New-York tribune., 1920-10-03
Budget Excess
Of 25 Millions
Battles Board
Estimate Officials Agree
That Even After Whole.
sale Slashing Needs Will
Far Exceed Revenues
Crapple Task This Week
1raig Said to Have a Plan
70 Keep Next Years Tax
Kate Down Within Reason

Y VA w ltlAD NcaSOn
& members of the Board of Estimate
asihs aside minor controversies for
sne eime being, were in accord yester
usy IN agreeing that they faced a very
serious situation in regard to the 1921
city budget. They admitted that Conn
I srolier Charles L.. Craig was right in
declaring that the moneys required for
'he running expenses of the city gov
srnment next year are at least S25,0Oo,-
z eoo IN excess Of the sums that can be
raised under the present constitutional
nmitations of the taxing power.
The big problem that confronts the
committee on Finance and Budget of
the board this week is to find way to
cut Gown the estimated S530,000,00O
pudget tor next year. SO as to bring it
q Wlnln the legal bounds of the tax lew,
and little bit more. At the meetings
OF the committee during the last week
4 the general budget siashing in the es-
Inmates of the smaller city departments
was mostly completed The committee
expects to reach the large departmental
requests early this week, and in these
the wholesale chopping will begin. But
ever after this is done, the bothersomc
s25,000,000 still remains and will have
! TO be accounted for by other methods.
The committee is required under the
charter to have the tentative budget
in the hands of the printer by next
Saturday night.
Craig Analyses Situation
Comptroller Craig, chairman of the
Budget Committee, is said to have a
plans which will relieve the situation,
xv,l.s s1l h Ill ~xok H.
mittee in due time. He declined to dis
cuss it yesterday. Meanwhile care
full scrutiny of the figures following
the announcement Of the $40, ,23S, ,090,-
317 assessed property valuations upon
which the 1921 tax can be levied, eft
the critical situation about as follows
The total assessed valuation on real
and personal property is expected to
shrink, with revised tax lists, at least
100000, 900, leaving approximately S10,-
. 100000, ,000/o (which the constitutional
2 per cent tax levy can be made. This
will provide $200,0000 900 from taxable
sources. The so-called general fund
will provide about $60,000,000 more.
This is all the money that will be
available next year, under the constitu-
tional limitation, to meet the running
expenses of the city departments. The
departmental estimates amount to ap-
proximately $4o0.000,0O0. That means
that at least $4,000, 900 will have to
be cut out of these estimates.
The state income tax, amounting to
S22 900, 900, and the debt service to
meet interest bligas ions of the city,
amounting to $117,000,0O0, have to be
bring the total budget for 1921 to ap-
proximately $400 100000. The tax
rate for next year will be figured
nearly on the basis of one point to
every S1,000,000 in the budget. This
would mean tax rate of S4 hundred.
The present rate in Manhattan is 243.
1t is not expected that the 1921 tax
rate will jump to such height. The
rate was only raised seven points this
year above that of 1919. Ten points
is considered big jump from the real
estate point of view. The job of keep
ing it down within reason, under the
circumstances, is ~-;pected to tax the
resourcefulness of the budget makers.
Debt Service Controversy
The question has been raised by
some of the city authorities as to lust
what obligations should be included
in the debt service. 1t is contended
by some that short term special
revenue bonds are issued essentially
for current expenses and should not
properly be placed in the debt serv-
ice, as they have been heretofore. If
these bonds should be excluded from
large part of the s117,0OO,0 900 now
credited to this item in next years
budget The ,.Iestion is expected to
be thrashed out by the budget COM
mittee
The Budget Committee this week
also will attack and attempt to- annihi-
late some Of the various departmental
requests for the construction of nom
revenue producing public improve
amounting to s1O4,782,627 for public
schools. fire houses, police stations
hospitals, etc. 1t is not likely that
the moneys required for rAnw schools
will be materially reduced. The esti-
mated budget of the Board of Educa-
tion, however, is expected to be a
prominent target for attack. Much Of
the. educational budget is mandatory
under Legislative enactments, but it
has practically doubled for next year,
approximating $10O,00O,O00. This is
exclusive of the money asked for new
schools. Comptroller Craig and other
members of the Board of Estimate are
bound to slash the hundred million as
much as possible.
Two New Estimates
Two more of the department esti-
mates for 1921 were received from the
printer yesterday by the Finance De-
partment. Commissioner Bird S. Coler
of the Department of Public Welfare
requests total of $20,030, 1865, an in
crease of 1880 ,705 over this years
allowance of $7,500,561 Of this amount
S8,373,500 is requested for the proposed
building program of the department.
DR.. Royal S. Copeland, Health Commits
sioner, requests total of S8,821,O27,
as against an allowance of $4,758,951
this year. The total however, includes
about 81 100000 which was granted the
employees Of the department in the
August increases to city employees.
The personal tax assessment books
Tor 1921 show large decrease in the
number of names, as compared with
1920. The total number of names on
the books for next year is 6S,678. The
total for this year was 75,035. The tax
fgures show great decrease In the
manner of nonresident corporations
to be taxed. There are only 465 such
corporations on the 1921 list while the
number was 4,736 this year The assess
ment of nonresident corporations for
1927 amounts to $9.630,50 as against
So9,694b 800 this year. The decrease is
due tosa change in the Iaw whSrh nv