interest,
payable annually at the rate of six per
cent per annum sewer bonds, issued
September LIST, 1887, due September
LIST, 1907 for the sum of SlO,-
600, bearing interest, payable an
nually, at the rate of five per cent per
annum; water bonds issued May lst,
1888, due May LIST, 1908, for the sum of
100000, bearing interest, payable an
nually, at the rate of five per cent per
annum water bonds issued November
LIST, 1889, due November lst, 1909, for
the sum of $4,000 bearing interest pay
able annually, at the rate of five per
cent per annum; railroad bonds issued
November LIST, 1894, due November lst,
1904, for the sum of $67 900, bearing in
terest payable annually at the rate of
five per cent per annum; bridge bonds,
issued March LIST, 1890, due March LIST,
1910, for the sum of $1,000, bearing in
terest payable annually, at the rate Of
five per cent per annum. And that the
interest payable annually upon said
bonds amounts to $9,560.00. That at the
time of the ordering of said work and at
the time of the execution of said con-
tract defendant was indebted to divers
and sundry persons and corporations up
on what was termed floating debt to
the amount of $2l ,573, all bearing in
terest at the rate of six per cent per an
mum and all of which was then past due
and payable. That under the provisions
of the charter defendant was and is re-
quired to establish and maintain sink
ing fund for the redemption of certain
bonds of defendant outstanding. And
that at the time of the ordering of such
work and the letting of the contract as
above alleged, the defendant was indebt-
ed to said sinking fund to the amount of
$4,000. That the bonded Indebtedness
of said defendant then was upwards of
six per cent of the total assessed valua
ton of the taxable property of defend
defendant was then upwards of seven
per cent of the assessed value of the tax
able property of defendant. That the
bonded Indebtedness of said defendant
has not changed as hereinbefore alleg
ed. That the floating Indebtedness
of said defendant has never been since
said time and is not now less than
$4,000. That the money in the treas
ury of the said defendant apportioned
among all the funds and available for all
purposes since the execution of said con-
tract has never exceeded $4,000.
%. That it is provided in the charter
of defendant that no debt in behalf of
defendant shall be incurred or any money
expended for any purpose or in any man
ner excepting by express authority OF
the provisions of the charter either by
the city at large, the common council or
any officer or officers of the same, and
that no order or orders shall be issued
upon the treasury exceeding the amount
of taxes collected or assessed or in pro-
cess of collection. And it is further pro-
vided that contracts for public improve
ment of the nature of the Broad street
improvement shall be let by the board of
public works of defendant and shall be
signed by the president of such board
and countersigned by the city recorder,
who is also the clerk of such board.
And it is further provided that such
board of public works shall have no
power by contract or otherwise to ex-
coed in the doing of any work in any
one year the sum appropriated for such
work by the common council of defend
ant or by law, for such year. That ref
erence is hereby made to the general pro-
visions of said charter relative to the
ordering, contracting for and doing of
public improvements of the nature of the
Improvements made upon Broad street.
That as hereinbefore alleged there never
was any sum assessed, levied or collected
for the payment of the improvement up
on Broad street or any part thereof, no
sum whatsoever was ever appropriated
for such work by the common council
of defendant or by law and there is not