The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-07-28
NO CRISIS FOR
CITY FINANCES,
SAYS BESCHER
Comptroller Thinks Municipal
Ship Will Steer Safely Past
Rocks of Financial Embar-
rassment This Year.
POINTS TO BIG COSTS

SbuuIO ~ VIZ OOOIV
Baltz A. Bescher, city controller, is
prepared to submit a report to a mass
meeting OF citizens. to be held Friday
morning at $50, showing that the
financial conditions Of the city gov
eminent and Of the municipal electric
plant are satisfactory and, in his opin
lon, furnish no cause for alarm.
The controllers report will show
that on July 20 there was a balance OF
$3,3O752 In the general fund of the
municipal plant, and attention will be
called to the fact that the new sched
ule of rates for the plant, which will
provide adequate increases is effect.
i've from July l and gives assurance
that the plant will be operated at a
profit the remaining six months Of the
year.
Mr.. Bescher states that ne revenue
the city government has received from
tax returns since Jan. / has been suf
ficient to meet operating expenses to
date, and he anticipates that the city
will have sufficient funds to meet its
needs until the last of August.
About that time he expects 1t will be
necessary for the city to resort to a
temporary loan to carry it through
until the semi-annual distribution of
tax collections Is made, in October.
Sufficient to Meet Expenses
The revenue then received will be
more than sufficient to pay off the
anticipated temporary loan and leave
sufficient funds to meet normal ex,
penses the remainder Of the year.
The city council has authorized a
temporary loan Of 10000 at Z percent
interest The controller will appear
before the state board of tax commits
sioners Aug 16 to petition for APPROX
al Of the proposed loan.
Beginning Aug. l the two platoon
system for the fire department will
become operative, which will involve
an additional expenditure of $1,000
per month, but this increased expense
can be assumed without embarrass-
ment, the controller believes, by trans
ferring money from certain funds
from which withdrawals have not
been heavy, particularly the street and
alley Improvement funt, to the fire de-
partment fund.
Improvement Petitions Fe>:
Very few petitions for the improve
ments of streets and alleys have been
received this year, owing to the high
costs of labor and materials, with the
result that the city's appropriation for
its share of such improvements has
not been drawn against extensively.
The financial report of the munich
pal electric plant shows that It's re-
ceipts from Jan. l, including the pal
ance on hand that date, of $3O,S25.33,
to July % totaled 1921, ,76S.4S. against
total disbursements for the same per
iod of $218,46O.96. leaving balance
of s3,3O752 Cash and bonds in the
plants sinking fund, July %, totaled'
S67.36O.34. OF this amount $53,SOO are
. Liberty bonds.
Labor Is Big Item.
The plants payroll from the first
nav day of the year, Jan. Is, to July
%, totaled $43,256.04. To indicate the
enormous increase in the cost of labor
at the plant the first six months OF
this year the controllers report shows
that the cost of labor in 1919 was
s53,42S.22, only $10,172,1S more than
has been expended so far this year for
that purpose.
In 1918 the payroll was s40,62S.44;
in 1917 it was $29,96S.77, and in 1916
it was $2S.522.22.
In 1916 the entlre QlSDuTSemeAts d.
the plant for labor were $14, 1882 less
than the expenditures for the same
purpose the first six months of this
year.
COMPARISONS on coal costs at the
municipal plant the past four and
half years are even more impressive
than the abnormal increases for labor
during the same period,
Coal Cost Also Mounts.
From Jan. l to July %, this year
the plant has expended $114,33S.71 for
coal. For the entire year of 1919 coal
costs only amounted to $94,43S "a
Coal costs in 1918 were $94,95O.S9; In
1917, $S2,46S.36, and in 1916 only
$23,479.95.
In other words the cost of coal for
the first half of this year is almost
five times as much as the expenditures
for the same purpose the entire year
of 1916.
AS Mr.. Bescher states, the compar1
sons of the increases in coal and labor
costs the past four and half years
graphically illustrate how necessary
we're the recently authorized rate in
creases for the municipal plant.