The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1917-03-11
BUDGET LAW
AMENDMEN
is PROPOSED
Power Now in Cornptroller's
Hands Should Be With
Commissioners.
HOW HUNDREDS OF
DOLLARS ARE LOST
Law Too Inelastic. Senator
Jones Will Try to Get
1t Repealed.


budget law, the board of county com
missioners at a special meeting Sat
urday morning authorized County
Attorney R. Pope Reese to draft
amendments to be passed upon by the
board and submitted to Escambia's
delegation to the legislature.
Senator John B. Jones, Represen-
tatives NJ. o. Baggett and J. NJ. John
son, together with Mr.. Reese, met
with the board and reviewed the va
rious needed legislation to relieve
the stringent financial condition.
The chief point of attack was the
budget law, the discussion of which
was opened by Mr.. Reese in reading
the law to decide some points then
before the commission. Mr.. Reese
said that some budget laws are good
but that the one in Florida is bad,
and is the destruction of local self
government. He bitterly assailed
the provisions of the act which biased.
power in the office of the On
instead of the commits
said, knowing condit "a
at liberty to treat tn zoos -
In proof of his zen D. Mr..
Reese cited many md a~"een',o oh;,b he
said showed conclus an llae nat the
law should be repeald e fake the
July storm, for insts NC" he said,
"and with its consequent destruction
of roads and other property. At that
time the county could not, because of
lack of funds, repair the damage, and
could not borrow money because of
the budget law. For this reason. the
roads are in a worse condition, or inst
as. bad after some repairs have BEEN
done, as they were at that time, when
a little expenditure could have more
substantially repaired the roads"
Mr.. Reese was followed by Com
missioner L. w. Hardy, who cited
particular instances where SO would
have placed the roads in good condit-
ion, but because of the delay, would
necessitate the expenditure of hun
bred dollars. For this reason, he
said that he was at loss to under
stand the placing of authority in the
comptroller's office which so obvious
ly belonged to the commission.
Mr.. Reese then discussed the new
treasury law, which went into effect
on January 1, and contained many
features, which he said frustrated
the ends for which the law was en-
acted. He said that instead of dis
tributing the county's money among
four of five institutions, bids should
be received from the banks and the
best bid accepted.
Other objections to the new law
were made by Thomas A. Johnson,
assistant clerk, and secretary to the
| board, who explained in detail the
manifold operations necessary to
check the disbursements of the coun-
ty. He said that each warrant must
be checked and recorded no less than
five times, and frequently caused err
rors in the banks. The increased
work in listing each warrant, he said
greatly increased the work in the
clerk office, and occupied practical
ly the entire time of one man, who
must be an expert bookkeeper.
One of the suggestions for reliev
ing the situation by legislative en-
actment, was the use of money an.
propriated for other work, but which
had since become unnecessary. It was
estimated that fully $4,000 could b.
used if a special act Of the legisla.
ture would empower the commission,
ers to transfer the money from on,
fund to another, and to use it 70,
purposes other than those for which
it was appropriated.
Other features of the treasury Law
were condemned by Mr.. johnson, VIII
said that the law provided that tn
county should be paid interest on it
balance in the bank over 81 900. Blu
because of the distribution anon
the banks, it was impossible to hav
as much as that amount in any on
bank, and the same amount in a