Evening journal., 1919-03-13
ContInued From Page Ten


responsive and responsible government
70 is efficient because 10 Is built on prin-
lciples Of good business management.
when all is done and said The pro-
posed plan Is not 50 new as might DC
imagined at FIRST thought. 10 simply
applies to State and county govern
ment The principle Of administration
that has been followed by the federal
government from the beginning, name
iy. the principle OF grouping all offices,
| bureaus and agencies except quasi
Legislative and quasi-iudicial boards
under a small number OF department
heads, responsible 10 the president as
the representative OF the people In the
second place, the plan is the logical de-
vlopment Of the experiment made with
the simplifled levy court In Sussex
county. Finally. 10 represents ten
dency which Is common IN cities
throughout the country wherever at
templs are being made in whole or IN
part 30 reshape administrative machin-
cry for the purpose OF Improving the
, quantity and quality Of public work. II
Is In line with the recommendation OF
substantially every State commission
on efficiency and economy, with the par
! tial reorganization Of health, labor and
/ financial administration undertaken in
several States. and it emb0dies the
main features Of the Illinois law Of 1917
/ reconstructing the entire administra-
! tive machinery OF the state. In a word,
/ it is based on practical, not theoreti-
c3l. grounds, on views entertained by
most citizens Interested in improving
government in America, who have taken
TO ,hink the matter over carefully.
Recommendation with Regard TO Fin
ancial Management
Investigations into American financial
methods reveal the following common
faults:
4. No one Is responsible for planning
Ions time ahead. Whereas the wise
farmer or businessman looks forward
even TO his old age our State and local
governments plan from election TO elec-
tion, and too frequently on the theory
Of making hay while the sun shines
and leaving the coming generations TO
meet the bills
>. Plans are seldom carefully pre-
pared for all expenditures and even for
a single fiscal year or biennium. Each
board, office, department and interest
seeks 10 get what 10 can out OF the
state or local treasury without refer
ence TO one another or 10 The total
amount. Each member Of the Legisla-
turc usually has one or more schemes
for spending money for the benefit Of
his locality, and so the expenditures OF
a state or county are usually a long
string OF unrelated appropriations made
from time TO time mainly by trading
votes
J. No one is responsible for bring
! Ing before the Legislature or county
board early I'm its session a complete
plan of expenditures and revenues
gathesd from the estimates OF the sew
eral officers and boards.
81. No provision Is made for requlr-
ing the Legislature TO consider the ap-
preparations and revenues OF the State
an as one plan at the same time, but
the legislature Is allowed TO 90 on mer-
rily from day 20 day passing apprOprla-
tiOn bills without thought as 10 what
the total viii be, disregar1lng even the
reports OF appropriation committees.
"5. Without a budget system or al
single plan Of appropriation, it is inn !
possible 10 set up a system Of accounts /
which makes for effective control over
officers who spend the money, holding
Them strictly responsible for every
penny spent, and securing record Of
every transaction in such a form as 10
permit minute audit
"6. The payment Of some officers
salaries and other expenses out Of fees
and miscellaneous revenues so that no
complete picture Of the cost Of gov
arnment can be found anywhere.
'All Of these evils I'm one form or an
other appear in the state and county
governments Of Delaware. Steps have
been taken TO remedy some OF them,
especially IN the Joint resolution Of the /
Legislature In 1917 creating the ele-
ments OF q budget system but there re
mains much TO be done. The Joint
resolution is a temporary measure and
can be swept aside at any time by an
uHiriendly Legislature. The counties
continue TO pursue the old-fashioned
methods of strlnging appropriations /
along through the year without plans
and without adequate accounting con-
troll
After an examination OF the nnan- /
cial condition OF the State and counties
lof Delaware, the survey staff recon.
mends a number OF changes in the eX- 1
isting financial procedure and proposes
The installation of q complete budget
b system for the state and each county.
AS regards the State. the budget svs-
tenn suggested embraces the following
features;
"l. The governor OF the state is made
responsible for securing estimates OF
an proposed expenditures from the
lhead of departments, institutions and
lOlher spending agencies.
- The governor is required TO se-
cure estimates OF all anticipated reye-
nues of the Stale for the period to be
financed.
- The governor is required TO re-
view all estimates Of expenditures and
with the aid and council of his admin
istrative colleagues 10 prepare cont
plete plan OF proposed expenditures In
which the relative importance Of all
demands on The treasury are well con-
sid red-a plan for the soundness Of
which the governor is prepared 70 as
sumo fun responsibility
"a The governor is required to hold
public hearings on his tentative budget
before its presentation to the Legisla-
Iure.
-. The governor is required to pre-
sent TO the Legislature, ea.ly In the
session, a complete plan or budget EN-
oraclng all Of the proposed expendi- |
lures shown in connection with the an
licipated revenues Of the State, also
statement Of the condition Of the treas
ury, both at the beginning and at the
end OF the period covered by the bud
get and a program OF revenue measures,