New-York tribune., 1919-01-06
MAYORS of Stale
Have Municipal
Ownership Bill
Would Permit Cities and
Villages of the State to
Own and Operate All
Kinds of Public Utilities

stag Correspondence
ALBANY, Jan. 5.-The New York
state Conference of Mayors will intro
duce within the next fortnipb+ h;1,
enabling the municipalities of the state
TO engage in the ownership and oper-
ation OF all public utilities
Inc measure. which is the work of
several conferences of the execnt;vos
OF most of the cities Of the state. is as
broad IN scope as the most radical ad :
Voca'e OF municipal Ownership could
desire. A similar bill introduced at
'ne last session of the Legislature m eft
with disaster.
Ihe proposed law would enable q
agreement or otherwise.
municipality to acquire any public util-
i'y by purchase, condemnation. lease
One clause Of the bill is patterne d
after like provision in the municipal
ownership bill introduced in the last
Legislature by Senator GEORGE p
thompson, in that it would hermit all
the communities of the state. or anv
NUMBER OF them, to unite in joint own
ershlp and operation of public utilities.
The Important Clause
In the rough draft of the mavors'
conference bill this clause reads:
municipality may unite with one
or more other municipalities or polit-
lcai subdivisions of the state in the
formation Of utility district, with all
the powers hereunder of municipal
ity."
A new feature If the bill establishes
municipal director, with power to
remove and appoint employees" To this
municipal director is also given power
to do the work necessary in connec-
ton with the acquisition. establish
operation (of public utility or utili-
ties), either directly with his own en-
ployes or by contract"
Another clause would enable a rnu-
nicipality "to provide for maintenance
and operation, or either, OF one or more
municipal utilities by person or cor
poratlon, by lease, contract or agree
ment"
The measure differs from Senator
Thompson's bill in that there is no pro
vision requiring a municipality to OBJ
tain certificate of public convenience
and necessity.
Check on Officials
In the Thompson bill there was a
check on corrupt officials. in that it
provided that before city might ac-
quire the stock OF an existing public
utility the citizens would be called
upon TO vote upon the proposition
This, Senator Thompson explained at
the time, was designed to prevent venal
municipal administrators from un-
loading the property of quasi bank
rupt concern on an unsuspectng pub
lie
Well informed legislators here are
Of the opinion that before any munici-
pal ownership legislation is put
through commission should be APP
pointed TO investigate publicly the cn-
tire subject. inventory the resources
Of municipalities and then submit an
enabling act to the Legi stature. Aud
it is their opinion that something OF
this sort will be done
Democratic legislators who have seen
the rough draft Of the mayors confer
once measure we're undecided whether
to get behind it or introduce ono Of
their own.
The Democrats arc pledged to mu~
nicipa ownership by their platform.
Governor Smith recommended the pas
sage OF legislation "grantlng our cities
the power to acquire. own, operate and
control their public utilities"