The Alaska daily empire., 1913-11-18
CITY'S FINANCES
 BRIEFLY ANALYZED

ne ludncldl RepOII Ol IHe NlJy Ol Juneau and Statement of Assets and Liabilities, published in another col umn of this issue, shows that the cash resources of the city will soon be ex- hausted. While the council has been charged with extravagance, such charge has no basis in fact, and the lack of funds is due not so much to the expenditures of this council as to the debt inherited from the councils which have preceded it. The law pro yides that the council shall not lin cur a greater indebtedness or liability of any kind in any year than the cur rent revenues of the municipality for that year." The present council has paid $1S,447.00 of liabilities created by it's predecessors. This obligation was created in violation of the letter of the law, but it was paid because the council believed that the people of Jul neau would not leave just debt un- paid even wben the payment might legally be refused.
 Fairbanks, without a dollar in the treasury, built a school house at cost of $73,OOO.OO, and paid for it with warrants which have all been re- deemed. No citizen of Fairbanks sug- gested that the city dishOnor itself by repudiating the debt because the debt created was in excess of the revenues for that year.
 The statement of the city council shows that the total liabilities of the city, including the debts already ere ated, and the estimated cost of con- ducting the citys affairs for the re- mainder of the term of the present council, amount to $39,544.53, while ] the assets of the city to meet these ob- legations amount to $1S,7S415, leaving a difference of $2O,76O.3S, and the city, on the 31st day of March, 1914, will be short of sufficient funds to meet its obligations by this sum. But, if the estimate made is correct, and the city will owe $3O,76O.3S on March 31st, in any criticism of the expenditures of the present council, it is no more than fair to deduct from this amount the sum of $1S,447.00, the amount paid by it for debts created by it's predecessors, with the result that the actual expenditures by the present council in excess of it's revenues, amounts to $2,2S33S. Whether or not the present council has faithfully served the city, whether the money it has spent has been spent to supply the most urgent needs of the citizens, and whether the council has got full value for the money spent, will be determined by a careful investiga- tion of the work done. The City En- gineer is now preparing a report of work done during the term of the present council, and this report will be published in full in the near future. We think fairness requires that crit icism of the Council should be sus- pended until such time as this re- port is published.
 The foregoing statement does not take into consideration the sum of $6,- 750 paid by the city at the request of tho school bOord for +rO IO+o i'm Block 23, on which the school house is located, by which transaction the city became the owner of this entire block. The reason this sum is not in, cluded is that at the time the property was purchased it was confidently ex- pected that Congress would authorize the city to issue it's bonds in the sum of 1000 to be used to increase the school accommodations, and the school board agreed with the council that when these bonds were issued and the proceeds from their sale received, the $6,750 paid for these lots would be turned back to city. It was also agreed between the council and the school board, tha a further sum should be turned back from the proceeds of the bond issue to reimburse the city for ] the cost of the excavation made on the school lot for the new building. The cost of this excavation was $2,7OO, and if this amount had been refunded to the city as was expected, the result would be that the $2,2833S which it is estimated the city will owe on Mar 31st could be paid and the city would have a credit balance in the treasury amounting to $416.62, if it were not for the debts of previous councils paid by the present council, as above stated.
 Published by order of city council, 1 c. w. CARTER, Mayor.)
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