The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-09-13
MAYOR ON h
CITY ENGINEER
He Opposed Action of Coun-
Gil In Hiring One On a
3 Per Cent. Com
mission Basis.
FAVORED EMPLOYMENT OF MAN
ON SALARY WHOSE DUTY IT
WOULD BE TO SUPERVISE ALL
OF ciTYs ENGINEERING WORK
INCLUDING PROPOSED STREET
PAVING.

Following is the letter addressed by
Mayor Bliss to the city council last
night relative to engaging city enSi-
neer to take charge of the street paw.
ing as well as the other duties incum-
bent upon such an official. This let
ter was in opposition to the course
later adopted by the council in let
ting the street paving feature of the
engineering on 3 per cent commits
sion basis. The mayors letter fol-
lows:
The Mayors Letter.
To the Honorable Board of Aldermen,
City of Pensacola.
Gentlemen:-Since the last meeting
of the council the city has again been
called upon part with one of its off,
GERS by the memorable hand of death
The city at the present time is left
without city engineer and it is a
time in the history of the city when an
engineer is needed more than at any
other time. The city should have a
competent and energetic engineer, ca
pable of establishing grades for streets
and sidewalks and lines of property
and to do it correctly and expeditions
ly. All street work and sidewalk work
| and the laying of gas mains and water
| mains and the establishment of lines
for buildings should be under his iii.
rect charge and | believe it to be the
duty of this council to at once proceed
to. get competent man for this work.
The city has been paying an engineer
$4,000 month and helper at the
rate of $4,000 month. We were pay
ina ot hn rnta Nf
city engineer who had scarcely sny
duties to perform except to establish
few sidewalk grades. By paying the
same amount of money or a little
more, a good engineer can be secured
who will be competent to oversee the
city paving and sidewalk building, and
to take care of the water works in
case the city desires to either buy or
build.
In Other Cities.
l have been investigating this mat.
ter to a small extent in other cities.
/ have a letter from the mayor of
Montgomery who informs me that the
city engineer of Montgomery receives
a salary of $1,S0000 per year. That
he supervises the laying of all sewers,
oCol III anu Sanitary, SITetI paving itlu
sidewalks, all street work for the city
and the laying of all water mains.
Your honorable body is aware that
Montgomery has been making vast i'm.
provements in that city and is one Of
our southern up-to-date cities, and if
Montgomery can get such competent
engineer to take charge of all these
different works, which l understand
has been performed satisfactorily,
do not see why a smaller city like
Pensacola cannot obtain a competent
engineer at the same salary.
/ have a letter from the mayor of
Mobile who informs me that the city
engineer of Mobile receives salary of
81 10000 a year. The duty of the engi-
necr is to establish street grades and
sewer grades in the unpaved portions
of the city, as the paved portion has
been under an additional engineer.
In regard to Birmingham, city sew
eral times as large as Pensacola. am
informed that the chief engineer re-
ceives a salary of 100000 year.