The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-08-31
AND TAXATION
AND EXTRAS.
To the Editor Banner:


put at that figure by taking the
amount paid Mr.. Sistrunk, my prede
| cessor, each month, on an average for
the last two years of his period OF
office 1t remained at that until the
| legislature imposed upon the board
and clerk together the duty OF max
ing semi-annual financial statements
statement that could Tot possibly
! be made to balance because this coun-
" had a great number OF warrants
! outstanding with which the stub OF
warrant books did not agree. and 9TH
er errors. The commissioners were
Jointly res ponsible with the clerk for
this work and had authority TO hire
it done and pay for the work. | have
in my possession cancelled check for
$3.50 paid Mr. w w Clyatt for MAX
ing up a single financial statement,
and Mr. Clyatt refused to any longer
attempt the work. He could not make
the statement balance, not because he
was not competent, he is fully COM
petent: no man could We could not
get hold of the outstanding warrants
and errors of stub books were such
that balancing a financial statement
was impossible. Gradually these war
and today our statements and books
balance to a cent. Then the legisla
ture passed a budget law placing on
the clerk a new and grave RESPONSE
| bilitv that no clerk before my time
ever had at ALL I and my bondsman
are absolutely responsible for every
| illegal or wrong warrant issued, no
matter whether the county commits
sioners ordered the warrant issued or
not Under the law | audit every dol
lar of this county's expenditures and
am responsible in every way for it as
county auditor regardless of the ac-
| ton of the equity commissioners. |
| took over all of the work that the
commissioners were partly RESPONSE
BILE for, and that they could have hired
anyone to do, and work that no clerk
had had to do prior to my term of of
flee and the board increased my sal
! airy to S135 per month And that sal
airy. in consideration of the amount of
work and unusual responsibility is not
one dollar too much
| Later when the treasurers office
was abolished and it was necessary
for the commissioners to have this
work done, which they could have
hired anyone to do. they asked me to
make a bid on that work and accept
ed my offer of $4,000 a month. All
of these payments to clerk are strict
| ly within the law.
Contingencies.
| The law of Florida provides that
the several different county funds
shall have contingency accounts, to
be drawn on if necessary to supply
any other accounts that may need ii
and still be legal. For instance when
the 1916-1917 budget was made, one
account in the road fund was for feed
of mules. Corn was not worth more
than 100 per bushel and a reason.
able estimate was made to feed mules
on basis of corn at say $1.00, and SO
with account of feeding convicts. No
man could foresee that corn would go
to $500 a bushel, but when corn did
advance and meat advanced and
everything advanced the commission.
ers could draw on the contingency ac-
count for any account found short.
This contingency account is not
only legal. but expressly allowed by
law. and to omit a contingency &C
count would be plain folly. There is
nothing uncertain about any cOntin
gency account Every dollar of it paid
out is exactly like any other dollar
paid out and an exact account Of it
is kept in, the form of plain bills pas
sed on by the board in open session
like all of our bills.
And right here l am going to say
that when Mr.. Gray. as state auditor
checked up the county officers after
the death of Mr.. Graham he told me
that the clerks accounts in all depart
ments were correct to cent. and
that he had made no change what
ever, credit for which is due Mr.. T
! y. Lancaster. who has charge Of the
iauditing department of the clerks OF
flee.
Taxation.
want to emphasize the fact tina
the county commissioners have moth
ing to do with making state or schoo
taxes, and when | speak of county Fl
nances or taxes I have no reference
to taxes By the state or taxes fixe,
by IRE school board.