The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-11-18
heavy EXPENSE
EATS UP FUNDS
IN CITY VAULTS
Increase in Salaries When
City Changes Class Helps
Deplete General Fund of
Municipality.

There is going to be very lean and
hungry looking municipal general fund
at the close of this year, in the opin-
ion of City Contraller McMahan. The
policy of strict economy followed
vented deficit.
The appropriations set aside for city
expenses this year totaled $188,627. 92,
and in addition it was found necessary
to make extra appropriations at vari-
GUS times which, up to the present,
total $13.S12.5S. The city has also
been paying for the water it has been
using since September /, for which no
get. This cost by the close of the
year will be approximately $1,000.
Salaries Go Up.
Salaries of the city officers at the
first of the year, by virtue of the fact
that Richmond became city of the
third class. were increased $3.50, and
at that time the city began to pay
the municipal plant for current used
for municipal purposes, an expense
which will amount to $4,000 by the
end of this year. These two eX
penses are provided for in the budget.
but the fact remains that with the ad-
ditional municipal expense this year
the city government has been forced
to get along as best it could on the
same income as the city enjoyed in
1913, because the 1914 tax rate is the
same as the one in 1913.
Beginning the year with expenses
about $4,000 more than the previous
year and with the same income, then
to find 1t necessary to provide addi-
tional expenses totaling over $4,000,
not cared for in the budget, has forced
the board Of public works to keep close
track Of every penny spent.
Tax Reflects Depression.
The city's financial outlook for next
year is far from being bright. The
industrial depression has been reflect
ed in tax collections, and the county
auditor has informed McMahan that
the city may receive between $4,000
and $4,000 less than it's anticipated
revenue for next year, and this antici
pated revenue was to be no greater
than that of this year, because no tax
rate increase was authorized by coun-
Gil at the budget meeting last Septem-
ber
City officials are still anticipating
that within three or four years the
city electric light plant will be able to
make substantial contributions to the
municipal general fund, which it never
has done since it began operations, be-
cause state law requires that the
bonded indie btedness of municipal
plant must first be cared for before
any of it's funds can be diverted into
the general fund of the city
Plan Sinking Fund.
te,r hi sh.,% lx,,>
will be formulated whereby all the
plants annual surplus, after operat-
ing expenses have been met and a
fund set aside for contemplated i'm
provements, shall be placed in the sink
ing fund of the plant. Under such an
arrangement, it has been figured that
this fund in three or four years would
be large enough, plus the interest it
would bear until the maturity of the
plant bonds, to pay off the entire bond
cd indebtedness, which falls due in
1927
After there was a sufficiently large
sum in the sinking fund to care for the
bonded obligation it would then be
possible to divert the major part of the
plants annual surplus into the general
fund. and under such conditions some
reduction could be made in the city
tax rate.
For some time Improvement bonds
bearing per cent interest have been
purchasd by the monies in the munic-
ipal plants sinking fund, and there are
enough bonds in this fund now to earn
interest totaling $6.433 if all the
bonds run to the date of their matur-
ity. which is the intention of the con-
troller. The last of these bonds ma
ture in 1924.