The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-05-23
JILL OUTLINES
 VARIOUS KINDS
 OF DEFICIENCIES

sEfciency Appropriatoins' is the text of Thomas R. Lill's new install ment of his report Of his probe of municipal affairs The lnstallment deals with one of the most important aspects of the city's financial condi- tionsMand contains a history of the practIc that has led the city and city officoals into hot water on number less occasions.
 HThe instaIlment follows:
 Deficiency Appropriations.
 The practice of mourning expendi- lures in excess of appropriations au- thorized by law has been increasing until at the present time there is a very general disregard of the Charter provision relating to appropriations enacted for the protection of the tax payer.
 Such expenditures incurred in ex- cess of existing appropriations have been paid for out = appropriations made by the Board of Apportionme1t and Taxation the following year. The appropriations for deficits included in the 1921-22 Budget, excluding the so-calIed "tax collection deficit of S12O,OOo.00, amount to s334,072-22.
 This practice of making deficiency appropriations has existed for the past ten years with ever increasing amountS- The record for this period, as far as can be ascertained from the yearly Registers, is as follows:
 191O-s25. .0O0.0O; 1911-$2S,6 79.- co; 1912-s2O,l79.oO 1913-s7, 7,SO3.- %; 1914-s19, ,S5S.0O; 1915-s25, ,4S1.- co; 1916-s3O. .112.OO; 1917-$41, ,S66.- %; 191s-s6S,17O.OO: 1919-s6,1OO.- %; 1920-$357, ,512.O0; 1921-s111,- 691.OO; 1922-334,o72-22
 The deficiency appropriation in cluded in the 1921-22 Budget which became effective April 1, 1921, are shown on the next page
 Statement of Deficiencies Contained
 In 1921-1922 Budget.
 Board of Contract and Supply s1SS.5O.
 EIections-s113.S9.
 Fire Department-S9,7 ,777.56-
 Director of Public Works.
 Sewer repairs, $S12.9S; Macadam repairs, S6.S6S.7O; Bituminous pave ment repairs, s2.S27.4S; Street grad Ing, .s5S,474.1s; Street sprinkling, .5s9-s5.
 Grand Street Brid ge. .s5.s1o:54; Coal, etc, s929.41: Total-s6, ,5Ss.s5.
 Lights-s15 ,000-O0.
 Streets and Sidewalks Committee.
 Sidewalk Grading-$716.00.
 Charities Department.
 General office account, S2,202.60;' : of poor in hospitals and asylums: de ficiencies, S29, ,621.13; State aid to widows, s2,500.O0; Margaret H. Ford cottage for poor, s2,690.00; Care of Hillside Home poor, s35,54O.99; Total -S129, 9,352.93.
 Board of Education. Teachers salaries, 24,0oo.oo. v Municipal garage, S1S,792-66. Miscellaneous.
 To replace amount transferred from fire and police appropriations, $6O,OO0.0o.
 Grand TotaI-s334,0722
 The foregoing statement of defci- encies represents the amounts appro- priated in the fiscal year: 1921-22 by the Board of Apportionment and Taxation for this purpose
 There are several kinds of de- hciency appropriations. By far the larger part of these appropriations are made to pay off liabilities actually incurred by the heads of the depart nents. Since all departments of the city government authorized to spend money are required~to report to the City Auditor on or before the first day of January of each year the amount of money required by them for the next ensuing fiscal year, it is evident that liabilities incurred by department heads for which deficiency appropriations are requested must have been incurred prior to January st of each year.
 Another kind of deficiency appro- priation is that which is made to pay expenditures which a department head expects to make between Jan nary 1st and April 1st of each year.
 Still another kind of deficiency ap- propriation is that which occurs through the transfer of amounts from one appropriation to another, which is practically a borrowing operation the sum so borrowed being replaced