Henderson daily dispatch., 1937-06-07

year, 1t soon reaches a sum well in the
thousands Of collars. 1t is, therefore,
recommended that this item be placed
in the budget SO that funds will be
on hand to meet this payment when
due.
! Inc result is that this administra
| ton found itself confronted with the
| task OF raising more than $4,000, to
| pay DEBTS which were not of it's MAX
| ing and for the payment of which
| money should have already been pro-
| vided. -
This administration realized full
well that should the tax payers Of
the City Of Henderson be called upon
to pay these obligations, as well as
the usual expenses of the next fiscal
year, out of the taxes to be collected
that it would require a tax rate which
would be nearly confiscatory And
IN order that it would not be neces-
sary to levy such a rate, 1, together
with your city attorney, city clerk
and supervisor of finance, went to Ra-
leigh and conferred with the Local
Government Commission to secure
their approval to refinance $4,000 of
the obligation coming due July 1, 1887,
and the $4,000 tax anticipation note
now in the First National Bank.
am happy to be in a position to
state that this administration has
been successful in our requests to re-
fund these obligations, and machinery
has already been set in motion which
will enable us to complete the refund
ing of the $4,000 obligation to the
nj l. -
the payment of bonds and interest on
July l, 1897. And the refinancing of
the $4,000 note has been begun and is
proceeding as rapidly as possible We
were also successful in securing the
Local Governments permission to
market the remaining $1,000 of the
underpass bonds, which We're not sold
last year when the other $4,000 under
pass bonds were sold. AS can be
seen, this will not entirely provide the
money needed to care for the deficit
left on our hands, but it will material
ly lessen the load.
Past experiences have most force
fully demonstrated to us that a tax
rate of $1.25 will not supply money
needed to meet our bond and interest
payments and operate the various de-
partments of our city. In 1888, de-
spite the fact that this $1.25 rate had
been levied for many years, the city
was forced to refund $68OOO of it's
bonds because the city's $1.25 rate fail
ed by that amount to produce the
bond payment money and the operat-
ing expenses. Then. despite the fact
that the rate for 1888 was raised to
70 60
worth of bonds coming due for the
next two years were refunded, and
despite the fact that in 1885 and 1886
the $1.25 rate was levied, and despite
the fact that more than $4,000 was di-
verified from the waterworks fund to
the city's fund and spent by the city,
We find the city more than $4,000
behind in it's finances today.
Besides the urgent need for money,
which confronts us, we are also con-
fronted with the problem of raising
more money to replace certain equip
ment of the city, which has now be-
come worn out to the point that con-
tinued operation of the same would
cost the city more in repairs than
new units would cost And this equip
ment is equipment which must be re-
placed, as the city should not be with
out it under any conditions.
You may be assured that your adj
ministration will investigate every ex-
penditure closely, with the idea of
holding the tax rate and expenditures
to the lowest possible penny. And
every economy consistent with the
good management of the affairs of
our city will be put into effect.
Having thus far painted for you the
dark side of the picture, 1 do wish
to add that beyond the immediate
emergency Vhich exists, the finances
of our city are not in such condition
as to cause alarm. Our city owes
less money in bonded indebtedness
than most cities of our size. The total
Indebtedness, emitting the waterworks
bonds, as no taxes are levied to care
for them, is $430, 553.18 It so hap
pens that when the various bonds
were issued in the past, they were is
sued in such a manner that unusually
heavy payments have come due for
the past few years and will continue
to come due in this manner for about
six more years. And we are power
less to remedy this situation, as the
law Limits us in refinancing to those
bonds which are due within one year
of the date of the refinancing.
Wafer Works
In the past several years, while it
has been the policy of the city to ope-
rate it's finances and the water COM
pany's finances as separate units, it
has been the custom to divert at va
rious times all the cash in the water
works fund not needed for immediate
payment of operating expenses and
waterworks bond payments to the city
operating fund The result of this
las been such that on June 30, 1897,
the close of the fiscal year, there will
be in the waterworks fund, after
meeting the operating expenses and
the bond payments coming due July
| /, 1887, not more than $500. This
leaves us with no money in the water
works fund to care for an emergency
such as a break in the dam, serious
| ir jury to our mains, or the purchase
| of new motor, and one motor at the
pumping station is in bad repair, or
many other things which are entire
ly within the realm of probabilities.
1