The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-06-14
Surveys Conducted

The Griffenhagen firm already has made two audits, or surveys, this year, the first on behest of for rner States Attorney Lawrence L. Lewis, the latter on request of the board of finance and relating to survey of the unpaid 1887 bills. An appropriation of 5000 was set up for these two audits, now ex- pended.
 [ The board voted to continue func- tioning as 8 committee of the whole and adjourned until June 27.
 The report of the committee. in main, Is as follows with the letter from the Griffenhagen firm ap- pended:
 Committees Report
 The committee is of the opinion
 that a number of factors must be
 considered, among them possible
 curtailment or staggering of work Ig ing schedules; temporary curtail- ment or elimination of some types
 Of service now rendered by the N city; consolidation of overlapping
 activities, whenever possible, etc.
 Since time is an important fac- |. tor If economies to be effected are
 to be of any substantial assistance
 in meeting the 1888 situation, your , committee Is of the opinion that
 the necessary survey work should ? be done by individuals who are , specially trained for such a task. 3 With this in mind the advice Of
 E. o. Grif1enhagen, president of
 Griffenhagen & Associates was
 sought and he was requested to
 submit to our committee construc-
 tive suggestions as to the manner , in which his firm could be of as-
 sistance to us in the present sit uation. His letter to the commit
 tee, which Is attached to and a
 part of this report, states that
 his firm can, within period of
 five days of receipt of instructions,
 start work on survey, at an es-
 timated cost of 5000 per month
 He suggests that the survey be
 continued for a period of sixty days. The arrangements may, how E ever, be terminated with one . weeks notice, if the results do mot appear to be satisfactory. He i, indicated to the committee that 2 the results to be noted at the end
 of the first month could probably !. indicate the advisability of con- !. tinuing the work further.
 . The committee has suggested
 the Griffenhagen firm since it's 2 work in connection with the recent audit has enabled it to cover much
 of the preliminary groundwork which would be necessary if the 2 task were undertaken by some < other firm. It feels, however, that
 the opportunity should not be de- 2 nied to other firms to seek con- ' s!deration If it should be pos , sIble to proceed with a survey.
 The committee is conscious Of . the fact that no budgetary item z has been established for this pur-
 pose in the 1888 budget and that no funds have been appropriated ? for this purpose. The Board Of : Finance, however, has the right to 2 recommend the establishment of such an item, with the provision { that no funds be transferred into ? 1t until after September 1st of | this year.
 [ If the expenditure of com- , paratively modest sum can make {, it possible to effect savings ag- $ gregating several times the cost :. of the survey it would be good
 Judgment, in the opinion of the committee, to suggest to the com- ; raittee of the whole that 1t rec ommend to the Board of Alder
 men that the mayor and the . members of the board of finance !. consider the advisibility of au- thorizing the survey which has @ been suggested by this committee. e We therefore recommend to the z, committee of the whole that it re- [ port to the Board of Aldermen i resolution which would request ? the mayor and the Board of Z Finance to consider to advisibil- E ity of engaging a properly quail < fled agency to conduct a survey <. of city activities and departments ! in order to seek a method of ef- s fecting economies which will be z sufficient to bring the budget for ,ss the current year into balance,
 and that the Board of Finance
 recommend the proper procedures
 to be followed.
 r We also recommend that the committee of the whole request