The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1914-06-20

memorandum book Sno oWing the tags
issued. we could not verify the Dog Tag
remaining on hand, not knowing how
MANY there was in the beginning. How
ever attention is directed to the decrease
of late in this revenue, Judging from the
income derived from this source in pre-
vious years, which is now reduced to
practically nothing as shown in Exhibit
No. /.
LICENSE PLATES.
These consists of brass plates which
are supposed to be attached to carriages,
etc. We are unable up to April 1912 to
find any records of these license plates
issued, the only record being for money
turnedin to the Treasurer, no detail as
to who paid for same ETC., being obtain
able.
Nevertheless, we found 1872 licenses on
hand out of 800 purchased, making 168
to be accounted for, which at 15 cents
each, would make $4,000 against which
we find $3.50 turned in to the Treasurer,
or difference of St7.50 unacounted for.
We were unable for want of sufficient
data to carry our examination further,
and would recommend that this difference
be Investigated, with view of collecting
it, if possible.
ROAD TAX.
This account like others previously
referred to, was handled in very un-
sytematic manner, we understood that
this tax is levied at the call of the Street
Commissioner, in other words the Street
Commissioner calls upon certain people
to work on the roads in lieu of which a
Tax of $500 iscollected, we areinformed
that should the Street Commissioner
fail to call for the Tax, none is collected
due to this method of levying the Tax
and to the fact that the majority of these
taxes are labored out, it is an imposs-
ibility to keep an accurate control or
check upon this account, as at present
treated.
Attention is especially directed to the
list of those subject to this Tax, (Which
list we understood has not been revised
since 1922. This list shows people who
appear to have never been called upon
for road Tax, others who ave been called
upon one year, and then others who pay
yearly.
IMPOUNDING CATTLE.
The amendment to the original ord1-
nance which diyerts part of this revenue
to the City we are informed is of recent
date, previous to which date the entire
fee went to the Marshal. We would
recommend that receipt be given in
manifold, for all fines collected under
this heading, which would allow some
check or control of this revenue account.
FUNDS.
AS preliminary to the following re-
marks appertaining to the various funds
as are shown upon the books, the follow
ing general remarks are not amiss.
First, attention is invited to the manner
in which warrants drawn are handled,
i. e., warrants drawn are not put OF
record on General Books when drawn,
though entered in the Warrant Register
Book which is really the copy of the
stub of the Warrant Book, no entry Of
warrants on books being made, until
they are paid and returned by the
Treasurer.
This method of handling warrants
rendering it impossible to determine the
liability of the City for outstanding
Warrants, in other words these various
funds upon the books show an asset at
times when they could in reality show
liability, this is especially true during
the months when the various funds are
about exhausted. AS before stated, this
condition prohibits the ascertaining ac-
curately at any date the amount of out
standing warrants, the only ones acer-
taniable, being those at the end of our
audit, and then only after going through
the entire Warrant Register and OBJ
tanning those marked cancelled, after
which no proof as to correctness of the
figures can be obtained, we found in
stances where warrants not cancelled
on the Register, were paid
There is no operating Ledger kept in
conjunction with any OF the Funds to
show at any time by accounts, the ex-
penditures in detail out of each fund,
and which we are sure would prove of
inestimatable value in the ascertaining
readily the detailed operating revenue,
as we'll as the operating cost of the
Municipality. besides enabling COM
parison with previous years. q
While the annual statement as pre-
pared by the secretary 10 supposed to
furnish such detail, said statement be-
ing built from the warrants paid and not
from the warrant ISSUED, (thereby not
including outstanding warrantso is not
complete and in accordance with correct
conditions, as would have been had all
warrants issued as drawn posted with
ont awaiting their payment. This way
of treating warrants caused outstanding
warrants of the previous year to appear
as being expenses of the year in which
the statement is made and vice versa,
thereby making one year suffer or profit
from such COMMISSIONS, with such system
new administration taking charge
would be unable to determine the correct
i;a h;lstias It assumed unless the r,1t-