The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1938-03-24
Propose Repeal Of
Civ Tax Control
(Continued From Page One)

will avoid needless work. 1t Is said
that that part Of the present Char
ter has not been observed in recent
years.
Section SO, which designates SER
vice for which the city must pay
has been amended to include al
branches of electric and water SER
vice, based on cost of service. The
present Charter includes lighting OF
streets, public buildings and a rea-
sonable hydrant rental for supply
ing the city with water. The pro
posed amendment has been broad
ened to include all public buildings
and parks, the lighting ct streets
and other public purposes, and a
reasonable charge for hydrant rem
tails for fire protection. The addi-
lions have been made so that the
city may receive at cost service OF
light, heat, power and water for all
public properties. In other words
this is designed to cover all electric
and water service, such as power to
the disposal plant, public buildings
and parks at cost instead OF full re-
tail rate. This proposed amend
ment, it Is said, would provide a
saving to the city. Heat has been
added to take care of that branch
of service in the future. This
amendment is designed to definite
~ care for service not mentioned
in the present charter, and will do
away with any question or dispute
as to service to which the city Is
entitled in the future.
Section "a, which provides for a
maximum tax rate within the city
is to be repealed. It Is a tax ex-
penditure control law designed to
protect citizens against excessive
spending. The section to be repeal
ed reads as follows: Section 81
Maximum Tax Rate-The annual
tax rate to defray the ordinary ex-
penses for operation and mainten-
ance and fixed charges Of the var
ious branches Of the City govern
ment shall never exceed twenty
five mills. It shall be the duty OF
the city clerk to compute the rate
OF taxation required by the annual
budget, subject to the foregoing
limitations, and report the same to
the council"
This section, which says that Or
binary operating and maintenance
expenses and the fixed charges of
the city shall never exceed twenty
five mills, has been offered fer
repeal at the suggestion of the Min
nesota municipalities. We have
been informed that a state law I'M
der which municipalities cannot go
over $40 per capita exists, and in
lieu thereof the Charter Commits
sion did not regard 1t as essential
to restrict the city in this matter.
However, expenditure control Is
one way of keeping down the tax
load, and those men of the first
Charter Commission, who included
the above section in the charter,
had vision and foresight, and rec
cgnized that protection against un-
needed expenditures was greatly
needed. AS, 1t is said, the state COW
ers this matter, section "a Is prob
ably not as essential as we believe,
vet there would he no harm In
keeping such q provision in the
Charter.
Sank Centre is a home rule city,
and the Charter is the constitution
upon which the city government Is
based. NO doubt, in twenty years
changes are necessary, as time has
altered the requirements eff govern
ment in a city such as ours. Voters
Of the city should study well the
proposed changes, and weigh them
carefully as to their merits for bet
ter government. It will take three
fifths Of the total vote cast in the
city election to make the adoption
OF the amendments possible, and
any person who fails to vote on the
proposed Charter changes, votes
against their adoption as well as
the person who casts definite
mo" vote after each one.