The San Francisco call., 1908-12-27

addition to a labor cost taxed against
the county. which. owing to the sys-
TEN, became impossible TO compute.
) Z. J. Sullivan, plumber, was criti-
cised as charging exorbitant prices for
work about the buildings. George E.
Hartman, an electrical worker, charged
1925 for stuff which could be pur-
chased for 3S cents.
The Oakland electrical company
shared extensively also. It charged
$3.10 for material which should have
cost the county 50 cents.
Another item was for $3.50 when
Meyers considered $3.50 liberal
amount. $40 against Meyers estimate
OF S7.2O and $3.50 for 65 cents, sub
mitted by this concern.
In one instance the contractors for
got themselves and included items
which allowed Meyers to estimate that
all grades of work in the construction
Of the sheriffs garage cost the county
! an average of S71z cents an hour, eX-
elusive of the price of material
! Z. f. Yoorhies was painter who
sold the county 50 shelIac at double
that sum.
MEANS CHANGE IN METHODS
The Jenkins fixture company also
grossly overcharged in furnishing fix
lures for the county courthouse when
that ancient building was wired this
summer. These items are only a few
of hundreds cited by Expert Meyers.
District Attorney Donahue stated to
Judge Ogden today that no court ac-
tion would be required on behalf of the
report, as he was certain that the
presentation of copy would be fol-
/ lowed by great changes in the methods
Of the board of supervisors.
] The Of fha
The grand jury have very carefully in
vestIgated the matter OF repairs TO county
buildings In the fiscal year ending June
80 1907, the repairs and improvements to
the county Jail. the courthouse. the hall of
SO. .347. 81 In the fiscal wear ending June
80, 1908, the repairs and additions to the
county Jail. courthouse. hall of records and
receiving hospital, amounting TO S22,04592.
Repairs and additions to the county jail,
courthouse, hall Of records and receiving
hospital from July l, 1908, TO Nov
! yeulDer %, lsOs. amounted to $40 ll4.o4.
These figures do not include new buildings
NO CHECK ON GRAFT
! The grand jury had submitted to It all OF
the bills and vouchers for the work and
for the periods above referred to- and heard
the evidence of John N. Sabin Jr.. the expert
Of the board OF supervisors. From the evil
dence before the grand jury, II appears that
when repair work is needed on any of the
county buildings requisition is submitted
70 the board OF supervisors for authority TO
do the work the reQuisition sta ting the
amount which the work is not TO exceed;
that in many instances no effort Is made
10 ascertain how reasonable the work can
be done, but a rtaxfmum figure is stated
and the bills usually amount to the maxi
figure stated; that these acquisitions
are passed by the board and referred TO the
building COMMITTEES with power to have the
work performed and that the work is then
ordered by the chairman of the building
committee. the other members of the build
ing committee taking no part in the order
ing OF the work in supervising the same.
Bills are then Gled with the board of
/ the labor perform cd
1t further appeared that the board of
supervisors allows TO each contractor as
his compensation 81 a day for each man
! at work in addition to the amount OF wages
which the contractor pays to his men: the
material 10 be charged at cost, plus 20 per
1t further appeared from this testimony
that the county has no check on the price
at which material is charged. The county
expert is not informed these matters
and in the past has not been able to de-
termne from his examination of the bills
whether or not the charges for material
are proper.
HIGH RATE FOR FIXTURES
On the question of electric light and gas
fixtures furnished TO the county, the grand
jury. in addition to the evidence given by
Meyers. heard the evidence of p. ~ Jsck
son and Z. P. Kelly, two disinterested
MIXTURE experts. each man separately
asked to submit prices the fixtures ina
stalled in the courthouse. Their testimony
on the cost of these fixtures shows that the
in his bin 10 the county which has been
o. ks by the chssrman-of Of the building com
mittee, charged for these fixtures price
greatly in excess of their real value, and
which figures at most liberal calculation
P5seas P60t Der to cent? 6fe of ap
To correct this wholly deficient system
we have to recommend that the chairman
OF the building committee Of the board Of
supervisory or the committee as a whole,
order work for the county only from such
parties will do the work cheapest and
In the hest and fn0et WOrkma1lika m
We further recommend that before any bill
for repair work is ordered paid by the board
of supervisors Il shall be carefully checked
by the expert of the board of supervisors:
that in checking the bills the expert be
sources the correct prices for the various
materials furnished and II the prices charged
in the bill In excess Of what they right
fully should be, that be note the amount the
items should be cut.
ASK FOR VOUCHERS
We further recommend that the board Of
supervisors require the contractors to submit
vouchers with their bills for each item of
material charged thereon.
We further recommend that no bill be
ordered paid by the board Of supervisors
unless the bin presented for labor shows
the name of each man working on the job
and the number OF hours worked by each
each day 1t might be well to require
each laborer or mechanic TO nle his IN
dividual claim for the work performed by
board OF supervisors should also check the
items Of labor and see that no overcharges
I
No bin should be checked by the expert
Of the board Of supervisors unless II shall
have first been O. KID by the chairman, or
some member of the building committee of
the board of supervisors who shall before
be o. ks bill. ascertain by personal in
vestigation that the materials charged for
NhaFe been furnished TO the county and prop
er1y installed or put In place, and the whole
work properly performed, and that the
amount Of labor charged for has been per-
formed
The grand Jury is Of, the opinion that the
other committee Of the board Of supervisors
should not be done by the chairman alone
but that il Is the duty of all Of tile members
Of the committee 10 take active part in
the work OF the committee and give to the
county the careful and painstakng
work that man would give TO bis private
business
The grand jury believes that II the recon-
mendatlons herein made adopted by the
board Of supervisors and couscientiously en-
forced, IL win result in very material
\ saving to the tax payers of this county in
the amount of money thar is spent. each
fl., fx- Ii f.