The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-07-09
Mayor Kaye Urges The City
To Dispose of Its Garbage

annalization Of the regular semi-an-
nual Financial Statements, printed
copies of which have been furnished
you. If you have given them such at
teRtiOn as they deserve and which an
intelligent performance OF your duty
/ demands, you will doubtless have OBJ
served that it is becoming a more Sc
rious problem in our city affairs, espe-
| cially in so far as the general fund is
concerned, to make ends meet. As the
city grows SO also progress the de-
mands upon this fund, which must
bear practically all of the expenditures
for our city government. The sources
from which the revenue for this fund
are derived, as you well know, are but
two mainly.
First: An assessment or levy of
so cents on the $500 assessed valua-
ton, and which levy is limited to that
amount by State law, and cannot be
increased until such time as it is
shown by proper census that We have
population OF $4,000 or more.
The other chief source of revenue
being receipts from licenses imposed
by city ordinances. All other miscel-
laneous income for this fund being so
small that they are practically unwor-
thy of consideration. 1t, therefore.
must be apparent to you gentlemen
that it behooves you to be ever mind
full of the demands on this fund and
to carefully consider the matter of ex-
penditures payable from it when they
come before you for consideration,
bearing in mind always that we have
one of the hardest problems in NUM-
cipal manager lent to sOlve-namely
this: We are too big to be little city,
and too little to be big city, and to
meet the demands of a big city with
resources of comparatively little
city is the problem for you to solve.
Yet we cannot retrograde from the
policy of managing our city affairs on
the scale of a big city, as has been
done for some time in the past. 1t,
therefore, behoOveS you to converse
carefully the resources of this fund.
l feel it my duty to impress upon
you the desirability of purchasing the
Fairgrounds for park purposes, as it
seems to be the consensus of opinion
of our citizens that the city should own
these grounds for a park site. l sug-
gest that these grounds can be ac-
quired by purchase without additional
burdens on the taxpayers. The con-
dition of the Normal School Interest
fund is in a very healthy condition.
The $3,620.O1 at present in this fund
will amply take care of the interest
maturing on outstanding bonds for a
period of six years, so that there is
no necessity for levy to further in
crease this fund at this time. The Nor
nal School Sinking fund is also in a
very satisfactory condition, there be-
ing now approximately S8,400 in this
fund to take care of the $13 10000 bonds
maturing in 1924, so that levy for
fund could be omitted for several
years without prejudicing the interest
of this fund, asd a levy for park pur-
poses could be made without increas-
ing the rate of taxation, and, there
fore, without additional hardship on
the taxpayers.
The inadequacy of the accommoda-
lions of the council chamber to take
care of the wants of the council and
the public cannot have escaped your
notice. l recommend that the present
quarters occupied by the city collector
be enlarged by an extension of the |
building on the west, with such other |
improvements as may meet with your
approval for use as the council cham
Der, and the present council chamber |
be designated as the city collectors |
quarters.
Doubtless all of you, like myself and |
the great majority of our, citizens
must take pride in the beautiful
grounds of the Courthouse Park. 1t
is source OF regret that the public
should be so unmindful of marring
the attractiveness of these grounds by
making paths across them instead Of
using the walks conveniently placed