Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1910-11-29
Shall the Finances for Work Be
Raised by Bonds or Improvement
District Warrants?
EXPERTS FAVOR latter
How Both Plans Operate-Both Have
Features That Should Be Con-
sidered by Taxpayers.

There has been considerable COM
ment pro and con as to the relative
merits of the improvement district
and the bonding system for the re-
building of our water works It
might be said that as yet there has
not been figured out a perfectly
equitable system Of taxation for mu-
nicipal improvements.
Among the places now operating
under the district improvement plan
are Seattle, Tacoma, Minneapolis, and
Havre and Missoula in this state, and
while here, Engineer Swearingen
stated that Great Falls contemplated
the adoption OF that plan next Spring.
1t is our intention in this article to
give our readers an insight to the
workings OF both plans.
Under the system of bonding, as it
is atp resent in vogue in our city,
bonds are sold to eastern bonding
houses. Five per cent. is paid for the
use Of this money and the city treas
urer semiannually sends to New
York City one-half of the $500 in
terest money. A sinking fund, created
to pay the interest on Our bonded in
debtedness, $85,OOO of which is for
our present water system and $4,000
for our two sewers, is replenished by
an annual tax from the freeholders,
amounting to two and one-half mills,
or about $1,000 per annum at the
present time, almost all of which goes
to the eastern bond-buyers. In order
to build up the sinking fund, former
council took one-fourth of all water
revenues and placed them in the sink
ink fund. This tax on the water con-
suners, amounting to about So, 800 per
annum, is really the only money that
is increasing the net amount in the
sinking fund and operates against the
| water consumer, as he is paying off
| the sewer as we'll as the water bonds
At the present rate of increase of the
| sinking fund, it would take over 30
years to pay off the city's present in
debtedness.
Taking the interest Of the city at
| large into consideration, the bonding
method Encourages investment in un-
improved real estate by outsiders, for
the reason that their tax for the
running OF the municipal affairs is
very light, as compared to the local
residents who improve their prop
erty and nsequently pay the larger
porto nof the taxes
The proposed improvement district
plan also has arguments for and
against, and it will be up to the free
| holders to state to the city council.
on the night which will be set aside
for that purpose. which of these two
methods they desire to adopt in the
rebuilding of Our water system
The improvement district plan
operates in this manner: One and
onehalf dollar is the maximum that
can be assessed against property
benefited either by fire protection or
water service. There are about $1,000
feet of water mains to be put in to
make the Lewistown water system
complete within the district supplied
with water. according to the plans
made by our city engineer and ap-
proved by Swearingen & McCulloh,
consulting engineers. This means
$4,000 as a maximum that can be
assessed against benefited lots.
There are about 225O lots involved,
which would mean an assessment OF
about $500 per lot. This assess
ment is paid i'll ten annual payments
of $3.50, plus interest on deferred
payments, or the first annual pay
ment would be $50 and would de-
crease each year. Lewistown owners
of highly improved and Main street
property would be paying the same
as would outside capital holding un-
| improved property.
| Our city engineer. in his original
plans. says that he held to the strict
economic plan of putting in only such
mains as would build up a good
skeleton for a complete water sys-
tenn in the future, not stinting on
large mains, where they are neces-
sary for future use, but holding down
the lateral mains to locations and
sizes where they would produce rev-
enue. the object being to hold the
bonded debt to a minimum and do
4 ing as much construction work with
i the revenue of the business as pos
sible. Mr. Swearingen's PLAN OF
course. holds the bonded indebted
ness ever better than does the bond
ing plan. and on his suggestion the
city engineer has added mains with
i'll the waterworks district. thus max
ing the system complete within the
| district. but materially increasing the
| cost
4 An argument that is urged against
the improvement district plan is that
the highly improved Main street prop
erty pays only as much for its water
I service as the outivinp unim n-oyed