The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1946-08-20
I'M ALL FAIRNESS

Editor, The Citizen:
l feel it my civic duty as an
ex-public servant to correct GER
tain incorrect statements made in
a recent article by ex-commis-
sioner w. G. Sweeting. under the
title of Corrections, appearing
in your PEOPLES Forum.
Before attempting to norfect
the misleading and incorrect
statements made in, this article I
would like to call the attention
of our citizenry to the public rec-
ord of Mr.. Sweeting during his
short tenure in office. The rec
ord, to which any citizen may
have access to, is as follows: Dur
ing the six or seven months from
the time Mr.. Sweeting took of
flee to the time he let the citizens
of Key West down by quitting,
a total of q meetings were held,
in which 451 motions were made.
Out of this number. MIR. Golden
Rule" Sweeting made N motions,
or II percent. However. he Sec
onded total of 206 motions. or
43 percent.
In the fourth paragraph of MIR.
Sweeting's article, he charges that
the old administration was forced
to borrow money to complete
payroils and that there were num-
erous debts accumulated. If he
had consulted the public record
of the City of Key West. he would
not have made this false state
ment The public record reveals
that we did not borrow one cent
to make payrolls during the last
year of the old administration. In
connection with the accumulated
outstanding debts, the citizens OF
Key West will remember TIE
days of the depression when a
greater part of our citizens were
on the relief rolls ekeing out a
mere existence and could not
therefore meet their city tax OBJ
legations when due and this ne
cessarily forced the city govern
ment TO pile up obligations that
it viii take many years to clear
up.
In this same paragraph. Mr..
Golden Rule" Sweeting claims
that 100000 of bonded indebted
ness has been eliminated. The
record reveals that the old coun-
Gil paid a total of $4,000 of this
100000 and we left a balance of
$50.570 in this account for addi-
tional refunding of bonds. He
also claims that most alr' debts
have been paid. The record re-
veals, however, that there is at
the present time a floating debt
of S81 900 still outstanding. Does
this mean that "most all debts
have been paid?
Under the former administra-
ton, old ex-employes received a
portion of their back salaries Pc
riodically. However, they have
yet to receive the first cent under
this present administration.
In addition to all this, old ad-
nlinistrations had met all obliga-
tons of bond refunding to the
fiscal agent on time and did not
default in a single instance.
In this same paragraph, Mr..
"Golden-Rule" Sweeting takes
credit for obtaining the eity's own
garbage equipment. As matter
of fact, this equipment was pur-
chased by the old administration
under the installment plan and
there is still three notes of ST.
400 each that will have to be paid
before Mr.. Sweeting or anyone
else can claim that the city owns
its own garbage equipment.
! have heard on the street that
the old administration left the
city with depleted finances. The
record reveals that we had on
deposit the sum of $185, 981 in all
funds and with approximate so
percent of the ad valorem taxes
to be collected the day we hand
ed over the reigns Of government
to the new administration.
With fairness TO all and malice
toward none,
JOHN GLENWOOD SwEETTNG
Ex-City Councilman.