Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1923-05-03
COUNCIL WOULD HAVE
5 MILLS TAX CONTINUE
So-CalIed Emergency Levy VIII
Expire By Limitation This
Year

City council, at its regular session
last night devoted considerable time
to a discussion of the matter of ask
inc re-enactment Of the so-called
emergency tax levy Of mills, which
will expire this year by operation OF
statute provisions. At the end OF
the discussion, City Attorney w. L.
Lane was instructed to draft bill
to he presented to the Sumter dele
cation in the next legislature, re-
enacting the emergency levy measure
as originally passed during the legls~
lative session of 1917, by Representa-.
tive Stephen Pace, at the request OF
Americus city authorities then IN OF
fee. 1t was the consensus Of opinion
last night that the text of the former
bill to, be Incorporated In the pro-
visions of the new measure to be in
troduced in the legislature at At
lanta this summer.
The original measure, according to
reliable information obtained to-
dav, was introduced during the sum
mer of 1917 by Representative Pace,
and passed at that session with a
provision making it effective with the
beginning of the tax year 1918. An
other provision in the measure is that
it shall expire by limitation after a
period of 5 years, and this is the
last wear under which the city Will
have authority under its provisions to
collect the emergency levy, unless the
statute be re-enacted.
Under the original proposal to en-
act the law in 1917, it was planned
to permit the additional levy of 5
mills for the sole purpose of retiring
the floating debt of Americus' then
estimated at approximately S68,000.
The added 5 mills tax, it was further
estimated, would raise approximately
$4,000 per annum, all of which was
fo have been used under the original
nroposal to liquidate the city's float
inc Indebtedness. However, the
citv board of education interposed
affection to such a distribution of the
funds to be derived from the added
lew. and it was finally agreed to
aIl0t the board of education 2 mills
of the emergency levy, and the bill
as originally introduced had provis-
ION to this effect Introduced before
heing introduced in the legislature.
The measure provides that every cent
of the money realized through the
lew thus authorized, must be used
for the purposes indicated, and can
NOT he APPROPRIATED for use in any
denartment of the city government.
IF is this identical bill that the city
council now wants re-enacted, and
Citv ATTORNEY Lane has been in
s+rncted to draw a bill IN accordance
with the provisions as outlined above.
Another. action of interest taken
hy council was the adoption of "a reso-
l,Ition instructing Col. Lane to draw
a bill to be introduced in the legisla
ture requiring the city board of edu
cation to make reports of all in
come and nd~expenditures to city coun-
ell Under the existing law the city
hoard of education receives ali of iis
income from taxes levied by city
council. but that body has no hand
in the directing of expenditures by
tba board, moi, is the board of educa-
tion required to give any account of
It's actions to council. The measure
~ he drawn up would change this
condition and make it obligatory in
f,1t,lre for the board to render an
accounting to council for all of the
funds in its possession, such account
inc to be itemized end rendered
nonthlv. or at such stated periods as
council may direct. There were no
members Of the board Of education
nresent af last nights session cf city
council, excont Mayor J. f. Poole,
who is an es@officio member Of that
body,