Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-13
TAGGART's POLICY
HELPS TAXPAYERS.
Collector Explains to City Club
Advantageous Result of
Good Govt. Methods
OFFICE ON A BUSINESS BASIS
Saving of $500 in Department
for Ten Months Example
of Economy
OFFICE ON A BUSINESS BASIS

Saving of thousands Of dollars of the
taxpayers money in the ten months
he has been in office was the account
of his stewardship c. M. Taggart, city
tax and license collector, gave the CITY
club yesterday. Mr.. Taggart told the
club that he did not intend to make an
address, but a report. He quoted tacts
and figures and comparative state
ments to show what ten months OF
good government meant in the office
of tax collector. Part of his report
follows:
IAN effort has been made to put the
office on a business basis, to the ena
that economy might be accomplished.
I found the license department operat-
ing under an expense of $3.50 a month
for salaries, which provided for four
outside men, whose business it was to
go around each month and notify IL
cense payers to go to the city hall and
pay their licenses. l took the stand
that license payers should be put on
an equal footing with taxpayers.
''I advocated and there was passed
an ordinance abolishing the positions
Of the four outside men and left the
enforcement of the license ordinance to
the police department, which the ord1-
nance itself provided and where II
rightfully belonged. This accomplished
a saving in salaries in that department
alone of S440 a month, or S52S0 year.
The claim has been made that this
simply transferred the cost to the
police department. That, however, Is
not a fact. For sixteen months prior
to the time of the change the police
department had two officers that were
detailed on licenses who did nothing
else. The only additional expense in
Cured by the police department ts
aF fhacn mons salary was
Increased $25 q month. At this time
the balance of the office force was re-
organized and placed on a more sclen-
tific basis to the end that an additional
saving was made of $55 a month in
the main office. At the San Pedro
branch there were employed two men
with salaries of 1925 month. A third
man had been asked for, but after
looking the situation over I dispensed
with one of the men and made saw
ing in salaries at that office of 500 a
month. All of these changes together
accomplished a saving in salaries OF
the regular force alone of $685. month,
or $7140 year.
SAVING IN TAX COLLECTION
During the time of the writing of
the receipts and the preparation for
the collection of taxes, and during the
taxpaying period, we employ extra
men, and so far have been able to
make a saving in every instance, as
l will show you in moment.
"The query naturally arises, What
about the efficiency of the new sys-
tenn? Do we get the money and get
it on time The following comparative
statement for the first six months of
1909 and 1910 will answer that question
as to the license department, and. l
think, to the satisfaction of everyone.
IN wind the rn6nPfiOn in the
cost of collecting licenses from $3.50
month to 1920 month.
1909
Amount licenses received for coll
tion 1850 S4i.oi
Amount license collected 1925, $3.50
Amount license out OF -
business and cancelled. 11.2ss.5S sse,s47s7
Amount licenses received for col
lection .SS5l' ts4l1
Amount licenses collected 1851, ,7S7.19
Amount licenses out Of -
business and Cancelled -. s,es6.72 S61, 7s41
Per cent collected 1909 .................. SO 2-3
Per cent collected, 1910 ................. 81 l-3
Per cent uncollected, 1903 ................ l-S
Per cent uncolected, 1910 ................ S-4
The following table shows the amounts
collected by the close of the nfth ana tenth
days of each month of the respective pc
riods. The collection of licenses during the
early part Of the month is of advantage TO
Collections first five days 1909 500 7S7 81
Collections first five days 19l0....... 25S, 9o4 95
Collections first ten days 1909 2S3 29i 10
Collections first ten days 1910 3l7,514SO
Per cent collected first five days 190s....... 81
Per cent collected first five days 19l0...... II
Per cent collected first ten days l9O9...... 69
Per cent collected first ten days 1910. 90
CAS- to the economy accomplished in
the tax department, I would state that
for the fiscal year 1909 and 1910 there
were in the tax collectors office twen-
ty-seven tax rolls-and that this num-
her has been increased to thirty-five for
the fiscal year 1910 and 1911. This is
an increase of practically 33 1-3 per
cent, and was occasioned by anneXa-
tions. 1t cost for the months of July,
August and September 1909 S7S82.49 to
prepare for the collection of taxes For
the same period in 1910 1t cost $8647.4 A.
This is an increase in cost of II per
cent, as against an increase in amount
of work of 33 1-3 per cent.
"Taxes become payable on the first
Monday in October, which occurred on
the third day of October this year and
the fourth day of October last year,
so that a comparison of the two months
will be fair as to the expense Of col
lecting. In October, 1909, there was
employed in the office a regular force
of 8 men at salaries amounting to
s1235. .65. and an extra force of thirty
"a
making a total expense for salaries in
october, 1909, of $3406.O9 In October,
1910, there was employed regular force
of eight men at salaries amounting to
S1198.67, and an extra force Of twenty
men at salaries amounting to $1246 49,
making a total expenditure for salaries
for October 1910 of $2445.66, as COM
pared with S341005 for October, 1909.
1--WE therefore expended in 1910 $500, 0,43
less money for salaries than in 1909
while the work of 1910 is one-third
greater than that of 1909 In other
words, in October 1909, 1t cost $3406.09
At the same ratio, with one-third more
work in 1910, 1t should have cost
s4542.O .O5, while it really only cost $2445, &C.
making a saving of $2101,07 in salaries
for one month. This is an actual saw
ing, regardless of work done of more
than 2S per cent and a pro rata saving
on the amount of work really done Of
81 per cent.
"To recapitulate, we have collected
more money for licenses, have collected
a greater per cent of the amount
charged to us, and have collected 1t
earlier in the month. our work in col
lecting taxes has increased by SO 1-3
per cent, and yet the office has been
conducted for the first ten months Of
the administration, as compared with
the first ten months OF 1909, as an act
nal saving OF S3500, which shows that
the cost of collection has been reduced
13 per cent, which is increased to saw
ing of 46 per cent If figured In ratio 10
49, ov,o,,nf NJ xvorlx dOneb