The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-06-21
JILL PROBES INTO
 MUNICIPAL GARAGE

Another instaIlment of Thomas R. 1ills report of his probe into the f- nances of the city of Bridgeport fol- lows:
 The report deals largely with the Municipal Garage, and contains the recent report of the garage comnlts- sion to Mayor Wilson.
 MT. Ial also devotes some space to criticising ''the general lack of in formation regarding the financial matters of tho city
 ''Suc@assful management of bust ness eI2teTprises,'' he reports, re- quires accurate up-to-minute inforna- tion regarding every phase Of the business and no such information Is prepared or presented in Bridge port.'
 The instalIme ent follows:
 Miscellaneous.
 Construction of the Municipal Gar age was begun in June, 1919, and completed for occupancy in NoYem- Der, 1920, at a total cost, including the last expenditure of record Tn March, 1921, of S15S,972. 40. The 5 per cent. bonds issued June 2, 1919, maturing at the rate of $6, ,000-OO a year beginning June 2, 1924, the pal ance being made up by transfer rom various appropriations
 As it's name indicated, the garage Is intended for the storage and care Of city owned motor vehicles. However in view of the cost of maintenance
  their repayment, all of which must come from revenue. it can hardly prove a profitable investment.
 The total cost of maintenance and operation from date of occupancy to F'ebruary 2S, 1921, amounted to: Pay roll -~- --- SI1, ,oS t-9a Equipment ..-...- BELLE Oil and gas -s'.-- -'.-- Water, coal and light p...-. 1228. 24 Office supplies, etc. ooo.zt Miscellaneous supplies, etc SS4-S4
 The only months that are complete enough for comparative purposes are January and February, 1921: when show q total expense or $9'4oo-oO anu S450S.32. respectively
 If these two months are accepted as an avera ge, the annual cost or op- eratiOn and maintenance wlu De ap- proximateIy S60, 100000. It IS pe- fieUed however. that this figure is low and that the actual expenses w1H at least equal the amount Includeo in the 1921-22 appropriation TOT Ino Municipal Garage, which amounted 10 sS2.643.00.
 If ii is safe to assume that the to- tai of the. above approprlatlon VII be expended during the fiscal year or 1e21-22. then the total expense ap- ,I;cabLe to the Garage will amount 10 s9O14S.o0. which includes St'- 800. % to cover , per cent interest on $50 900. co in bonds This expense will remain the same through the fiscal years ending In
 and 1924 unless reduced Tn 1925 and yearly thereafter TOT " tv-fiye years, the expenditure VIII De increased by S6,0OO.00 to take care oF maturing bonds. On the other hand however. the interest charge will be decreased by $3Oo-OO 6 year over the same period
 At the present time the MunlclpaI 1 7 motor V6llClSS composed of:
 9 Passenger cars =
 Trucks.
 , SprinklerS-
 6 SweeperS-
 2 Sewer machines
 8 Motorcycles
 Total 42
 T+ ;s therefore, apparent that upon t1,e present basis of 42 cars for the fiscal years ending in 1922, 1sZ5 ana 1924 the average cost per car Tor ttle ozoeration and intenance or the <1arave will be SZ.146-26- This figure does not include salaries of chauffeurs who are paid by the various depart men+s In 1925 the cost per car will ircrease to S2.2S9.12; in 1926 and for a4 wears thereafter, the cost per car 1.iIi f1ecrease at the rate of S7.14 per year. - There is a general lack of infor- nation regarding financial natlers or the city. This is evident from the fact that the business men conpos- tac- +ba Chamber of Commerce are spending their personal funds to oo- cain ir formation regarding the finan- ciaI condition of the city, which sT,ould be furnished by the officers or tte citv- through regular reports.
 SI1ch reports as are made Of the citv finances are as follows Annually: A Report of the C1ty Auditor printed in the Municipal Register. Monthly: A Statement of Appro- rIriatfons and Expenditures of the City of Bridgeport is made monthly The Annual Report shows the ac- t11aI collection of cash and the actual