Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-06-21
STATE HOUSE
Next h,ee.na Of Governor A. Tuesday, rs

reports that he found some sentiment
| in favor of making it a compulsory
measure, but the consensus of opinion
seemed to be that in order to start
| this matter it would be better to make
it optional in the first instance, and.
if upon trial, the law proved to be a
! beneficial one. it might later be made
compulsory upon all municipalities
in Maine through amendments at
some succeeding session of the LeSls-
lature.
| Due to the fact that various cities
and towns Of the State keep their ac-
counts in so many different ways and
their fiscal year closes on such widely
different dates. it is now practically
impossible to make a comparison Of
the accounts of these municipalities.
Many towns include in their assets or
resources school houses, town house.
machinery, tools, etc. In statistics
| collected last year at the office of the
State auditor, one town even included
unsold lots in it's cemetery and anoth-
err. a gravel pit. Most of the towns.
however, omit from their assets or re-
sources permanent properties owned
by the town. This variation in listing
resources directly affects the amount
city or town may borrow. The con-
stitution limits the Indebtedness of
cities and towns to five per cent of
!! the assessed valuation except in the
case of the City of Portland, which is
seven and one-half per cent. This
difference in listing their assets, OBJ
viously affects the amount which they
may borrow.
AS examples of the various meth
DDS employed in bookkeeping. in one
I-.% t. 10. IL, Ill
aneous" Of $4,000, was for lighting
plant. In another. S122,025 spent for
! Electric Department and Water De-
partment, was charged to "Miscell-
aneous". Another city had a $4,000
bond issueSfor sewers and highways
included under miscellaneous"
, which should have been partly under
sanitation" and partly under High
ways and Bridges. In some cities
all salaries are charged to one ac-
count while in others they are charg-
ed to various accounts such as the
salaries of teachers to education and
salaries of firemen to protection of
persons and property.
Many states now provide for State
supervision of city and town ac-
counts. In Massachusetts the Begin
ming was made in 1910. At that
time the law was optional with cities
and towns the same as our act soon
to become effective. The act was
amended in 1916 and 1920 making it
obligatory upon cities and towns
! which is an indication of the popu-
| larity of the original law.
In an investigation conducted by
the Maine auditors department last
year in an effort to- determine the to-
tai Indebtedness of cities and towns
| in the State it was found to be i'm
| possible to get sufficiently accurate
data to arrive at such total indebted
ness.
The bill providing for the uniform
| accounting system for Maine cities
| and towns was introduced in the S1st
! Legislature by Senator Frederick o.
Eaton of Oxford. 1.-The towns and
cities seem to welcome this as step
| in the right direction, State Auditor
i'Hayford reports. Il have rarely seen
| an act in the Legislature which SEEM
! ed to meet with such. general COM
| mendation as this. have seen in this
| office for a number of years that
something like this ought to be start
ed.
In his study Of the various book
keeping methods employed by cities
and towns of Maine, Mr.. Hayford
states that among the best systems
are those now used by the cities of
Portland. Auburn, Gardiner and Au-
] gusta and the towns of Skowhegan
and Yarmouth.
Under the uniform system which
! all the cities and towns will have the