The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-05-11

rested with legal powers but every
hing that had been given them had
,ome in o voluntary manner. He had I
PERSONAL interviews with all connected :
With the Office, and the answers had ,
been frank and without any attempt to
conceal anything. 1t was found that
the working hours were from 8 o. m. to
) p. M. No extra work is required and
no extra compensation is allowed. The
clerk did not have knowledge of any
extra work except at election times and
no extra pay was allowed then. The
COMMITTEES felt there was some laxity in
discipline as to Office hours, and there
also seemed to be difference Of opinion |
between the county clerk and the search |
clerk as to the hours the latter should |
spend in the Office. Mr.. Harris, the
search clerk, did not consider he was
bound to any special time. as he was al
ways within reach, and if he could not
get the work out between the hours of
$50 o. m. and 4.3O p. m. he kept at it
until it was done and did not ask for
special pay. The main portion OF the
report seemed to deal with Mr.. Harris
and whether he did work for himself,
making searches for which he was paid
directly. Mr.. Harris admitted that such
had been the case, and told whom he had
done the work for. In these cases the
charges were not for the purpose Of TAX
Ii ing the work from the county and thus
cutting rates, as in all cases the prices
he charged were higher than those
charged for the county. He said he had
his own Office at his home, used his own
STATIONERY and postage, and the county
was not at one cent Of cost.
| The whole subject seemed to narrow
down to whether there was need for
Search Clerk and whether the amount
received by the county for this work
compensated for the outlay to have it
done. The committee complained that,
taking the last three years as sample
the annual average receipts have been a
little over 81, 200. Taking the salary OF
the Search Clerk, 81, 800 and adding to it
the stationery, postage and services OF q
stenographer which might be needed,
lit looked as if the return to the county
was very small. The matter was final
lily temporarily settled by leaving the re-
port in the hands of the Solicitor for his
Iadyice as to whether the findings of the
COMMITTEE were in keeping with the
facts Of the Assembly having reference
to them.
Then came the subject of the Muliica
river bridge. Engineer Logan said he
had gone over the plans with Atlantic
lcounty's engineer and they had come to
1.-THE conclusion that it would take from
I$4O, 900 to $4,000 to repair the bridge,
. while a new one would cost about
$4,000. 1t was decided to advertise for
bids for both kinds Of the work.
/ A bill of $3.50 for gravel furnished by
Thomas ]. Platt in 1914 was laid on the
table.
The water supply for the county build
lings at New Lisbon next took up the
attention of the members. The COM
mittee that had charge of the matter re-
lported that they considered the best
arrangement that could be made would
be to abrogate the present contract. The
county should sink a well that would
|supply the almshouse and the asylum.
! Under the system now in vogue the
county takes what water it wants for its
institutions but must supply water te
, all the properties on the New Lisbon
tract. 1t is now expected that the latter
, will be cut up into building lots and
then the county would have to furnish
water to all the buildings erected. This
would entail considerable expense. In
addition to this there is danger of the
Estate Board of Health condemning the
creek supply. The owner of the New
Lisbon property was willing to abrogate
the present contract on the payment OF
So, 900, and it was decided to pay that
sum. 1t was also thought new system
could be installed for $1,000 and it was
ordered that such a procedure be
followed.
A resolution was offered that bids be
advertised for to widen the approaches
to the roadway of the Bass River bridge.
Notwithstanding this resolution was
read twice and it was attempted to de-
scribe just what was meant some of the
members could not grasp what was
wanted, so motion was made to refer
the matter to the.stone road committee.
A resolution was adopted to abandon
the road on which Whites bridge in
Washington township is located.
There were numerous applications for
building new bridges but the condition
of the treasury was such that it took
considerable juggling to get the proper
resolutions adopted.
Mr.. Hill, of the finance committee,
called attention to several items carried
in the Auditors report as assets, but in
vestigation showed that some of them
were practically useless and outlawed.
These were ordered charged to profit and
loss. 1t was shown, however, that there
is due the county for back taxes the sum
of $40, 800 and the Solicitor was directed
to bring suit against the delinquent
municipalities at once.
Mr.. Peak reported that the contractor
who had been awarded the job of build
ing the bridge over Blacks creek, at
Bordentown, had abandoned the work,
and it was ordered that bids be again
advertised for. This will make the
third time bids have been asked for on
this work.
This Will Interest Mothers.
Mother Gray's Sweet Powders for Children