Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-02-21
CITY is TOLD
ABOUT ALTOONA
[Continued from First Page. I


that some newspapers in Altoona are
criticising this administration. but
all / have to say is that if this trial
is not successful it will be because
the people of Altoona cannot stand
being eliminated from political privi-
leges in city governing"
How Altoona Did 1t
I'VE were rather fortunate in the
manner of selecting our commission
ers," began Mr.. Hinkle, a man OF
poise and confidence. 1--WE had q
town meeting. composed of busi-
nessmen mostly and selected board
with practically no experience in
politics. They agreed to serve the
city providing that a manager would
take charge of all departments. This
they did because they were business
men.
'To say that Altoona was surpris-
ed at the result is to put it mildly;
and / was surprised TO find myself
business manager. L am mechani-
cal engineer by vocation. and the
more / see of handling with effi-
cheney a city's affairs, the more
am convinced that what a city needs
is the engineer, in railways, sanitary
needs, hydraulics and many other
say first, an engineer; second, q
businessman.
Altoona began by appointing a
city accountant, the. most import
ant step. To show how tangled was
the situation previously, the retir-
ing administration reported there
was S250,O00 funds available, and
when we came to take account we
bound but $500 The fact CLEANED
by our auditor discovered more than
$4,000 of bills for which there was
no accounting.
Overhauled
This, in turn, suggested pur-
chasing department which identi-
fed q shortage of thousands out
standing on mortgages and judg-
ments. There were uninvested SINK
ing fund monies amounting to $780,
600. We promptly invested them
and earned over $4,000 the first
year. This change resulted in re-
firing $27O,000 worth of bonds.
1--WE overhRuled the tax depart
ment from top to bottom and have
established a standard method oil
filing and locating property so there
is no delay for the citizen; likewise
this new modern method reduced
the amount of help required.
our city had no way of checking up
expenses, but now the purchasing
department makes five copies OF
every request one goes to the ac-
countant to determine whether
funds are available. Proper au-
thority is estab ablished and the result
is an immense saving on cash dis
counts .
1--WE no longer have a city treas
urer paid partly from fees. TIE gets
fixed salary; this bureau is so eff
cient that it collected an advance OF
$4,000 on estimated taxes.
The bureau of permits is Won
derful thing for Altoona. One man
handles all these permits excepting
those dealing with plumbing and
building which need specialists.
"One of the fine features is thu
bureau of complaints, by which sys
tenn every kind of complaint is re-
ported to one man, just as in a po.
lice blotter II the report gets ne
response the complaint is turned
over within As hours for immediate
action from the manager"
Mr.. IIinkle emphasized the public
welfare activity which looks after
charity, reform, correction and rec
reation. mentioned it's visiting nurse
fine results. and when he touched
on the garbage problem. every one
of the two hundred listeners sa