Evening star., 1953-06-25

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Star Stan Photo.
HARRY b. SHAW.
what materials they actually
used. This had never been done
in the past.
Discrepancies Dropped"
When discrepancies were found
and called to the attention of
the foremen, the report said,
"in practically every case the
foremen could not recall what
happened to the unaccounted-
for-materialS or where they may
have been used, and the matter
was dropped"
The report also scored what
it called arbitrary adjustments"
made to bring the materials ac-
count in balance with the ware
house stock records. by this
simple bookkeeping device mate
rails that might have been lost
or otherwise unaccounted are
completely ignored" the, report
declared.
After several pages Of such
criticism, the Ford, Bacon &
Davis report noted:
/. 1T is probably true that the
irregular practices Of the &C
counting procedure were in
herited from former administra-
tionS and may have been the
result of an autonomous one
man system"
2. Measures are now being
taken to correct the unsound
methods and practices through
the employment of Boyce.
Hughes & Farrell, independent
accountants, who are now en-
gagged in formulating a revision
of the accounts. This is a step
in the right direction, and with
proper supervision by the COM
mission and the newly appointed
independent accountants. the ac-
counting department should, in
time, function as the accounting
department of a large municipal
water utility should"
Plans Budget System.
The Boyce. Hughes g. Farrell
work is still going on. The COM
mission says that in addition
to a general housekeeping in the
accounting department. 1t will
adopt for the first time budget
and appropriations system.
The commission is Justly
proud of it's action in bringing
the two New York consultant
firms in to tell it the truth about
itself. If all the recommended
tions of the two firms. including
the hiring of a general manager.
are followed. most observers feel
the taxpayer eventually will be
getting his moneys worth from
the utility.
The commission also is proud
Of four things it says it has done
to save money:
/. Investing idle funds in short
term Government securities.
This has yielded over $115,000
in interest benefits since 1851.
2. Snort-term borrowing in
anticipation of bond issues. This,
the commission says, "is de-
signed to permit greater flexi-
bility in capital financing poll
cies and to shorten the gap
between the collection of 'front.'
foot benefit charges and the
payment Of principal and inter-
est on permanent bond issues"
8. Financing purchase of cars,
trucks and other rolling stock on
a f1ve-year basis. These items
in the past were financed from
the proceeds Of long-term bond
issues, the commission says.
4. Shortening the life of gen.
eral construction bond issues
from 40 to 80 years, cutting
down 10 years of interest pay
mentS.
Safety Program.
Commission Chairman Ray
mond w. Bellamy also contends
a safety program he initiated
among the commissions en-
ployes has been a money saver.
Mr.. Bellamy, who has worked
as a safety consultant and di-
rector, said the improved safety
record has enabled the commits
sion to obtain insurance at a
lower cost.
Mr.. Bellamy feels, too, that he
has helped cut waste on commits
sion projects through his Pc
riodic inspection tours. He says
foremen in the past threw away
such things as ends of lumber
and unused bricks. Now they
are being made to return them
to the warehouse. he claims.
Mr.. Bellamy also claims credit
for improved employe morale. A
former railroad labor leader. Mr..
Bellamy says he is able to un-
derstand the feelings of commits
sion employees.