The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-03-11
THE COMMISSION PLAN HAS
MANY DISTINCT ADVANTAGES
Government by Commission Carefully Discussed
1t Ensures Business Management of City
Affairs Throughout.
Administration of Affairs Subject Approval People
-Offcers Held Responsible for Acts--Bonds Re-
quired in Sum of $4,000 of Each.
(BY GEORGE WILLIAMS. J

WILL IAMS.)
of a mayor and four commissioners,
each elected at large by a majority of
the voters of the entire city, and not
by any one ward. Each is elected
for five years, except that at the first
election the commissioners are elected
for term of one, two, three and four
years respectively, one new commits
sioner being elected each year. The
mayor has no greater power at the
meetings than any one of the commits
sioners. He presides but has no power
of veto. The salary of each is equal
in amount and is proportioned accord
ing to the city's population. In a.
city of the size of Rapid City, each
must execute bond in the sum of
81, 500, conditioned upon the faithful
performance of his duties.
An excellent feature of the plan is
that each commissioner has special
department to supervise. To one is
given "Streets and Public Property"
to another, "Police and Fire." to a
third, Finance and Revenue" and
to the fourth is entrusted "Water-
works and Sewerage. And, too, each
makes the expenditures in his own
department by the vote of the board,
and at stated times must submit full
reports. Each is personally response
BILE for all matters pertaining to his
special department. He cannot shift
this responsibility as under the old
system. This is one Of the strong
features of the commission plan. In
each department an efficient official
can save to the city large amount of
money annually, as he employs his
own help in his special department
and therefore is in a position to econ
omize. This feature, from an eco
nomic standpoint, commends itself at
once to every tax payer as great i'm
provement over the old system.
Again, the number of elective Off
GERS is reduced. The more simple the
plan of government the more business
like and economic.
Another highly commendable feat
ure of the commission plants that the
ward system as political division is
abolished. The mayor and commits
sioners are elected by majority vote
of all voters in the municipality.
When we realize that the officials of
the city are elected by a majority vote
of all it's citizens we then realize what
it means to have representative gov
eminent. Seldom will an American
citizen fail to accept it when the op-
portunity is presented.
Another good feature of the plan is
that the mayor and commissioners,
when elected are in fact public serv-
ants. They are directly under the con-
troll of the city's voters. This control
is maintained by virtue of the recall
clause; that is, if any member of the
board is not properly performing the
duties of his Office a special election to
elect a successor may be called at any
time upon the filing of a petition there
for signed by fifteen per cent of the
voters of the city. He however has
the privilege to be one of the candi-
dates. Our present system gives to
the voters no such power.
Another important feature is that
which gives the voters power to refer
any ordinance, resolution or the grant
ing of franchise to a vote of the peo-
pie at any time within twenty days
by petition properly signed and filed.
This.perhaps is notso important in the
smaller city but system which lodges
such matters in the hands of the vot-
ers and tax payers needs no argument
to commend it.
The economic phase of the question
isperhaps the most important. Every
city which has tried the commission
plan has especially emphasized this as
one Of its strong features. In Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, from April 1907 to May
1908, the police department collected
1872 in fines. Then the commission
ers came into power. The fines next
year aggregated s7,167.72, a difference
of s6,4o5.72. In short, the new adj
ministration turned in almost ten
times the amount of fines turned in
by the old.
Hayerhill, Mass, one ofthe first
cities in the east to adopt this plan,
furnishes us with another example Of
what may be done under the com
mission plan. In 1908, under the ole
aldermanic system, the city frankly
I admitted that it was unable to rur
on its income and desired the legis
lature to raise the legal tax rate. TIL,
borrowing capacity was exhausted
and toward the end of 1908 the cit,
J, was actually unable to pay it's las
bills, amounting to $6l 200. and tn,