The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-06-11

Alonzo J.; Hamilton. Charles E.; Holt. James, IT,; Hurley. Robert E.; Jones, Nathaniel H.: Kane. John H.; Keat1ng.
 William: Heating. Patrick; Kelly, John
 Kenny, Michael A.: King Francis A.;
 Klein, Bernhard; Koch, William; Kost,
 Christ; Latin. Thomas F.; Lewis. John
 T.: Lewis. William A; Lynch. David
 w.; Lyon Frank B.; Maher, James J.;
 Mccarthy. Anthony, Mccarthy, John
 J. (671 Brooks St.); McCool, Thos. A.;
 Morris. James A: Mulloy, Patrick;
 Nevins. John J.; Nevins. Edward F.;
 Hanford B.; Quinlan, Martin; Reeves,
 James: Ryburn. John J.; Sanford.
 Lorenzo D.: Shaughnessy. William: Tibbals. Albert A.; Tibbals Elias A.; Turney, Isaac F.: Wakeman, Albert;
 Warren. Tracy B.: Wells. George E.;
 White, Thomas F.: Whitney. Door R.; Wirtz, Robert W.
 The special committee appointed by his Honor, Mayor Henry Lee, pursuant
 passed May Sd. 1909. ''to inquire into the need of an investigation of the
 business methods of the Board of Charities" reported:
 members of the Board of Charities with regard to the method of con-
 ducting the business of the board. has inspected the records and accounts of ! the Board. the Lakeview Home and the Department of Public Charities. The committee further held a pub lie hearing. which was advertised by the press. for the purpose of allowing any person to submit complaints or facts relating to the Board of Charf- | ties.
 As the result of these Investigations. the committee finds as follows:
 No complaint has been made or fact found from which a reason appears to question the integrity of any member of the Board of Charities.
 Certain Irregularities in the conduct of the business of the Board have been found. which the committee deems ad- visable to incorporate in this report. These facts appear of record. or have been verified by the Board. and in volve no disputes of fact.
 | 1. It is the practice ~~ the Board of Charities. either acting as board or | through its purchasing agent, to enter l into contracts. both large and small, without public advertisement. and in | some instances without even private completion. Section 96 of the Ordi- nances of the City of Bridgeport pro- vides that contracts, which involve the | expenditure of more than two hundred | dollars. shall be publicly advertised. l The majority of the supplies. as meat. groceries and other provisions. are pur- | chased at short intervals and rarely | involve an expenditure of two hundred | dollars at one time. Other contracts in | effect extend over a period of one year and involve more than the expenditure | of two hundred dollars:i thus. the con | tract for coal for the use of the De | pertinent is made annually. and in | volved in the fiscal year 1908-1909 the l sum of $3.297.54. In 1908 requests for bids were submitted to three dealers, and in 1909 to two dealers. and the
 Board in neither instance advertised | for proposals This was a clear in | fringement of the ordinance. and, in | the opinion of the committee. incon- sistent with good business principles. | The experience of the other boards Of l the city in contracting for coal dis l closes a. wide range of bids among the | various dealers. and there is reason to l believe that proper submission of proposals would have obtained a like result in this instance.
 | The committee also believes that an | advantage would result in submitting
 contracts for other supplies. so far as | practicable, to public competition. 2. In at least two instances supplies have been furnished by or contracts l made with members of the Board. or
 business firms in which the members | were financially interested. These con- | tracts involve considerable amounts,
 and were made without competitive | bidding. The committee has examined | these contracts and purchases, and | finds that the prices were fair and i reasonable. and that the city has suf- l fered no financial loss thereby. It is,
 however the opinion of the committee l that transactions of this nature are | opposed to the principles of good gov ernment. and that the interests of the
 city require that members of the Board | should not accept contracts from the Board. either directly or through the l purchasing agent. without the safe- | guard of competitive bidding.
 8. The system of checking supplies l for the purpose of comparing actual | weight and quantity delivered with | that stated in the bills of the dealers i is not complete or certain in it's opera | ton. Considering the large amount of
 supplies furnished the Department of
 Public Charities, it seems of vital inn | portance that this system of checking | should be thorough and such as would | permit no possible neglect upon the part of an employe.
 A. The system of distribution of SUD- plies to the outside poor is efficient.
 and the Department is conducted in a | careful and painstaking manner. | exists a deficit in the Department of | Public Charities of $34,Ss4.04 of which
 s4.s11.51 was carried over from the previous year. The total increase of | on account of the regular expenses of the Department amounted to $25, .07. This increase is divided as follows: | Lakeview Home. $9,338.50 poor, as groceries. coal. rents. etc.. 6,572 GA | Charge for care of sick and
 insane, SIP .95 Ambulance and Emergency 14O2 9S The increase of sS,112.95 includes an l increase of S6.431.80 in the accounts | with the Bridgeport and St. Vincent s | Hospitals. The patients in these two hospitals are received on the order of | any one of the city physicians, and a ] uniform charge of five dollars week | is imposed. This increase in the hos pital accounts seems disproportionate1y | large when compared with the increase | in other branches of the Department. | This is more noticeable when com parison is made with former years. In