The sun., 1919-10-26
big BUDGET RAKED
BY REALTY BOARD
Ways Of Saving Money for
Taxpayers Suggested in
Sharp Criticism.
NO NEED FOR INCREASE
Administration Urged to Elm
mate Bureaus and Halt
Huge Projects.

That there Is absolutely no justiica-
ton for the enormous increase in the
1920 city budget Is the assertion made
by the Real Estate Board Of New York
in laying certain recommendations be-
fore the Board Of Estimate. Definite
ways of saving the taxpayers money are
suggested, ana some sharp criticism
about the waste ana extravagance CT
city government methods runs through
the document
Mentioning s31eUo0.o0o as the bulge,
| figure for the coming year, the real es-
| tate experts pronounce this an incredible
sum.
while II Is true" says the statement,
''that wages have increased and the
prices of all materials have advanced,
| still 1t was believed that with the econo-
mics Of administration promised there
would be no material increase in the
budget during the life OF the present
| city government. In their talks to the
people, while they were still candidates,
they gave solemn pledges of reorganiza-
ton and economy, with positive assur-
ances Of a lower tax rate without In
creased assessment. Almost twenty-five
months have passed and there has been
ample time for q thorough and scientinc
reorganization of the city government
No other duty was so obvious or so i'm
portant, and nothing else, except the
routine work Of government, should nave
occupied the attention of the city ofnctais
until the reorganization was accom-
plished.
Curb on Projects Urged.
THE Board Of Estimate should have
recognized also that labor was never SO
| en-
sponsible and never so highly paid Ma
terials were never SO costly or SO diff
cult to obtain. Public improvements. I'M
less urgently needed. should not have
, been inaugurated. And yet we find the
Board of Estimate embarked upon very
large and comprehensive building pro.
gramme necesstating the expenditure oil
millions OF money borrowed at a much
higher rate than the normal rates OF in
terestI
! 'The necessity for the elimination oil
unnecessary bureaus and departments is
so apparent that 1t seems almost crimi-
nal that It has not been done. The first
D REORGANIZATION should be In the Board oil
Estimate itself An appropriation OF
s15O, 900 is ample for the Board of Esti-
: mate. More than s2b0.000 can be saved
. A few years ago the entire cost of the
Mayors office, including the administra'
ton of the Bureau of Weights and Meas
ures and the Bureau of Licenses. was
D $4,000 Now the Mayor asks for $780,
I 600 and the bureaus are no longer In his
e office. His appropriation should be cut
$40 900"
= Complete reorganization Of the Fl
s nance Department, with the elimination
Of useless officers and bureaus and thu
avoidance of duplication all highly paic
for. is recommended by the real estate
men, who find that proper reorganization
on these lines would save the city $780,
900 Abolition of the Sinking Fund ant
a strict living up to the pay as yoI
. go" policy would save another S600,00t
- a year in taxes levied for interest ant
y, /! amortization.
y Abolition of the Department of Mar
: ke' and the resumption by the borough
!, presidents of the duties of maintaining
and overseeing city markets Is recon-
. mended for further saving of 100000
= Then comes this snappy comment:
= Board of Inebriety-the people VIII
!, wanted prohibition and got it can hard