Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-06-08

Text Of Letter Directors Sent to City
Council.

nOAND 4 M
Text Of Letter Directors Sent to City
Council.
Following is the text Of the letter sent
TO City Council by the Street and Sewer
directors protesting against reduced
appropriation:
June ). 1918.
Honorable President and Members of the
Council, Wilmington, Delaware.
Gentlemen: We understand. through
the public press, not having had any offi-
cial advice, that your honorable body
has set up in your budget for the year
beginning July /, 1918. an appropriation
TO this department in the sum of SlS4-
l75 and that you contemplated that nm
additional amount equivalent to $6O,NO
will be available from the assessment
against property for existing street paving
OF course you know that under the law
any portion of this $50 900 which may be
received by the Street and Sewer Depart
mcnt can be used for no other purpose
than the improving of paving rs cited
AT the end of section |. chapter III, vol.
29. laws of Delaware an act entitled, An
act providing for assessment against abut-
ting properties In the city OF Wilmington
in proportion to the special benefit the
present improved street roadway Will have
to said properties.
In a conference with the chairman
of your finance committee we gathered
the information that an opinion had
been asked from the city solicitor rela-
tive To the return OF certain moneys,
and that Mr. Robertson had been in
formed that the department had pre-
viously asked the city solicitor for this
same opinion Such is not the case. but
upon referring to Mr. Bayard for a
copy of this opinion, we find that he
rendered same on Chapter I'D, Vol.
20 Laws Of Delaware. which Is an act
providing for assessment against abutting
properties i'll the city of Wilmington for
portion of the cost of paving and i'm
proving the public street, roadways, an
act which can In no way figure IN our
appropriation for the coming year be
cause streets must be paved, the tax
liened, levied and raised before there can
be any moneys arising from this source
As Your body has gwen us specifically to
understand that no bonds will he sold
during this year for street paving purposes.
there necessarily can he no return Of any
kind 10 this department under Chapter
l22. consequently il is negligible \ GU
have apparently confused Chapters 12l
and I'D
our estimated expenditures for repairs
10 improved and unimproved streets
for the current wear will be approximately
$40 600 and if we interpret the law
correctly and the matter Is now IN the
hands Of the CITY solicitor for his opinion
no portion of the amount hereafter re-
ceived hv his department from the moneys
accruing from the assessment against
existing pavcmcnts can he used other
than for the improving OF paving IN
! the CITY of Wilmington, therefore this
net appropriation Of SlS4. l75 must take
care Of every branch OF the work OF this
department covered by our annual
| appropriation exclusive Of the improving
| 81 paving. which means that we have
| been allotted an appropriation for the
! ensuing wear in these abnormal tunes,
| $50 SO less than for the current year, and
an amount less than any appropriation
made 10 US SINCE 1914 with wage scale
double the amount existing at that time.
This Will put the department IN
depiorable position for the ensuing year,
which can Onlv be met TO p degree and
that in the curtailment of facilities TO
which the public are accustomed and are
rlghtfully entitled We told you when
we appeared before your body IN commit
tee OF the whole that the amount asked
for bv us was absolute and positive
Since that time we have been compelled
to advance wages once and Yesterday
authorized an increase Of two cents per
hour. equivalent TO 34c. per hour Tor
labor, and this has been rejected by our
ash collectors who have quit work de
handing q still greater increase
II you know Of any WAY TO relieve the
distress OF this department and accord
{ 10
are entitled II viii he most GRATEFUL
| received by US.
Il j. going to be difficult matter for
| this board 10 explain 10 the public why
| with an increase Of 40 cents per hundred
4 in the tax rate, we are unable to perform
! those functions which nave previously
! been performed by this department and
| why every other department IN the city
! of Wilmington had an increase and this
| department q cut of approximately $50 900
| less whatever may be received hereafter
/ for the improving OF paving and which
! cannot be considered until II Is in hand
/ or appropriated.
We would respectfully ask for a speedy
repiv based on the fact that II are
compelled to work on the limited appro-
priatiOn as made, our department must
be reorganlzed entirely and an entire new
alignment OF the appropriation set up,
and as we have but one month IN which
to do it, the time is OF itself very short.
II our forces do become dIsorganIzed
in this day OF demand for labor, II Is
hard 10 tell where we will get labor TO
perform those things which should be
maintained or for which appropriations
might be made later.
Respectfully,
Board of Directors Of the Street and
Sewer Department.