New-York tribune., 1920-10-10
New Tax Rate
2.85, Increase
OF 81 Points
City Budget S347,2O3,878.
Which Is S73, 100000
More Than Last Year:
Reaches the Legal Limit
School Board Hit Hard
Granted $40, 100000 Less
Than Was Asked; State
Must Provide the Balance

Tho city budget for 1921 will be
347,2o3,S7S, gs compared with s273,-
689,485 this year. This will mean g
tax rate for next year Of 2.S5. 1t is
2.4S in Manhattan at present. Comp
troller Charles l.. Craig informed the
budget committee of the Board of Es-
innate, at the close of its deliberations
on the tentative budget last night, that
these figures were the absolute limit
Of the city's power to raise money for
the budgetary expenses for 1921.
"We are going the limit" said the
Comptroller, "and this figure is the
limit. The final budget for 1921 will
stand at s347 7,203,S7S, when it is adopt
ed by the Board of Estimate on Octo-
Der 81"
In order to bring the budget down
to the constitutional limit, the COM
mittee last night adopted a method by
which the Department of Education
will have to look to the state. 'rathe +
than the city. for about half of its
budget estimate for running expenses
committee agreed that the city could
tional Department than to limit itself
/ TO the appropriation required by the
state law of 40 mills on the total
assessment valuations of realty and
personally.
Legislature Must Supply Balance
The Board Of Education, on this
city, according to the Com ptroller in
stead of the $66,677,142 requested for
teachers salaries and $17,349, 1920 re-
quested for other than personal SER
vice, total of $50. 2.O26,462 1t will be
up to the next Legislature to raise the
difference by some new or augmented
form of taxation.
The Comptroller explained that any
thing that was left over in the ulti-
mate budget after cutting the city de-
partment requests down to existing
conditions and providing for the 40
mills educational tax, would go to the
Educatlonal Department. With good
deal Of slicing yet to be done before
the final budget is reduced to the legal
limit of $347 ,203 1878, it was conceded
that it was very unlikely that there
would be anything additional left for
the Department Of Education beyond
the absolute legal requirement.
The situation probably never has
risen before in the history of the city
it was said, when the 40 mills educa
tional tax, with a reasonable amount
added, could not be met by the city for
educational expenses. But on account
of the enormous estimates and requests
made by the city departments for next
year. it was explained, the city could
not meet the requirements next year.
Taxpayers Pay the Bill Anyway.
Asked if the method of calling upon
the state to supply the $40,000.o0C
needed would not amount to passing
the buck" to the Legislature and
amount to the same thing as far as the
taxpayers in this city were concerned
who would merely have to pay larger
state tax instead of higher city tax
the Comptroller declared that there
probably was little difference in terms
Of dollars and cents.
He said, however, that this was not 3
fair way to put it, as the state had
| taken away from the city millions of
dollars in personal assessments by re-
strictions which went to swell the
state income tax He declared further
that the state had already provided
CONTINUED on paue fourl