Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-06-20

whether or not the supervisors hay
funds at hand to undertake tn
work. - -
County Receipts for Year 1914.
Balance forward from
! last year Observation-Disclosures. $lUA,I4t.o
Receipts from all sources
I for year ............... Sl.0eo.O'
Making a total revenue Of 1886. 8;
For the year 1914, from this amour
deduct the amount required ftt law
to be set aside, as cash basis fund
/ at the end of the period. which
amount is approximately $64,a9o.08
/ This leaves q working capital of 1891.
14171. for the, year 1914, which the
county has to- carry on all its bust
ness with. -, Ii. a-r I've. .., ,y,e =
] Take an average of the two high.
est years in the past FIVE years for
all county expenses. other than foT
roads, bridges, etc. which amount is
i $549, 68l.98. You have a balance left
for road work, bridge work, etc, Of
1891, 1878. Take from the amount
say, $4,000 for. maintenance; you
still have available for new work
since the first OF the year, 1921. 459.73.
Deduct from this amount the amount
spent on roads to March 81, 1914,
other than for maintenance, $685.
642.77, leaving balances April l, for
new work. $175,816.96 for the balance
iof the year 4 ss.e
Frontage Tax Laws. B
We now came TO the matter OF the
Ank
81 provides for an assessment against
the property benefited, for the open
Ing or widening Of streets. Act 131
provides for an assessment against.
the property benefited for all street
Improvement
Each act gives the supervisors the
power to establish assessment dis
tricts and to charge the property own
er benefited by such Improvement
with the whole or part of the cost of
same. But So per cent of the proper
ty owners of q proposed assessment
district can protest against the i'm
from being carried on.
Each act also provides that go per
cent of the property owners of q Civ
en- section can petition the board or
supervisors for certain street i'm
provements and establish and assess-.
ment district.
have records showing where road
construction work is being done along.
these lines in SO cities, scattered.
through 35 states on the mainland
so II can readily be seen that it is.
not simply q local scheme to increase
taxes and give the supervisors more.
money to waste, as have heard some
OF our citizens remark.
On the other hand, the system Of
constructing roads on an assessment
basis to the property benefited Is the.
only sound and busfnessliKe system
to adopt--it Is the only system where
the taxpayer can have q say as to-
the construction of roads, and the
only system where the taxpayer gets
full value for his money.
The only thing for the taxpayers
and property owners to do is to get
together, on q definite policy, as to1
whether the assessment shall be by
area. or front foot to the property
benefited the percentage of cost
that should be borne by the city and
the property owner; agree as to the
classification of roads, and insist on
the material to be used in the con-
struction of same.
Ira Osborn Baker, professor of civil
engineering, University OF Illinois,
who Is considered leading authority
on this subject. has this to say in re-
gard to the assessment:
Cost and Classification.
BY far the more common method
of apportioning the assessment is pro
rata, according to the frontage upon
tho improvement. Out of rs cities in
the United States which assess the
private property for street improve
ment, 38, or 81 per cent. follow tho
frontage rule. three use combina-
ton of frontage and area. one uses
AREA" alone, one uses value alone,
and in two the method is left to the
assessing board" .sz3 - s. & e !.E.ss
The same authority has this to say
as to classification: Equity and JUS
tice demand that a distinction should /,
be made. depending upon the charac- ]
ter OF the traffic. The interests of j
the general public in street vary
greatly between a residence street, a
business street and a general thor.
oughfare, ... :: $3.50
He also has this to say as to the
proportion of cost: ITO pave a resi- /
denee street, the public or city should
pay only a small share of the cost, |
say 90 or 80 per cent: to pave a busi-
ness street, the public or city should !
pay 40 or so per cent; to pave a gen.
erai thoroaghfare, the public or city !
should pay so to rs per cent"
AS to materials to be used taken
from the, report of Clarence E. Bag-i
ley. prominent city engineer of Cali
fornia, read before the Convention
League of California municipalities:
Having had an experience of several
years with various forms of paving. /,
have, from process of elimination,
concentrated my thoughts and eff /.
forts toward the perfection and adop-
ton of form of Portland cement |
concrete OF q thickness commensu-
rate with the need Of traffic, surfaced
with mat of asphaltum oil and