Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-06-11
COUNTY BOARD
ON RIGHT TRACK
Finance Committee Aims Blow
at Remnants of the Fee
System.
STUDYING PROBLEM NOW
Object to Relieve Each Office of Re-
sponsibility of Paying Its Own
Employees.

Inc SUPERVISORS finance commit
tee, which is now engaged in the
5emi-annual audit of the accounts of
the different county officers, is I'M
lerstood to be contemplating rec
concentrations looking to changes in
the system of handling the finances
Of these offices. The committee may
introduce a resolution directing that
all fees and moneys collected in the
different offices be turned over to the
county treasurer, and that the ex-
penseS of the office, including the
salaries and payroll. be taken care of
in the same manner as other bills,
by the board of supervisors. Under
the present system the officers col
lect the fees, and pay salaries and
other expenses of their Offices from
them. Where the fees are not suf-
flcient to maintain the Office, other
funds are drawn on, and where the
fees exceed the cost the officers are
supposed to account to the county
treasury every six months
The members of the finance COM
mittee. when seen this morning,
were non-cOmmittal, and said that
they were not yet in full possession
of the facts. 1t was minated, how
| ever, that changes might be sug-
gested. Apparently the impression
has gone out that when the board
| brings about these changes and 9TH
ers and has the situation well in
hand, it will be in better shape to
| ask the support of the voters in TAX
ing care of the floating debt which
| the people have three times refused
to tax themselves to pay.
The public cannot be expected to
| be satisfied with the manner in which
the countys business is transacted
till all receipts, whether from taxes
or fees. are fully accounted for and
paid out in the same manner. For
| many years the county is supposed
to have been under the cash system,
and as IL matter Of fact most of the
members of the county board have
without doubt supposed that this
was the situation. However, some
of the worst evils of the old fee sys-
| TEN have been retained AS at pres
ent handled, little of the revenue
| from fees ever passes through the
! hands of the county board 1t is
| county money paid out without the
! forms prescribed by law and even
! the finance committee does not al.
ways know what is done with it.
VIII Prepare Statement.
! Supervisor Upton, chairman of the
| finance committee. declined to give
out any statement, further than to
/ say that the committee has not vet
, determined on any recommendations
! He said that the body expects to be
prepared to furnish a statement OF
the amount in the treasury, the
amount available from taxes, the es-
timated receipts and cost of operat-
ing the county and circuit clerk s
! Offices, the cost of maintaining the
jail and county infirmary, the ex-
/ pense of the sheriffs office, the cir
cult court, including petit and grand
| jury fees, the cost of county judges
office and the county court, and the
net revenue from. the states attor-
| ney's. office and in general the esti-
mated revenues and expenses of the
county yearly.
1t is expected that the supervisors
will delve deep into the question of
county finances next week and rad
ical changes are to be suggested, it
is understood.
Contest with Sheriff.
1t is expected that a contest will
develop over the bills of Sheriff Kit
tilsen for the feeding of prisoners in
the county Jail. The board fixed the
sheriff's fee at 80 cents a day for
feeding the prisoners. and he declar-
ed that he would not accept this, but
would turn the bills over to the
| county. And he Immediately reor-
ganized the system of feeding pIis-
Oners, hiring two cooks and adding
{. lot of frills for which the county
IS expected to pay.