The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1913-02-28
Investigation Discloses Unique
State Of Affairs in City
Clerks Office.
MISLEADING ENTRIES
City Clerk Willfully Ignores Water
Department. and Council and COL
lects $500 Instead of $72.4s With
out Authority-Matter Brought to
Light by Accident.

Considerable comment has been ex-
cited anent matters brought up before
the city council as reported in The
Tribune of last week. The matter of
the obscene language and liquor
emanating from the city fire depart
ment hall was thoroughly discussed at
a meeting of the FIRE department on
Monday evening. The Green water
case was touched upon in the Mon
day issue of The Blab, 4-page
ure of City Clerk Shorb.
The Green Case.
City Clerk Shorb stated in the is
sue of The Blab that the report as
contained in The Tribune lis a tissue
of inaccuracies" The report was given
exactly as it came up in the council
meeting. Desiring to ascertain if The
Blab, or City Clerk Shorb, were cor
rect in saying that the matter was not
correct in detail, a reporter of The
Tribune paid visit to the water de-
partment. While the report contain
ed in The Tribune is entirely correct
as to what transpired in the meeting
of the honorable body, the city council,
all of the facts in the case naturally
did not come to light. So far as we
have been able to find the facts they
are these:
City Clerk Directly Negligent.
Julian Steunenberg, employed in the
water department, accidentally discov-
cred that the books of the city clerk
were only showing 81 per month re-
ceipt from the Green property, when
the books of the water department read
amounts varying from $500 to $3.50
Upon this report to the superintend-
ent, Mr.. Fuller, investigation brought
the matter to head. To explain just
why he had only charged Mr.. Green
with $500 in the past eight months
when he should have charged $72.45,
City Clerk Shorb naively explained
that last summer Boots" Miller, a
lad at that time employed by the
water department to read meters. had
told the city clerk that the Green
meter was apparently out of order.
Upon the Unofficial report of clerk
whom the city clerk must have known
was utterly incompetent to pass upon
the efficiency of water meter had he
tested it. which he did not, City
Clerk Shorb absolutely ignored the
monthly reports of the water depart
ment and charged the Green property
the minimum, $l.O0 per month. And
all this without the water department
knowing anything about it at ALL.
The water department declares that
the duty of the city clerk is to render
bill and collect water rentals accord
ing to the readings of the water me-
tiers as turned over to him by the
water department. He has. accord
ing to the same authority, absolutely
no authority. delegated or otherwise.
to change charge in any way. The
chairman of the water committee of
the council acknowledges this to be
his understanding of the matter. as
we'll. Under the circumstances it
would seem that City Clerk Shorb in
willfully changing the city records
during the past eight months has. to
say the least, been directly negligent.
The city has lost $64.4s that someone
is responsible for.
When Mr.. Green made complaint
last summer, the matter should have
been at once referred to proper au-
thorities. Instead of doing this. City
Clerk Shorb has abrogated the au-
thority of the water department and
the city council-has set himself up
as the head of the city government;
and has made false entries each month
in his books. The check between the
books of the water department and
the city clerk failed to do very ef-
,fcient work until by accident Mr..
Steunenberg discovered the series of
false entries.
The Tribune sincerely trusts that
the fuller report of the Green case as
herewith given will prove satisfactory
IN all concerned