The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-07-14
FORMUN|CIPAL
IMPROVEMENT
Mayor Addresses Council in Re-
gard to These Necessities
URGED EARLY ACTION
Calls Attention of Council That Former
Marshal was Paid Salary in Excess
of Provisions of City Charter.
Fort Pierce, Florida, July 5, 1911.

Fort Pierce, Florida, July 5, 1911.
To the Honorable City Council:
Gentlemen: Section fourteen Q4) Of
our City Charter provides that the
Mayor shall from time to time COM
municate such information and make
such recommendation to the Council
touching the public service as he may
deem proper. | therefore very respect
fully call your attention to section
siXty-eight (68) of our City Charter
which provides that the Marshal shall
receive such compensation as is pro
vided by ordinance, and which shall not
be changed during his term Of Office.
The ordinance fixing the salary of the
Marshal of Fort Pierce, fixes said
salary at 500, 90 per month and the
council cannot las / understand the
law legally increase or decrease that
salary during the term of office for
which the Marshal is elected to hold.
simply call your attention to the
law on the subject for the reason that
| am Informed that the Marshal is now
receiving a salary of approximately $50
per month on account of an extra
allowance allowed him for service
which he is drawing salary to per-
form. am also informed that the
Marshal is being given fees for i'm
pounding stock, which if true is un-
doubtedly in violation of law. lam not
writing you this communication because
am opposed to good officers being
well paid for valuable service, far from
it. am heartily in favor of good
salaries, as good salaries are an induce
ment for good and capable men to offer
for office. but we cannot willfully ignore
the plain letter of the law because we
do not happen to be in sympathy with
that law. We are to obey and enforce
the law as we find It. | do not think
an officers salary should be increased
by an extra allowance for doing some
certain specified thing when he is al
ready under oath to do that particular
thing in his line of duty and for the
amount that is specified in the ordinance
when he accepts the office.
call your attention to the above
matter so that you will look carefully
into the matter and that you will take
the necessary steps to have all the
money that has been thus illegally paid
ont TO be at once returned to the City
Treasurer In young and struggling
municipality like ours we should indulge
in the very strictest economy ana
see that every dollar of the peoples
money that is spent, he spent legally
and that every dollar spent counts
for something. In conclusion permit
me to say that while have bten the
Chief Executive of our thriving little
CITY, have worked in season and out
of season for the betterment of condl-
tons in general, and it has been my
aim ut all times to be alive to the fact
that the progress of our City depends
upon the interest that our 0fhcers
especially and the people in general
take in the affairs Of the City and !
lrIst that the officers will TALL of them)
cooperate with me in bringing about
more healthy sentiment in favor OF
public improvements
feel it my duty to also call your
attention to the necessity Of our city
installing d system of electric lights,
wafer and sewerage. We are grow
inc very fast. and will soon be face to
foce with some serious conditions.
namely, the question of health and that
If fire protection. There is very nice,
as well AS costly class of building beng
erected in our City and it would be a
shame to see the peoples property Qn
some instances their alb 60 up in smoke
when for a few cents each, we can
have A perfect system of fire protec-
ton, and for few cents each we can
have a perfect system of sewerage
HAT at some time may serve to save US
from some terrible disaster Trusting
,bot Won will at once act upon the above
SUGGESTIONS. | have the honor to be,
Your obedient servant,