Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-08-18
Finance Reform
IsUrgedAnew
In Alexandria
Tax Experts Call
Accounting Methods
Totally Inadequate

employed in Alexandria today we're
labeled totally inadequate" by a
staff of tax experts surveying the
city's finances. The experts re-
newed their recommendation for
establishment of a city department
of finance.
1nadequacies Of the present rev.
enue administration setup and rev.
enue accounting methods were cited
in report by the University of Viz
ginia Bureau of Public AdminiStra-
ton on shared taxes, Federal and
State grants and other revenue
sources of Alexandria.
This report was the final phase
of the bureaus study of Alexandria S
financial headaches, following SIM
liar reports on personal property
taxes. business license taxes and
real estate taxes.
Most Serious Failing.
Although the lack of an adequate
city financial organization had
been mentioned previously in other
reports of the bureau, today's re-
port more clearly defined what the
surveyors believe to be the most
serious failing in administration OF
the city's revenues.
The bureau bluntly states THE
urgency of the need for reorganiza-
ton tof financial administration
methods) becomes compelling in the
examination of the revenue sources
covered in this report"
an reality" the report states,
there now exists virtually no Or
ganization of the government for
handling the many and complex
sources of municipal revenue"
Council Refused Plea.
The City Council Finance Com
mittee, headed by Col. Everett He'll
muth, attempted to heed an earlier
recommendation of the bureau to
form a finance department under
supervision of the city manager, but
the Council refused to abide by the
recommendation AL departments
last year were put under the city
managers authority except the
accounting officer.
Commenting on this, the report
states: The location of an account
ing Office, which is in fact the only
financial Office of the government,
outside the executive branch, is a
negation of one OF the first prin-
ciples of the council-manager form
of government. In any form Of
government such placement violates
the dictates Of administrative COM
mon sense"
The bureau believes the council
docs itself great harm and erects
barriers in its own path by failure to
require the executive branch to sup
ply the financial service needed"
No Fixed Responsibility.
1.-The present organization of reve-
nue. administration is one of the
most serious inadequacies of the
revenue system" the report states.
To emphasize the ills of the pres
ent system, the bureau declares that
there is no fixed responsibility in
the city to see that Alexandria gets
its just amount of shared taxes and
other revnues that comprise large
amount of the annual city income.
The report states that no one in
the city could furnish the bureau
with adequate information about
shared taxes, like ABC profits or
State grants. 1t was necessary for
the research staff to consult with
the State officers to find out such
things.
The bureau declares that the
Alexandria revenue base is entirely
too narrow" in that some sources of
taxation available never have been
tapped.
Urge Supplementary Revenues.
cit is therefore urged that the
Finance Committee direct its atten-
ton Immediately to the develop
ment of reliable and flexible Sys-
tenn of supplementary revenues for
the city of Alexandria," the report
states.
The present system of revenue
accounts should be made to con-
form to the standard system de-
veloped and recommended by the
National Committee on Municipal
Accounting, the researchers believe.
The present system does not include
the grouping of revenues according
to their basic features and char
acteristics, and too many revenue
sources are grouped simply under
heading "other revenue sources"
Because of this, the report states,
they (revenue records simply do
not give information in the forms
in which it is needed" to contribute
to the efficient management of
Alexandria's financial affairs.