The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-03-19
Rules That Citizens Must Pc
tition for Oiling and REIN
burse City for Expense In
vOlved.
BONDS VIEW UPHELD
Treating All Macadam Roads
Would Cost $4,000, Says
Robbins - Appropriation
Already Exceeds Budget.

1t is up to the citizens of Rich
mond whether the non-perma-
nently improved streets, macad-
am and gravel, are oiled this
spring, the work being done by
the city.
At the suggestion of Mayor
Robbins the board of public
works decided today that the So
called 'Muncie plan' Of oiling be
adopted. This provides. for the
city doing the work and the ben
Gifted property owners reim-
bursting the city the amount
equivalent to the actual cost,
plus small charge to provide
for depreciation of the oiling
equipment.
However, under this plan, no block
CT street will be oiled unless the i'm
provement Is petitioned for and is ac-
companied by a guarantee signed by
at least one resident property owner
that the city will be reimbursed.
Bond Suspects Error.
City Attorney Bond declared today
that in his opinion the attorney gen.
cral had been misunderstood when it
was asserted that he had ruled that
street oiling work could be done by
the city itself and the cost of the work
assessed agajnst> the property owners.
He then cited the law governing such
improvements which clearly sets forth
that If the oiling is done by the city
the cost of such work must be met out
OF the general fund: and that if prop
erty owners are to be assessed for
street oiling the work must be done
under contract.
In a communication received today
from the state board of accounts, Mr..
Bonds contention is substantiated.
The state board quotes the attorney
general as ruling that if property own
ers are assessed for such an improve
ment the contractor shall. in the first
instance. be paid by the city out OF the
funds in its treasury" the city to be
reimbursed later under the usual
method for collecting assessments.
Would Cost $4,000.
The city cannot afford to do all the
street oiling at it's own expense, be-
eau. every street not paved, to be per-
fectly fair, would have to be oiled, and
! est'~afe the expense would be al
least $1,000. The controller says the
ctt..y already has appropriated this year
CIR $4,000 more than is provided for
in the .-feet," Mayor Robbins said.
"Tt, c"yy however. is perfectly will.
ins = tile over the work of oiling the
street. provided the benefited prop
So r--ners post guarantee to pay
the city what it actually costs it to do
'ne work. In a very few days guaran-
Zee blanks will be on file in the enEin-
GERS office. Any block will be oiled
providing q petition is presented and
-ccompanied by guarantee blank
-,gned by one or more resident prop.
>ity owners. Precedence in olilng Will
be given to the petitions which are
filed first At the first meeting or
council in April all petitions on file at
that time will be submitted to that
body OF course, If only few petl-
tions are filed council will probably
decide that the public is Indifferent to
street oiling and would probably re-
fuse to make an appropriation for an
oiling equipment.
There are many advantages in hav-
ing the work done by the city. In the
first place there will be no delays as
occasioned in the asst by having the
work done under public contract. such
as advertising for bids. etc. Under
the guarantee plan the city can oil
block just as soon as petition and
its accompanying guarantee has been
submitted