The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-12-18
Far Reaching Cost Account
ing System Proposed for
Street Department.
FOREMAN PROPOSED
FOR EACH GANG
Compilation of Data to Aid
in Fixing Appropria-
ton in Budget.

Efficiency plans for the operation OF
are now being worked out by Alfred
Bavis, member of the new board OF
public works, at the request of Mayor
elect Robbins. They will be submitted
to Mr. Robbins and other members OF
the board at a meeting to be held la
ter in the month.
Mr.. Bavis has completed a rough
draft of reporting and timekeeping
system to be used in the street de-
partment. Under this plan every work
ing gang will have it's foreman, who
also will act as timekeeper.
At the completion of days work,
the foreman of each gang will make
out report listing the men who com
pose his gang, the hour and the place
they started to work, the streets and
alleys on which they worked, the time
each man actually worked, the place
where the days work was finished and
the square yards cleaned or repaired,
and the amount of material used.
Retaled Reports Required.
These reports will be submitted to
the street commissioner, and at the
end of each month the commissioner
will make out detailed reports of the
work of his department and submit
them to the board of public works and
to the mayor.
by this system, when we prepare
the budget for 1915 we will have suffi-
cient reliable data to make an intelli-
gent estimate of the appropriation re-
quired for payroll and cleaning and
repairing of streets, said Mr.. Bavis.
I'VE will keep accurate and detailed
record of street paving costs and we
will be able to closely estimate the
expense for what streets the city will
decide to pave the following year"
Mr.. Bavis also is working on a re-
porting system for the police depart
ment, and he says Mayor-elect Robbins
has decided to have the police repart-
ment, and he says Mayor-elect Rob
bins has decided to have the police
make systematic inspection of alleys
to see that the garbage ordinances
are not violated These inspections
will be made by both day and night
officers.
Holds Ordinance Invalid.
Mr.. Bavis is taking a keen interest
in the dispute between the city and
the Richmond Light, Heat and Power
company over the question of depos-
it's for natural gas service, but he is
of the opinion that the ordinance re-
Gently passed by the city council max
ing it unlawful to require deposits or
guarantees is not worth the paper it is
written on. He believes the ordinance
is unconstitutional.
Mr.. Bavis believes that the city has
the authority to require the company
to obey it's will without recourse to
such an ordinance as became opera
tive yesterday, and without putting the
case in the hands of the state public
utilities commission
Mr Bavis believes that under sec
ton 110 of the act creating the public
service commission, all authority nee
essary to settle the dispute with the
l.. H. & P. company is vested in the
city council, which can revoke the
franchise of the company if the meth
ods of service for gas are violations
of the franchise. He points out that
the rules the company is now enforc-
ing, were never approved by the board
of public works, as provided for in
the franchise.