The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-04-04
RECOMMENDATIONS
(ContInued from Page 1l

AS there Is an increasing demand for
filing space, provision should be
made for the safe keeping Of docu
ments.
Certificates Of Audit.
After making the monthly audit OF
the books of each department, the
city auditor should promptly hand to
the head of the department his certi-
fcate of the same, a copy of which
should be kept on file in his office,
together with his working papers.
This certificate would not only sup.
ply the auditor with ready and au-
thentic information, but would assist
him in making the audit for the fol
lowing month. At present, no such
record is kept.
Issuing Of Pay Warrants,
Prior to the year 1909, a blanket
warrant was issued 10y the city audi
tor for the amount OF each weekly city
departmental pay roll of all laborers
and similar employes-other than th,
regular monthly salaried employees
These warrants were cashed by Tie
heads of the various departments,
who, through their representative,
paid the laborers, Objection was made
to this manner of handling the pay
rolls-and rightly so-in that an op.
portunity might have arisen for col
| fusion between the men and the per
son handling the cash. A change in
this procedure was made in 1900
| whereby a warrant was issued by the
county auditor to each man on the
| bi-weekly pay rolls for the amount b:
labor performed, and to be charged 70
each appropriation: that is to say in
the case of a teamster employed by
the Honolulu road department, who
had been engaged in hauling for four
distinct jobs during the fortnight. he
would receive four warrants, each
warrant representing the labor charge
to be debited to the respective job,
or appropriation, the sum total of all
the warrants being the amount of his
fortnightly wage.
For the year 1908, prior to this
new arrangement of paying the men,
! 10,357 warrants were issued by the
county auditor, During 1909, however
the number was increased to $4,000,
whilst for the years 1910 and 1911 the
warrants issued were 24,564, and "a
794 respectively. For the road tie
partment alone over $500 warrants
were issued in 1911. The increased
work of drawing warrants necessita'-
ed the services of an additional clerk
IN the auditors department, and a
greater portion of the time of the
auditor and his deputy has been oc-
cupied since 1900 in signing the war
rants, filing and posting the same
and doing other work incidental
thereto. Furthermore, the pay rolls
are itemized for each appropriation,
and in the instance above mentioned
which is not by any means an eX-
ceptional case-the Transfers name,
time, occupation, rate of pay etc
would appear on four different pay
rolls. In posting the labor charges
in the ledger, and writing mp the war
rant book in the auditors department
each warrant is made separate item.
The man receiving his wages has to
sign for each warrant, and the county
treasurer who pays the warrants is
called upon to handle thousands Of
unnecessary warrants, and with the re-
turn of the redeemed warrants to the
auditor, which occurs about three
! times a month, itemized lists of the
same have to be prepared, involving
much clerical labor. For each spe-
cial resolution of the Board of Super
visors, covering a new appropriation,
separate accounts for materials and
/ supplies, pay rolls, etc, are now kept,
and warrants issued to cover each of
these items of expenditure.
1t is necessary that each appropria-
ton should be charged with it's actual
labor and other costs, but such charg-
es could be made by sum totals in
stead of by items as is the case at
present.
To reduce the work OF issuing pay
roll warrants to a minimum and to
permit the necessary charges to be
made against the respective appro-
priations, the following form of BIZ
weekly pay roll is submitted for each
city department.
(Mr. Field here submits forms of
pay rolls and warrants)
The men, insteau or receiving a war
rant, or warrants, for their wages, as
is now the case, should go to the Of
fee OF the county treasurer and re-
ceive their pay in cash and sign the
pay roll, and by establishing certain
hours for paying off each department
the foreman could be on hand for