The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-25
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THE BUDGET AND THE PUBLIC

In preparing the municipal budget, which is only a preliminary guide as to available resources and possible ap- propriations, one of the most lm- portant considerations is whether the city is getting all the revenue to which it is entitled without penalizing any interest or group of citizens, This involves careful inquiry into whether city licenses are properly adjusted so as to require all who come under this tax to bear their fair proportion of the public burdens; whether all proper measures are in force. to the end that taxes due the city are properly as sessed and collected; whether special funds due the municipality in every form, such as long standing indebted ness from the county as respects the ten-cent road tax, many unpaid bonds, delinquent property. assessments. ct cetera, are forthcoming. A large to- tai amount represented by the remis- sion of fines might well be added to the city's resources. In short, the municipal authorities are duty bound to see that the city gets all that is legally coming to it, so that the avail able revenues may be as large as pos | sible for the municipal needs. Is this ] being done? Is there any evidence i that the commission, in preparing the budget, has given thorough considera- tion to these important matters, or that serious effort has been made to perform these duties?
 A special consideration directly af- fecting the public interests is that, after properly getting all the avail able revenues, appropriations should be. made not on the basis of dishing out certain amounts to the several de- partments, but with view to the pressing needs of the municipality. It is not a question of what the sev eral commissioners can obtain for their respective departments, but wherein lie the most urgent necessities which are entitled to preference in ineurring public expenditures. Therein lie the service and benefits of the budget in it's practical application. The duty of the commission is to see that all revenue due the city is col lected under a fair distribution of the public burdens and is expended in such ways as will provide the greatest good to the greatest number.
 The police and fire departments more than any others, except that of the public health, involve the safety and protection of life and property, and are, therefore, more closely iden- ,tified with the public welfare. Both of these departments might well be strengthened by additional men as a step towards greater protection and increased economy. This would go farther towards solution of the crime problem, including the numerous ax murders, than would conferences look ling to the closing of stores at early hours, and the adoption of special measures in the handling of custom ers, as has been proposed, and which lis suggestive of Duck-passing policy. The demands for increased pay de- serve attention, for men of ability Frequently leave the public service for more lucrative but far less exact ling employment.
 Everyone who has given thought to the subject knows that the needs of some of the departments are more pressing than those of others. To meet this situation within the municipal -e- sources, after finding ways to increase them as far as possible, is the respon- sibility of the commission, while keep ing in mind the rapid growth of the city, which is accompanied by in creased demands for efficiency in the public service.
 A GOVERNOR ON TRIAL