Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-02-01
COUNCILS TO GET
SKELETON" BILL
Measure Suggesting Need
of Bigger City Debt
Up Today
SUM MAY BE $10,0OO,OOO
Final Shaping of Legislation
Waits Upon Report on
Taxes

The first step in a move to increase the
city's indebtedness Will be TAKEN V'uaS
when Chairman Gaffney. OF Councl's ~
nance Committee. will introduce III Colh-
mon Council skeleton Dill annou'rnns
the desire to increase the debt OF tne cty,
but naming no figure for a loan nor any
detail of the uses to which II is planneu
TO put the money. 1t is understood the
amount will be fixed at slV'Vov'VvV Mi.sn
the unfinished measure comes peiore 'i'e
Finance Committee for final shaplns
Mayor Smith had planned and hoped to
have introduced today measure that
would outline in detail proposed loan ieg
islation this spring. TINS was IVuu W
be impossible when Controller Walton re-
ported that he had received assessment hs
ures on realty and personal property from
the Board of Revision or TaNes 700 late .',
to fix the borrowing capacity Oh tne cl'S
upon which the loan will have TO pe paseu'
II was with the understanding that such
figures will be forthcoming soon that the
blang loan legislation was prepared
WALTON GIVES WARNING
An increase in the tax rate to at least
SO is inevitable next year to meet the run
ming expenses of the city and the schoois
unless Councils call a halt on further loans
and expenditures and are more carelul
in passing land condemnation bills that ne
come n part Of the city's unfunded dept'
This dark outlook is predicted in the pre-
liminary financial report that controller
Walton submitted to Councils today
His warning as TO cautious procedure
in the future came as q surprise to many
members of Councils who believed they
had available at this time some SSOOooo
that might. in pinch be used Tor salary
raises to stave off possible labor trouhies
in municipal departments. The controiIer
briefly shows the members that their sur
plus is approximately $4,000, sum IN
| sufficient to be of any real service 10 tne
| members of the Finance Committee I'm
| forcing his prediction that an Increased
| tax rate will he necessary next year, Clty
| Controller Walton says: Seven cents ad-
| ditional to the new 1917 tax rate OF Sl2o
| for city and county purposes, other than
schools or SLAP per 500 OF valuation
would have been required to provide sufii-
| cient appropriations to the city treasury
| for the lawful obligations of 1917 If the
Sinking Fund Commissioners had not come
| TO the assistance of City Councils by agree
| ing to pay the principal and interest on
| non-sinl<ing fund debt due in 1917 out OF
| the surplus reserve of the sinking fund that
had been accumulated over great many
| wears Such "a procedure cannot again be
| resorted to. and 1t will, therefore, be neces'
| sary for city Councils to add seven cents
| to the 1918 tax rate for this purpose.
The speed with which the preliminary loan
| legislation Is rushed through the Finance
| Committee and returned to Councils will fix
| the probabe date for an election to place
| the loan proposal before the voters, The
| tentative date of April 10. that was agreed
| upon a week or so ago, probably will have
| TO be abandoned for a day later In April
as the necessary advertising will require a
| month and the passage OF the bills several
| weeks.
No matter what the borrowing capacity