The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-01-05

and may require AN estimate to be
made by any officer of the city.
Section SO provides that all COP
tracts involving the expenditure Of
more than $3.50 shall be made as in
the charter provided, and not other
wise. -... ,
+ Section 80 provides that in all
cases where such estimated cost eX
ceeds the sum of $3.50 the work
shall be done upon public bids, made
upon plans and specifications as pro
vided in Section 81, and after ad
vertising for bids, as provided il
Section go.
Section SO also provides that all
action in that chapter required OF
! authorized to be taken by the Coun
Gil shall be by resolution or ordi
nance.
| These provisions were not com
piled with in the improvements in
! question, although the reasonable
cost of some of them was more than
$3.50. .t
| "In one instance No. l, (Madison
avenue and Vine street, and an.
! other No. 81 Eagle Lake road) il
is quite possible that such an eXig
ency existed that it was justifable
on the part of the officer in charge
to do this work without strict com.
pliance with these provisions of the
charter, but when amy such emer
gency arises ,sach work Should only
be so done with TIL written approval
OF the mayor. 4 Section 99.9
Aldermen Shall Report.
1T will be Noticed that in order
to safeguard: the treasury and the
funds belonging to each department
Of the city, fana to avoid Contracting
debts in excess of available funds,
that the charter provides (Section
| $50 that it shall be the duty of
each officer or head of a depart.
ment to report to the council quar-
| terly, the commodities, work, and
services likely to be needed for the
operation of, this department or Of
fees, for the ensuing quarter, and
not heretofore contracted for.
This, we think. is a very whole
some provision of the charter, and
will afford great aid to the council.
if complied with, in so measuring
expenses to BE Incurred Ill all de,
partments. as to be able to conduct
the affairs Of the city WITHOUT antici-
pating revenues, not vet provided,
and taxes n hpt yet Levied, which
should always. be avoided ...
Several it,eeans Of work charged to
have beensohpne, Yirregnlarly, each,
reasonably cost more, than $2aO, and
had estimates besh, made of such
. cost before the 1Wosk was. undertaken
it would have been Gear to the
council that spcli work should have
been done, by contracts secured by
mean Of bids. and, if :. the bids were
i'll excess Of the estimates, the bids
could lave; been rejected, if it was
thought best.". AFT - .-.... -.
Whether the j init above which
work cannot; be done by tthe proper
superintendent under the direction OF
the council without, public bids.
should be made higher than $3.50, is
II legislative question upon which
the members of this committee
might not fully agree, and We do
not report thereon, but it is a
question, worthy of earnest consider
alton.
No Assessment Made.
mo part of the cost of the i'm.
provements of which complaint is
| made, has been assessed against pro-
perty benefited thereby.
I'VE are quito Of the opinion that
a part at least. of such ~eost should
have been assessed against property
benefited in nearly, all of these cases
notably, the Main street grade, the
| Jackson ands Fourth street retaining
wall, the work on Pike street be-
tween Cherry and Jackson streets,
| improving the Bunker hin road, grad
ing Bradley street, Willard street
and Spring street, and graveline
and filling and identifying the
Fourth street park. and it is quite
possible that filing the grass plats
on Second and Lincoln streets
should have been SO assessed also.
! "The charter provides quite fully
, for assessing, and reassessing in
| case OF errors or omissions, and for
assessing after the work is done, but
this work having been done without
conformity with the provisions of
| the charter herein mentioned, and
there now being no perfectly accur-
ate data by which to fix these assess
ments, We, much doubt whether any
part of this cost can be now assess.
ed, unless it may be the cost of
improving the Fourth street park.
What Charter Provides.
But from the fact that the charter
so fully provides such assessments,
and also provides (Section 1859 that
all such improvements shall be paid
] for by special assessment except
such portions thereof as are therein
enumerated, and that it is expressly
provided that in case any part OF
the cost of a public improvement not
therein mentioned as excepted, is to
1 be paid out of city funds, it can
only be done by a four-ffths vote OF
the council, (Section 121), constrains
us to think that it is the true spirit
of, the charter, that practically all of
the cost of public improvements
such as are now under consideration
shall be paid for by special assess
mentS
'"The exceptions to this rule being
so rare, that in order to invoke the
exception, it is necessary to have al
most the unanimous affirmative vote
Of the council.
ut is contended that the records OF
the council do not fully disclose the