The daily sentinel., 1905-11-09
TIE REASON WHY.

The city council had considerable
( problem to tussle with last night
/ The particular business before it was
/ liking the tax levy for the coming
fiscal year. They were confronted
with a reduced assessment roll. The
assessment for the year 1904 was
/ S1,353.73 for 1905, notwithstand-
( ing all improvements in the city, the
assessment was Sl,017,511, or $780,
227 less than the year previous.
Last year the tax levy for ALL pur-
poses was % mills. This levy pro
duced a revenue for the use of the
/ city of S31.1S5.97, Had the same
levy been made this year on the pres
enf assessment, which is $336.227l
less tnsn the year previous, the city
would have S7.S33.00 less revenues
for the Legitimate expenses of the
city than there was last year.
1t is most patent to anyone in the
leastwise familiar with the city's fin
ances that more money instead of less
is needed to conduct the affairs of the
city. There will be a deficit on last
years appropriations of nearly $1O,-
600 at the end of this fiscal year due
largely to the fact that this council
paid nearly that amount of indebted
ness from its funds at the beginning
of the present fiscal year
To everyone this discrepancy in the
assessment of the two years and not
raise the tax levy to such a rate that
the mere mention of ii would create
antagonism and to provide the city
with funds sufficient to take care of
its legitimate expenses was the prob
lem with which council struggled un-
til long after the midnight hour.
The rate was finally fixed at &c
mills. This levy will produce the
sum of $26. .455.2S or S7,S33.00 lessl
than the revenue the council had last
year as stated above. Now to pro-
duce a sufficient sum to meet the ex-
penses of the city, which in round
numbers win require about SOL 900.
some other means had to be adopted
to raise the balance of the money,
other than the sum raised by fees
from licenses. After much discus
sion, in which It was shown that our
water rate was entirely too low and
that each year the city was going
more deeply in debt motion pre-
vailed that the water rate in this
city for the use of water should be
raised fifty per cent.
AT the present time the minimum
charge for a house of four rooms has
been 5000. with the present raise
ii will be $500 and for an increased
number of rooms proportionately
higher. 1t was shown that towns
and cities that had municipality owned
gravity a higher rate than was charg- /
ed in this city prevailed. 1t was the
concensus of opinion of council that
good business judgment and manage
ment necessitated raise of the fifty
per cent. This raise in the price
charged for water will make the price
of water two hundred per cent
cheaper than the price charged under
private ownership anyhow, so that
the citizens are greatly benefited
under the circumstances.
The sum which will be realized by
the city from water rentals will aid !
in making up the amount necessary 1
to pay the city's legitimate expenses. /
II must be remembered all the time /
that the increase of three mills in the I
levy that the amount which the city I
will receive will be nearly $4,000 less
than the sum received by council last 4
year from taxes. Under the circum- /
stances it was necessary to raise the (
revenue in some other manner and
the only available way was to raise 4
the water rents to n moderate rental I
and the revenue will be produced
AS it was with the present rental this
city was supplying water cheaper for
householders. than the price charged +
under gravity systems in many other
places and the cost TO furnish water
In this city is much greater than
under gravity system.
The council worked hard to ad-
just matters TO present conditions and
II is to be hoped that their judgment
in the matter will meet public APP
proval, in fact 1t must as there was
seemingly no other way to overcome
the shortage. due to the reduction of
the assessment and also to provide
for the expenses of an increased popu-
lation and an enlarged growth of the
CITY