The Newark star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1909, 1909-04-26
MAKES REPORT REPORT
ON LIGHTING OF
THE CITY HALL
Auditor Forman's Data Shows
That City Is Spending
$500 a Year.
THOUGHT THAT P. S. c.
RATES ARE CHEAPER
Exhaustive and Detailed Ex-
PLANTATION Made to Alder
man Whitfield.

bald concerning the cost oil oper-
ating the City Hall municipal lighting
plant has been forwarded by City Audi
tor George Forman to Alderman
Charles Whitfield, chairman of the
municipal lighting committee of the
Common Council, to be used at the
meeting of the committee tina has
been called for e Wednesday night
The request for figures on which could
be based some estimate of how the ex-
Ppense to the city under the present
system of lighting the City Hall com
pared with the cost when the Public
Service Corporation was furnishing the
current was mad some weeks ago by
the chairman, n the auditors office
has been at work preparing them ever
since. The complete memoranda was
sent to Mr.. Whitfield on Saturday.
The auditor, in his letter accompany
ing the statistics, makes no estimate
of what the result has been to the city
financially. He recommends, however,
that the lighting committee secure au-
thority from the finance committee to
secure h services of a competent cleo
trical engineer to go over the plant and
find accurately whether the city has
gained or lost by the installation of the
plant, and how much.
Cost of Lighting.
From the figures furnished it would
seem that with the interest on the
capital invested and the depreciation on
the plant left out the cost per kilowatt
hour ranges from two and one-half to
three cents. With those two items
added, however, the cost would amount
to about six cents.
Under the contract by which the
Public Service furnished light for the
hall before the installation of the
municipal plant the city paid out in
1907 for lighting Sc, 130. 92. The difficulty
lies in attempting to find what the diff
ference has been since the city oper-
ated its own plant. For the first year
that the new hall was occupied, 1907,
the Public Service had the contract,
and also for the first five months of
1908. The new plant did not begin fur
nishing current until May %, 1908, so
that the figures do not show what the
running expenses of the city plant We're
for the twelve months following the
addition of the lighting duties to the
others already being discharged by the
plant.
For the first month of 1907 the hall
was still in the hands of the City Hall
Commission, so that the cost of run
ming the municipal engines does not
appear.
At an estimate, however, the cost OF
1.-THE coal delivered for the year was APP
proximately ALSO. For the first five
months Of the year 1908, when the con
tract with the electric lighting COM
pany was still In force, the cost of coal
delivered was 49, 57. IS, and for the res
of the year, after the City Hall lights
had been added. $3,s75.03, or a total OF
Sc, 1882. 6S, or a difference of not quite
81, 900.
With interest on the capital invested
figured at 4 per cent. and depreciation
of machinery at 5 per cent. added, and
taking into account the cost of labor
repairs, interest lost to the city on the
franchise tax, the increase of the
amount of Goa, consumed, the figures
would indicate that the city is paving
approximately 1920 a year for the
lighting of the City Hall, as against
the $6,130.92 charged by the Public
Service.
The fact that the City Hall now has
unlimited service in electric light does
not appear in the figures. The lighting
company contract charged at the rate
of a kilowatt hour so that the more
light was used the greater the cost
Under the present system there Is nc
limit to what may be used.
Referring to the question of how
much of each of the items of expense
in running the plant should be charged
against lighting the auditor in his let
ter to Alderman Whitfield says:
Auditors Statement.
The coal properly c~hargeable to the
lighting account can only be estimated
No daily record of coal consumption
Las ever been kept by the chief en-
gineer, nor has the power consumed by
the electric light machinery been sys-
tematically recorded. In fact nc
records of the efficiency of the electrical
machinery nave ever been prepared.
THE total cost of oil, waste and
other engine room supplies is showr
on the accompanying schedules
amounting to 5000. 75), but the chief en-
gineer has made no attempt to appor-
ton h amount expended between the
lighting and heating and towering de-
~partments.
rs ~ 'idHiSiPol GltCtiiG lBnI pidne
has been lin operation but a few
months the repairs item will be small
for several years. A reasonable allow
ance should be made, however, for this
item of expense.
"The total cost per year $50, 5000 of
the heat, power and lighting plant
shout be fairly apportioned.
The allowance for depreciation and
renewal of plant of from s to 10 per
cent. should be added to the expense,
or about $500 per year.
THE cost of the municipal electric
plant a 100000. Interest at 4 per
cent. on this would be 81, 200 per year"
The auditor suggests that the serv-
ices of an electrical engineer could be
obtained for from 800 to 5000. He
would be able to recommend, Mr.. For
man points out, such forms and
schedules and devise such systematic
procedure for the engineers and fire
men as would make the work of ascer
tanning the cost of light each month
hereafter simple and expeditions.
Alderman Whitfield has also gathered
data from the officials of other cities
where municipal plants have been in
stalled and will present it at Wednes-
day nights meeting.