Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1938-01-06
MAYOR In ANNUAL REPORT
URGES MORE TRAFFIC LIGHTS

| URGES MORE TRAFFIC LIGHTS
To the McConnelsville Council:
l herewith submit my annual re
port on the village budget, together
with my recommendations for Ger
tain improvements, which should BIZ
accomplished during the current
year.
First: Due to the reckless driv.
ing on our leading streets and av.
enues and the danger of serious ac
| cidents resulting therefrom, I urge
council to install traffic lights al
the following intersections: AT
Tenth street and Main street for the
purpose of slowing down traffic en-.
OF Kennebec avenue and Jefferson
street, at the high school for the
| purpose of slowing down traffic on
Kennebec avenue and protecting the
| lives of school children; at the in
| tersection of Third street, and Main
street at the bridge for the purpose
| Of slowing down traffic entering the
sary that an ordinance be adopted
providing penalties for crashing the
lights and also to secure the con-
sent of the state highway depart
ment for the proposed installations.
There are ample funds in the street
maintenance fund to pay for such
lights and for their operation.
=. Second: The Improvement OF
this council for some time. but the
curtailment of the WPA program
last year has prevented carrying
the project to completion. / recon-.
mend that Fifth street be improved
as previously outlined by council
and that a sewer system from Main
street to the river on South Fifth
street be installed at the same time
that the street is improved.
Third: Two years ago State Ex-
aminer Chamberlain, on behalf of
the bureau of inspection of public
offices, notified the council and
mayor that certain matters in the
procedure of the McConnelsville
board of public affairs required
stricter supervision by the city coun .
law for the conduct of that depart
ment. Some of those matters were
corrected in the last biennium and
others remained uncOrrected and
the state examiner is now finding
and notifying this office that unless
the board of public affairs follows
the statutes more closely and COM
plies with the finds of the depart
ment, that the bureau will send in
in town and all the water connec-
tions and set up an entirely new
system Of accounting, the expense
Of which will be assessed against
the village treasury and will, no
doubt, result in every consumer of
water being compelled to pay high
er bills from the findings of the in
vestigatOrs. With this notice, which
has been served upon US, recon-
mend that council Immediately re-
quire the board Of public affairs to
comply in every detail with the state
examiners findings in order that:
First, the village treasury may be
saved substantial expense, second,
that the McConnelsville water con-
sumers may not be required to pay
an increased rate for water. Men,
bers of the board Of public affairs
in my opinion have always acted in
good faith and this recommended
tion is in no way to be construed as
reflection upon the integrity of the
members of the board One of the
recommendations of the state exam
iner in this regard is that the board
cease paying office rent and light
tions, and that the secretary of the
water board move her office to the
mayors office.
Fourth: The state examiner in
sists that the street commissioner
be paid from the general fund of
the village, rather than from the
gas tax fund as has been the Gus
tom in the past. / do not feel that
the services of the street commits
sioner are a proper charge agains.
the general fund of the village and
recommend that council adopt res
olution abolishing the office of
street commissioner and that the
street committee assume full con-
troll of the street work in McCon-
nelsville and employ. the labor re-
quired as the occasion demands.
thus transferring the wages drawn
by the street commissioner from the
general fund to the maintenance
and repair fund.
Fifth In the matter of refund.
ing the bonds of the village, the re-
funding work is practically COM
pleted and transcript of the pro-
ceedings herein has been mailed to
legal opinion as to the bond issue
and upon receipt of an opinion aD-
proving the issue the outstanding
Indebtedness will be refunded and a
reduction in taxes of TO of mill
be Immediately available to prop
erty owners in the village. We have
until July to complete this pro.
gram DuL lHc Will, Ill oil
probability, be completed by the
first of February.
Sixth: The policies which have
been followed for the last two years
have resulted not only in the viii
lage having a balanced budget, but
we have on hands as of the first of
January, 1888, balances in the var
ious funds as follows: General fund,
$3,621. OF; gasoline tax, $2,10S.03;
street maintenance, $1,145.66; sink
ing fund, $3,429.26. During the
present century it is doubtful if the
town has been in stronger finan-
herewith submit my recommends
tions on the budget for 1888:
Receipts-Rents, $1,219.00; in.
heritance tax, SIS; liquor tax. $500;
personal tax, $500; classified tax,
$1,000; sales tax, SEQ; street as
sessment, $500; cigarette tax. $3.50;
general property tax, $3.50; Malta
fire department expense, $3.50; to-
tai, $S,6O4.
Expenditures Wages and sal
aries, $2,708: street lighting. So
1892; fire department, $500; in
surance, $425; ladies' rest room
$50; legal advertising, $75; refund
ing, expense, $3.50; building, jail
osa.sa.
The general property tax estimate
is based upon the increased general
fund receipts, due to the refunding.
and after deductions of 5000 for
the Simpson library and 500 de.
ductions for expense of state exam
ination, election and health board
w. e. MEDLEY, Mayor