Ellsworth American., 1914-08-05
Ellsworth with over $3.50, or Bangor
with over &128.OOO

/ ulhCkCuL COntinkcut dSCOuut5 Anu budt
some cities charge in salaries, street
lights, etc., and other cities police service
and salaries Of the fire department.
Bath charges in items to contingent
varying from 500 to the Bath marine
band for concerts, to s11.5O for refund
| OF taxes.
Ellsworth from paying s5 to the Rev.
P. A. A. Killam for services at its in
augural exercises, to $i.10 paid to A. Fl.
i Joy for toilet paper and soap for the
board Of aldermen. II it be true that
cleanliness is next to godliness, then, to
preserve the unities, the city of Ellsworth
ought to pay less for prayers or more for
toilet paper and soap.
Now, gentlemen, leave it to you, il any
| such classification or lack of classification
of municipal expenditures is not ridicu-
lous in the extreme?
| big step forward in municipal ac-
counting is made when the revenue and
| disbursement accounts are made entirely
| independent of cash received and ex-
pended. The old system OF cash state
ment for municipalities has got to go, and
ought to.
| By revenue mean the possible earnings
of city by tax assessment, and receipts
from municipal corporations, such as
water works, lighting plants. The re-
ceipts of the year in various departments
are classified as departmental receipts,
with the same classification as the depart
mental expenditures.
BY expense mean all expenses of the
city for the year in question whether they
be paid within that year or not.
More cities have gone wrong by using
non-revenue receipts, such as money bor-
rowed temporarily for specific purposes
and then used for current expenses, than
for any other cause.
Money used for current expenses should
be provided out OF current revenue. II
this rule is violated, the municipality will
soon be in trouble.
| Now / desire to call your attention to
| modern methods in municipal accounting
practice.
method Of classifying municipal expendi-
lures, that shall be the same in every city.
The second great need is a statement of
revenue income and revenue expense that
shall be true to its name. When these
two reforms are introduced it will be as
easy for citizen of Gardiner to read and
understand the report of the city of Wat
erville, for instance, as it is to read that
OF his own city.
By the adoption of uniform system OF
expenditures by all cities, new field of
comparison of municipal management is
opened up. You not only will be able to
compare Gardiner with itself, but Gardiner
with all other Maine cities, and I think
you will agree with me that such COM
parison is bound to be of very great value.
The suggestions then that 1 have to
make, some of which may be given effect by
voluntary action Of the municipalities and
some Of which may require legislation,
may be summarized as follows:
! /. A complete voucher system of dis
bursements.
| 2. A uniform system OF municipal and
town expenditures.
| 3. A true revenue income and revenue
expense statement.
| 4. All financial transactions to which
the municipality is party should pass
through the hands Of the auditor, whose
dutv II sbalJ he IN nronerlv d;stribute the
saue to The var;ops accornts and thr,roh
the hands of the treasurer Who shall he
resnons;hIe for oil cosh recs;ved or ,,o;d
out.
| Tho exrenses ~ dsro-tr,ort, shor,a
ayree wben cbecked nm with the d;aarept
recan;tulations
The accountino nractice NJ the c;tv y,
cordirar .1rooS, oo,,n,,,;rx ,,,;+h IT,
ont ot tbese Ave Moods will toke mn srs,
tben the itep, ~ nn;,orn, svstaro -,
r,nnic;no, exnend;tr-es
Tho rr;rory hrsiness of o;tv ia to ,,or-
form service tor the henet;t ~ tho con,-
mpn;tv as whole This service reorired
n, II readily c,oosises ;,sa,f into o,ord;n,
tho heoIth n, ;to citivors edroetin, tha
| ..n. .,-.-..