New Britain herald., 1927-04-30
NQ CHATTING HERE
 IN CITY AFFAIRS
Financial End Of Government on
 Honest Basis

'I here must b" Sf1lL III FlbH johN and elective offices; all that money l laid out every year, all those pur- chas5s and those new buildings there must be some 'gr"asng" in Iit." So musts many man unin- 1 formed in the operations Of Ne" i Britaiu's municipal government. 1 But 10 those who are experienced i in city affairs. the fallacy of such q i claim is immediately apparent Of 1 all institutions, municipal govern ! ments are the least susceptible to improper practices involving H. i uances. This is largely responsible | because officials are aware that there is the omnipresent suspicion
 Of graft. and lean backward in their effort to obtain a clean bill Of health when their books are offered Tor audit. They know that whereas q
 man tainted with stigma of dlshon-
 esty in private enterprise may
 make good" to his employer and
 shift his operations 10 new fields, a person whom the electorate has dubbed "grafter'' is through and
 out, insofar as political career is concerned.
 S5.000OOO spent in Year
 True, there is an enormous amount Of money spent in New Britain for governmental purposes. Last year it ran very close to Sa,-
 0O0 GOO. But down to every last dollar it was budgeted; it was first
 passed on by some board or com
 mission. next passed the scrutinlzlng
 eyes of the board Of finance and
 taxation, then went to a pruning
 committee which analysed it's ncccs-
 sitv, went back 10 the board Of fi-
 nance and taxation for further
 study. passed through the common
 council, was spent and then given
 a final chcck-up by the board that laid 1t ont. went back 10 the com
 mon council for study by the finance
 committee and finally the full body then went to Comptroller Hantord l.. Curtis who finally approved it } for payment Not only was this seeming mass of rcd tape unraNcied but also was the bill printed in a
 record for public perusa and dis tribution at the office of the town clerk. Lastly, but not Of minor i'm portance in any sense, is the ballot wieded by the voter to register his : approval or disapproval Of the way the money was spent.
 | Cannot "Pad" payrolls
 X very large percentage of the : city's annual upkeep bill is repre- scnted in salaries and wages. These : salries are fixed each year after
 study is given them by q committed Of the common council, A salar! . budget is prepared with every dol | lar listed and when the fiscal veal comes 10 close there must be nc ! unexplained deficit. Not mucl : chance of "padding'' pay-rolls o> . ovcrpaying favored political hire lings,
 In matters Of large expenditure ' contracts are entered into. Tn" cit, q has long adhered to the policy o l awarding contracts to lowest bidder , excepting in cases where there ar ' unusual tlfIltiIlS to bt 'ollSii'i' VI S Publicity attends the opening o n hids-sealed bids in every instanc - and publicity attends the recon r | mendation for award and the actiol
 by the common council. There lSn'
 a possibility Of d 'lcak' on the fig q ure other proposers are making am - inc lowest bidder. when he IS will | ing to face the arguments advance' i avainst him by the board. inNari } ably finds a common council Wl'llnt r to give him tho fair deal he seek: n Contracts cover every phase 0 bujlainG operations and much of tn s road construction work. With sa! r aries. buildings and all major oper Y atioua covered so thoroughly an i with such a maze Of bookkeeping [ - h. hurlled by anyone who feels dis s posed to try his hand at cheatin the city, the fair prognostica1o k for his schem" is one of failure. Yes. There Is Ea\"ritism
 There is species of favoritlsr " onentimes confused with graft. Fo Y instance. board may have unde
 consideration several types of auto
 mobiles. anyone of which woul serve it's purposes. The commls y sioncrs select one and 1t happens { E be the car sold by a heavy contrlbr
 tor to the party in power. Immedi < ately there is howl of protest, Tn l. compluuan,s lose sight Of the fac D that, placed in th, drivers seat, the " woulI do likewise; they forget th e udiylua is a businessman in th v city and cntItlcd to a portion Of tn |" ctry'a trade. and he may be hcav d taxpayer who is entitled 10 shar '- iu the money expended by lis mun' a cipal.iy } Political offices and elective Jol - hold an Mlurcmout to a certain pel s, contasc or ulI classes and type O Thos.. who wou!d obtain city favor
 lbs improper means must therefor
 hroarh their propositions 10 ever s kind Of nature found among ht r mans. To chime in with the crlei " Of "polilical graft" k tantamount 'S admitting that the social fabric
 our city Is d sadly weakened Sui Do staHcr-a statement To which. Il ,l believed. fu# would wish to sut 't scribe.