The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-06
EFFICIENCY AND CITY GROWTH :. By Leslie S. Evers Accounting Expert op the Staff of Peter
 White, in This City
White, in This City

classified budget. Lump sum appro- priations may permit of quick gen eral conclusions, but they are not con ducive toward a scientific reduction
 of expense
 Another condition which operates against efficiency in all our cities is the inelasticity of rules and regula- tions. A city can exercise little or no power not specifically granted by leglsla tiOn while the private corpora- . tion can do practically anything not strictly prohibited by lava vast ad-
 vantage in the proper business man.
 agement of the latter. From the standpoint of economy and efficiency
 many of the laws which govern our cities are bad. Methods in city man agement are too often the mere re> suits of law. Law should more of
 ten be the result of desirable meth ods. have in mind a city that loses
 approximately $15,0O0 in discounts an- nually because the law requires a red
 tape method of paying bills which
 makes the process so slow that dis
 counts cannot be taken.
 Forces which tend to promote eff
 ciency in city government:
 The first of these is taxes. A low
 tax rate is always an effective ar gument to use in city promotion, pro- vided proper service is being render ed.
 Without sacrificing the underlying principles of democracy or reducing representation to a dangerous stage,
 there is little doubt but greater con centration of power would promote
 both economy and efficiency.
 Home rule would make 1t possible to enact legislation best adapted to local conditions Unfit laws could be revised with much greater despatch, or new ones passed to fit unlocked for developments
 In most cities charters need revis- ion Not the haphazard revision of the past. but careful and orderly revision based upon thorough study of tae actual needs of the community.
 It is sometimes contended that pub lie officials can do this work without special help from experts. To a cer- tain extent they could, but generally speaking they won't.
 At this point let us discuss specifi- cally some of the conditions which need renovating. To my mind one of the prime causes of waste in many cities is the slovenly manner of ap- propriating money. Lump sum ap- propriations are bound to encourage graft and extravaganza. Budgets should be detailed under a scientific classification of accounts. I do not mean that details alone will suffice
 Equally important is a systematic classification of expense during the year. This classification must be 50 arranged as to be comparable with Duoget requests: l know of no means more effective in scientifically reduc- ing expense than a comparative state ment setting forth in a properly de. tafl"d manner the estimates in con- trast with the actual expense
 This matter can only be corrected which labor and materials are con- stunned, followed by formal transfers or readtustment of expense between the departments themselves, all of which should appear on the regular books of account of the city
 comparative purposes some system should eventually be devised to ascer- tain unit costs. Assuming quality to be satisfactory, the real point at is- sue is the cost of service per unit.
 It is much more important to know that one superintendent of street con- struction has reduced the cost of a certain pavement, from $300 to S2.50 per square yard than to know that the city spent a million dollars for pave ment one year and only five hundred thousand the next.
 A municipality is continually operat- ing against credit limit which in most cities cannot legally be exceed ed. Audited bills do not represent the total obligations against these appro opriation limits. They may rep resent total cost but not total obliga- tion. To iilustrate-suppose $1 ,000, 900 has been set aside for street construc- ton and against this amount is out standing as follows: Bills audited $30O, 900; uncimpleted contracts, s6OO,. 00Om purchase orders outstanding not yet billed $100.00O. Considered on the old bills audited basis this fund would reflect a balance of $700,000, while as a matter of fact there is no balance available at all when proper reserves are set up to take care of the out standing obligations.
 Another important point often over looked at budget making time is the inventory at the close of the year sarily the amount purchased, but rather the amount on hand at the be- ginning of the period plus the amount less the amount on hand at the end of the period. A state ment of inventory, therefore, should of a budget. if expense is to be scien- tihcally reduced to a minimum It oners the only base upon which to de- termtne the actual amount of any commodity consumed, while the val ue of the commodity on hand has a amount to be appropriated
 Inventory should not stop here, how ever. To serve the most efficient end a regular system of property accoun- tability should be developed. Should not ten dollars worth of property in B ward foreman's hands. be- just as to the city as a ten dollar note in the treasurer's vault? Yet how few cities have walked up to this fact. Most of the conditions in this regard not only permit graft but ac. tually encourage it.
 Another opportunity for saving is found in connection with city pur- chases. This should be considered under CD Capitalization, @ Standard zation, (9 Open contracts. (4) Inspec- ton, and (5) Storage. Although much 1 can be done without centralization, it | with proper authority and proper | storehouse facilities can purchase more uniformly, and can get better prices generally than under diver | sified purchasing plan. Standardiza- ton of purchases appears to me to ba | the logical outcome of centralization, | although need not necessarily be pre- | ceded by it.
 Closely identified with, but not strictly a part of Standardization, is l the matter of open vs. closed con- tracts. Is your city going through l -he form of fair competition with l so drawn as really to | eliminate most bidders from the start? l It has and is being done in some cit | les. I have in mind one city which | reduced the cost of a certain pave- l nent over fifty cents per square | yard by doing away with the specifi- | cation of a controlled product and | tIyrn lxsv