The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-03-30
ESIIdATORS
STAGGERED BY
GIANT BUDGET
Must Chop OF $4,000. 900. But
Don't Know Where TO
Begin
STANDISH BACKUS
HAS BRIGHT IDEA
Would Cut $4,000 From School
Budget, hut Item Has Al
ready Been Killed

Members nf the board OF estimataa
frankly admit that they don't know
what to do with the 11S, 900. 900 budget
which comes TO them from the com
mon council. OF this amount, @6.-
QOO, 900 can be raised by bond issues:
the other 313, 600, 900 goes on the tax
rolls. II ID this SIS 1000, 900 which the
estimat0rs must cut TO the extent of
$4,000, 900. f the tax rate II e -
brought within the two ~ ce4f
limit. s.s ":
4 aont know what ws'pS sctnt e
do" admitted Frank .. Andrus. In
fact, lin not sure what has besn ealt
out by thu 8ldermen ana what hAs
been left In. I've been - busy that
haven't given the matter much
study. We've got to cut--that's oil
| know about 1T. And We will cut.
1.-The situation proves what ] told
the charter commissi0n--that We
must have q board OF estimates Of
some kind. don't mean that wo
need necessarily retain the present
board, but we ought to have some
kind OF organization outside the COM
mon council to handle the budget. For
instance. body composed Of the
mayor, controller. treasurer chairman
Of the assessors, perhaps the presi-
dent Of the council. perhaps one or
two others, could exercise sunacient
check on the budget. But some such
Standish Backus ID equally In the
dark as 70 what can be done.
I'll know more about Il In two
weeks he said. 1--WE. tried to fol-
low the aldermen. but I've merely
learned what they've cut out, not
what they've left In. r.
There are . few points that haYa
come u my attentlon, however. IN
derstand t19t the public lighting com.
mission II asking tor . conduit that
viii put its wires underground at Z
point beyond whore they nov have
|overhOad construction. That sneene
that their wires will start Under.
ground from the present statiou,
emerge from the ground At Coust0-
|erable dlltance. be carriad On poles Z
ways, and then 90 underground
again. fail TO see any yUnsS-M that
arrangement.
Then there's that 100000 ds6cit
in the school teachers' salary fund.
want 10 know how thst nroSe. n
seems to me that 4 few Years a8o- We
began to decrease that deficit BY a.
lowing $26O.O00 . year. But I haven't
begun to give the budget serious a.
tention, and don't know exactly
where we're st." = - 49,
Investigation Of the ysee. 900 item.
which, BY the way, has been cut out
by the council, 90 Mr.. Backus needn't
worry about Il any mors-shows that
Il arose In 1919. In that year, the
school board estimated that $3.50, 900
would be obtained from primary
moneys. The common council 4 .
ceived optimistic assurances from
Lansing, and estimated the primary
money at $1.l2e.346: and the esttmA-
tors. wishing to be even more gen.
erous, added 500 900 to that amount
40 . matter Of fact, the state paid
$4,000, leaving q deficit Of $782,0OO
to be met by borrowing money from
the city treasury. This deficit has
never been wiped out. and no steps
will be taken, this year. to relieve
the situation. In reality. the city 10
going into . short.term debt. each
year. without . bond ISSUE by loan.
Ing 70 one department moneys de-
posted In the treasury to the credit
OF other departments.