The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1909-03-18
Administration Members Of Coun
Gil Make Fight TO Get Control
Of Funds OF Water Company
ACTION ON BONDS DEFERRED
Finance Committee Urges council to
take no Action to Kill Excellent
Plan for Paying for
City Water Plant

The administration members of the
City Council showed their hands in re-
gard to the question Of refunding the
bonds Of the Kenosha Water Company
at the meeting Of the Common Council
on Monday night showing that the real
anfmus of this portion of the Council
in an effort to refund the bonds of the
company was to divert to the city funds
the profits of the Water Company. The
discussion Of the matter was so bitter
on the part of the mayor and Alderman
Pirsch that the three members of tie
finance committee who had dared OBJ
pose their pet scheme of putting the
water department under the rule of the
Council were bitterly grilled and while
it is evident to the committee that the
great majority Of the people of the city
are DESTROYS of leaving the affairs of
the Water Company unmolested it
seems to be the intention Of the mayor
and his political allies to use blufing
methods to force the Council to turn
his business over to the Council and
permit these aldermen to vote another
issue of bonds on the city without Civ
ing the present financial plan of the
Water Company a chance to work it.
self out. The mayor and his allies did
not dare let the matter of refunding go
to vote at the Council meeting, but
they did manage to get the aldermen to
defer action until the next regular
meeting and in that time every possib
lever will be used to drag the members
80 the Council into line for the PROPOSE
ton, The matter isv clearly stated in
the report presented by the finance com
mittee in which it recommended that
there be no change in the present
method of paying off the water bonds.
1t was this report that brought the
matter before the Council. On account
of the Importance of the matter and
that the people may be fully advised as
to the action Of the committee the re-
port is given in full. 1t follows:
Council of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Gentlemen
"Your committee on finance, to whom
was referred the proposition Of refund
ing the city water bonds now outstand-
ing with view Of making an issue of
new bonds, after considering the mat
ter with a great deal of care, and af-
ter consulting with some of the best
financial experts in Kenosha and other
cities, would beg leave to report as fol
lows:
"The bonds issued by the City Water
Company of Kenosha are payable April
10Th, 1924, and at the option Of the
city Of Kenosha, Successor co the
rights Of the City Water Company Of
Kenosha) the bonds now outstanding,
amounting to total of $4,000, may
be paid at any time. Under the pres
ent system of paying principal and in
terest on these bonds the indebtedness
will be Cancelled in about twelve years
or in 1921.
cit is true that these bonds bear in
terest at a rate Of five per cent, but
the right to pay them at any time be-
tween now and the date of their ma
turity, April 18th, 1924, is regarded by
financial men as valuable. It is prob
able that a new issue, made by the
city, to bear four per cent, and to run
twenty years straight, could be placed
lat par.
IAN investigation shows that the
city of New York is selling four per
cent bonds at the present time at par
and men in the banking and bond bust
ness are unanimous that bonds at a
lower rate of interest could not be
placed for the city Of Kenosha. Your
committee finds that it might be posi-
BILE to place serial issue Of bonds, pay
able one twentieth each year and bear
ing four and one-half per cent inter
est at par.
"Under the present plan the money
the city levies for the payment of by
drant rentals is applied exclusively to
the payment OF interest and the prln-
cipal of the bonds and will ultimately
retire them
"Your committee believes that this
payment by the city makes sinking
fund which should not be abolished.
Under the present system the bonds
of the City Water Company will GER
tainly be retired before their maturity
without the city being called upon to
pay any great amount at any one time.
The present Council might provide for
1.-The retirement Of new issue Of bonds,
|but the action Of FIXTURE Councils would
he wholly probleuatical.