The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-24
COMMISSION WILL HAVE AbUSY WEEK Financial Matters Are to Be
 Considered s .aa. REPORT SOON READY The Merger of Three or Four Offices Is Expected-Routine Matters
 to Come Up at Meeting
 This Afternoon

The Board of Commissioners will meet this afternoon at 3 o'clock to continue their administration of local municipal fairs. The third week of the commits sion regime is likely to be productive of more results than even the economic reforms instituted during the first few days.
 At the session this afternoon 1t is not probable that the financial report will be ready for the commission. However. before the week k-end the report of Spe- cial Auditor Simpson is expected to be in hand and considered. This week Is for this reason expected to be the scene of struggle to get Birmin gham out of the perilous financial position which vas created and left as a heritage for the commission by former admsnistra- tions.
 The commissioners in psidering the financial statement now being compiled will --ery likely merge three or four offices at tho city hall of financial char acter and get them in a systematized working order under one competent head The consolida tion is expected to affect the offices of treasurer, auditor. tax collector, comptroller of the public improvement fund and that of license inspector.
 No inkling has been given out by the commissioners as to the methods to be pursued in liquidating the financial problem but it is said to be the sense of that body that in order to properly work up state of maximum efficiency, financially it would he well to have one man at the head of the departments more in line with financial problems than otherwise
 The consideration of the financial statement will call for the question of a bond isue for Birmingham. That has been a matter deemed inevitable by the commissioners since they assumed charge. For a great many months, even before President Exum became Mayor, the financial predicament of Br- ningham worried the finance committee of the City Council. It was permitted 10 go unsolved until Mayor Exum was inaugurated. When he went into the city hall as chief executive the con- mission bee was tuzzing merrily, the legislature was in process of gather ing, and then in two months the legis- lature became a fact. During that ses- sion the city of Birmingham was in a chaotic condition, because of the lack of information concerning the end of the commission fight. Hence the finan- cial problem and many others sponsored by Mayor Exum could not very well be solved. ' ~ s i1 The commissioners met the financial ghost when they assumed their Her. culean task. and at this time the money question is very little nearer solved than many months ago. This state of affairs caused the commissioners to get after & financial statement which is being rapidly compiled and upon which the city will depend for some of its request ed aid. Many matters of importance have been passed over by the commits sioners with the remark that "until the financial statement is in hand we don't know where we are going to land"
 The retirement from his office of for mer Auditor Petersen Is not expected to delay the compilation of the report being prepared. For several weeks his resignation has been expected, and 1t has ben a foregone conclusion that the