The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-03-07
@"AMUNDSEN SAYS SCOTT REACHED POLE"=CABLEGRAM FROM NEW ZEALAND
 CAUSES REJOICING IN GREAT BRITAIN
PETER WHITE DEGREES DOING MUNICIPAL WORK
 BY TIME WORN METHODS

Before gathering of 11S members
 and guests of the Bridgeport Business
 Mems association, Po.er White, the l municipal accounting expert deliver ed his first public address since his 1 arrival in Bridgeport to look into the
 financial system of the Park City. The
 address took place at a luncheon at the Strarfield today.
 MT. White said in part:
 l The complexity of organization and l methods of a city is wel1-known to | all who have given thought to muni- | cipal affairs and even in this age of | citizen activity the man on the street knows little of local machinery of | government and less of its operation. | Put this same man into office and he IS at once confronted with ob-
 stacles in the way of administering l his office as he would a private en- | terprise.
 | It is easy to suggest one reason for ! this situation. The procedure ot to- day is the result of an attempt to conform to legal requirements on the | one hand, and theS practical necessity | of getting work done on the other. | All sorts of methods have been em- | ployed by those who have desired to place municipal government upon a higher plain of efficiency and econ- omy. We have had reform" move-
 ments engineered by men over-zeal. 1 ous in their plans and tactless in I their methods, and as a result some | feeling for that greatest of all muni- l cipai grafters who said in his wrath ITO hell with reform
 | We have made frequent use of 1 charter revision, often with disap- | pointing results because of the temp
 tation to draw charters without ade- l quate consideration of existing Orga. nization and procedure. which, what | ever it's defects. furnishes the essen | tial evidence of the real needs of the ] situation.
 l It is only natural that this should | be so. We must clearly recognize the l fact that law, legislative and judi | cial,: has always been a pace behind ! the practical requirements of busi- ness. whether public or private. Trade customs are evolved from the neces> sites of private business, and after {. their worth has been demonstrated in practice, legislatures will adopt them l likewise. Existing municipal proce- dure, like trade custom. affords the logical point of approach for those | who are concerEed with the reorga- | nization of procedure or charters, al-
 though like trade custom it may be | d ] violating either statutory require ments or accepted standards of bus l mess morality. Tn short, experience l has demonstrated that we must first make a diagnosis, determine what Is being done. how it is done, and who
 does 1t; and then consider our find- l ings in their relation to the require ments of law and modern business | practice. The result will inevitably
 show that while municipal procedure | is defective when measured by the standards of private business, it's shortcomings are partly due to fn- I appropriate or anticipated legal, re. I Quirements.
 | With these facts as basis we may l then propose remedy with confi- | dence that our suggested plan of re- organization will stand the test of l practical working, since it is based | upon a thorough knowledge of prac- | ticaI needs. It matters little whether the proposed remedy contempiates re-
 organization of administrative and
 accounting methods merely, or char l ter revision involving changes in or- | ganization and in the nature and dis | tribution of authority and responsi- bility.
 | It should not be necessary to ex>
 the reorganization of accounting
 methods of municipality is not merely an attempt to reform the city's | system of bookkeeping Accounting cannot be considered apart from or- I ganization, administration, and per ! formance. In order that the evidence
 shown by accounts may be properly | interpreted. there must be means of determining standards of quality and | quantity of goods and of services. l There should be provision for certifi- | cation and approval of responsible Of- l.
 liar inducements by responsible l agents who are in position to know l the facts in each particular case and | qualified to pass judgment upon them.
 Not a little of the confusion in
 municipal accounting is due to the | fact that there has been no single
 point of view from which the sub- l ject might be approached. The form
 of the general accounts has almost
 necessarily been determined by the necessity of conforming to law and of ! accounting for the disbursement C-
 appropriation funds with too little
 concern as to the manner in which | appropriations are made and as to
 the evidence upon which disburse-
 ments are authorized. Administra- | tive heads have been concerned, not | with the form of ordinances of ap- propriation or with the preparation | anu the SuUIIllSSiOn OI eVlQeQCS ucC-
 essary as a basis for audit, except
 as was required to release them from | responsibility for the handling of l funds. Their chief interest has been
 and is technical, and their systems ] of procedure tend to reflect such facts l as are considered of greatest use in 1 the particular department The pub 1 lie, however is concerned primarily with public service in relation to | cost.
 Recognizing the necessity of pre- | senting statements of service in rela- I tion to cost, the municipal accountant | is adopting actual accounting meth | ods; employing accounts which repre- | sent revenues" and "costs.'' This | marks a departure from the tradi- 1 tional municipal method of account
 ing primarily for receipts and .dis- | bursements''
 l The cost basis will serve the in- | terests of the administrative official. 1 It will also enable the chief account | ing officer to compare costs as be- | tween various departments. With l statements presenting such data. de- partment heads will be better prepar- | ed to approach the appropriating body and defend their budgetary estimates.