The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1920-02-12
Commission Government Works


st. Petersburg expects to end the
fiscal year, June 80, with money in
/ the bank. This city has practiced
thrift and has not yielded to the man.
| ia for spending. 1t is living well
! within it's income, being one of the
very few cities in this country in
which the income exceeds the ex-
0 penditures.
St. Petersburg has the commission
: form Of government. 1t has a plain
4 and simple provision in its charter
S that requires budget system.
2 Under this system, made mandatory
5 by the charter, it is hardly possible
for the city to spend more than it
takes in, for there is made, each
= year, by each department of the city
government, an estimate of the
= amount needed to run that depart
ment for a year, and the amount ap-
propriated for that department by
the whole city commission must not
be exceeded, under penalty of re-
moval from office of the department
head.
St Petersburg tried out the old
councilmanic form of government.
1t grew weary of this and in 1918
voted for new city charter and a
new form of government. There is
little likelihood of the city ever
going back to the old plan. How
much money has been saved to the
city by the commission plan no one
canSsay accurately, but those famil-
lar with the way the city has been
conducted know that big saving
has been effected.
At the close of business, at the
end of the fiscal year 1913, the city
had no money in the treasury and
owed, in current bills, $14,553.
That condition had existed at the
end of each fiscal year for many
years. There was always a deficit
Under the councilmanic plan the ex-
penses always were more than the
income.
At the close of the fiscal year 1919.
there was in the city treasury, in
cash in the bank, $29,70528; and
every outstanding bill had been paid.
There was no floating debt. There
has not been any floating debt at the
end of the fiscal year since the COM
mission plan of government has
been used. The budget system pre-
vents it.
In 1918, the last year that the old
councilmanic plan was in effect, the
City's revenue amounted to $53,472.-
90, The town had then just start
ed on its upgrade movement. The
revenue, for a town of it's size, was
good. The tax rate was 10 mills.
But the expenses were greater than
the income, for in that year, 1913,
the city paid out a total of S61,127,-
26, leaving a deficit of $7,655.03,
while from the previous year there
remained, also, unpaid bills amount
ing to $6,898.66, so that the actual
deficit was $14,553.69.
In 1919 the city started out with
$14,513.22 cash left over from the
previous year, after all floating debt
had been paid. Taxes and other
revenue brought in $152,79O.7O.
This made total available for cur
rent expenses of $167,303.92. 1t
was a big sum for city the size of
ST. Petersburg, but the expenses
were only 137,59S.64, so there was
balance left after paying all bills.
of S20,705.2S.
Under the commission form of gov
eminent accounts have been accura-
Itely kept and we are easily able to
tell how our money has been spent
and also how much has been used
! from current taxes for permanent
| improvements. The waterworks
plant uses its earnings to pay inter
est and sinking fund charges on the
waterworks bonds, instead of this
money being put, as before, in the
general expense fund. It was the
custom, in the days of city councils
for the revenue from the waterworks
to go for paying the current ex-
penses of other departments. Now
the revenue from the waterworks is |
used to pay interest and sinking
fund chal ges. In the fiscal year
1919 all the interest and sinking !
fund charges of the waterworks /
bonds were paid by the net revenue
from our water sales. The same is !
true of the gas plant Its earnings |
are more than sufficient to pay all |
the interest and sinking fund charges
on the gas bonds.
Under the commission plan St. !
Petersburg has built and owns it's
gas plant, which is "a very large
source of revenue: it has reduced
the operating cost of the water works
and has collected all the bills due;
it has paid off, out of current reve-
nue., $4,000 that was due on old
revenue bonds that were issued to
meet deficits under the councilmanic
form.
Take one year of the present COM
| mi of