The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-08-23
Municipal Research Bureau
Finds That City Has Paid
Over $50, 900 Too Much on
Bond Interest.
CONDITION EXISTED
FOR SEVERAL YEARS
After Property Owners Paid
Off Promptly on Assess
ments, City Continued to
Pay on the Bonds.

Lack of system and compliance with
state laws. together with poor book.
keeping are largely responsible for er.
rors which have been discovered In
regard to the payment Of city Of Rich.
mond Improvement bonds in the past
twenty years. Already the city has
lost $21.99S24. according to the EN-.
ployes OF the Municipal ReSea-ch Bur
eau. which will make an official re-
port tomorrow in all probability as to
condition of affairs as found.
Upon the inevitable investigation by
field examiners of the state board OF
accounts, city affairs may be found In
even worse shape than at present and
there is no telling what will become OF
the discoveries. In fact 1t Is expected
that the state board Of accounts will
begin an inspection within . short
time as Q result of the conditions just
discovered.
The Barrett Law.
Under the Barrett law. which pro.
vides for the payment Of improve
ments to streets. sidewalks, sewers
and the like. property owners have to
pay for these improvements. Two
methods are provided by which they
may do 10. Under one system they can
Mov <h~ n~xar~ or~c.,~< ~,s%hsr <hS-< =,
days after they have been notified az
to the amount Of their assessments.
The other way II to waiver payment
in full. In such cases property own.
ers are given tsny years in which n
pay the entire amount. In the latter
case the city has sold street improve
ment bonds and the property owner
paid in installments and kept up the
interest ON the unpaid principal.
1t develops that in hundreds oi
cases property owners have tired ol
the installment plan and within q
period of from to years have made
full settlement Of their assessments
1t also is revealed that the city insteaj
Of calling in the bonds issued against
these particular assessments have per
mitted them to run the full ten years
and the interest thereon coming ou,
of the general fund of the city instead
OF the pockets of the property owners
Amount Outstanding.
At the present time there is 800,
29O.S5 in city Improvement bonds out
standing. There is due the city $75,
421.5S and the cash on hand yesterday
was $2,S7O.53. These two sums com
bined and substracted from the bons
issue gives the amount of the short
age.
Another way by which the shortag,
may have been caused is that sever
al years ago the street improvement
receipts were placed in with the city,
general fund. At the time of the divis
ion of the two funds, mistake ma.
have been made and on investigate,
1t may be found that the city owes tn,
street Improvement fund, from tn
general fund. large part of the appar
ent shortage.
However examinations of the rec
ords here and there for illustration
shows that costly financial error
were made by the city continuing .
pay interest ON bonds which shoul
have been called In upon payment Il
full Of the improvement assessment
Of the property owners.
Excepting bookkeeping errors, pei
haps one of the main reasons for thes
mistakes is that there has been but
haphazzard system In keeping the rex
ords Of improvement assessments.
Is doubtful II these records were eve
audited and the officials. becaus
there had been no investigation, kney
not where they stood. but were cor
tent to allow affairs to take care q
themselves.
Had the street Improvement asses.
ment records been kept In . name
similar to the county tax duplicate.
the officials would have been cogni,
ant of affairs at all times. The wal,
er records Of street Improvement 4,
sessments were never footed up IN
the utter lack Of system must hay
frequently put the officials in
quandry.
Evidence Of poor bookkeeping Is 4
30 frequently displayed In these re.
ords. In some Of the instances di,
covered the property owners. afte
paying on the assessment in install
| ments for . few years and then pa,
ing the remainder Of tho improvement
In full, the officials in computing th
amount due, either charged too muc
or too little. In one case the propert
owner had paid about $50 too muc.
THE WEATHER.
IoTATE AND locAl-ohovsers IN
probably thunderetesuss tonjeh
es "Wednesday; eooler Wedneeda,