New-York tribune., 1908-03-17
NTNICTPAE ACCOUNTS.

How the Board of Estimate and AppOrton-
ment could think il was reserving S23VOO.OoO
for the Brooklyn subway when in reality it had
authorized expenditures far in excess of the
city-s borrowing capacity is made more or less
clear by the report of the Bureau of Municipal
Research concerning the Controllers Office. That
branch of the city government is chiefly re-
markable for what it does not know, cannot
know and never can find out with the nearly
useless method of accounting which prevails
in it. The Controller does not know and can
not know what the city's debt is. He does not
know whether revenues collected for the city
are turned over promptly or the collectors use
them for time in their own personal accounts
The arrears of taxes. for instance, are in such
state that il would take forty men three years
TO find out what have been collected and what
have not since 1899. City employees may be
stealing but there is nothing in the accounts to
show whether they are or not When sum Is
collected the Finance Department cannot tell
whether not it is the amount due, nor When
a bill is paid can it tell whether the sum eX-
pended equaIled or exceeded the amount OF the
bill. 1t cannot tell whether or not contract
is performed in accordance with the specif-
cations. 1t cannot tell whether or not the cor
porate stock is used for proper purposes.
Elaborate accounts are kept in the Finance
Department and there are prodigious systems or
checks An army of subordinates passes on
every bill that is paid, but when all is done the
Controller really knows practically hothils
about the transactions. That department is io
real check upon the operations or tne various
city denartments Mr. Metz and committee
of experts appointed by him agree with the
Bureau of Municipal Research that the account
ing system in his office is unbusinesslike III the
extreme. The efforts which he promises TO
make to carry out the recommendations OF the
Rureau of Municipal Research deserve encour-
eoan,ont and support. He can accomplish
nothing of greater value during his term than
the putting of the citys Finance Department on
a business basis.
If a proper system of accounting dld holhlhs
else il would enable the people to UNDERSTAND
what the actual cost of the city government Is
II is clear that this is by no means covered py
the budget How large a portion OF the clty
debit goes annually 10 pay running expenses
no one knows but it is evident that the annual
cost far exceeds the budget and that the city
debt instead of transferring to the shoulders
of 1,osterity its share of the cost OF paying lor
permanent improvements, is actually useo 10
conceal from the people the extravagaht cos'
of the CITY government. On this subject the
bureaus report says:
Nobody knows how many millions OF the pres pres
ent city debt are for work that s~houlu ~ HeaFo @
been charged to current expense, 1t being pos
sible to conceal extravaganza by charging pay
rolls IN the city debt instead of to budget appro-
nriations Taxpayers have not realized either
the necessity for retrenchment or the practlcai
stems TO be taken. Numerous instances might
he given, notably in the Department OF PARKS
and in various boroughs. In the Department or
Parks Manhattan and Richmond, II has been
! a matter of course when maintenance FUNDS
r,1n low to charge up labor squads to corporate
stock.
We have already alluded TO the custom OF
buving supplies for temporary use through the
issue of long term corporate stock. and OF meet
ing .emergencies' in the same way. Payment
for snow removal is sometimes an emergency
of this sort More than this, it appears to be
the custom to convert revenue bonds which
are issued in anticipation of the taxes and are
supposed to be paid annually when the taxes
are collected into long term obligations by the
| usa OF the sinking fund. in this roundabout way
| In 1906 for instance, running expenses amount
ing to Sc. 100000 were paid out of the city debt
II is not improbable that the various uses OF
the CITY debt TO keep down nominal expenses
| amount to S20.0O0,000 a year, SO that the actual
| running expenses are more than Sl6O,OU,O0.
instead of S143,00O.000. This is an abuse that
should be stopped. II extravagant administra-
tons could not use the city debt TO conceal their
wastefuness there would be less talk of the
need Of changing the constitutional debt limit
in order to enable the city TO carry out needed
improvements