Year: 1879

The ignorant or willful mismanage-
ment Of the City Councils Of the past,
in the legislating Of our city affairs, crti.
cised. First, they have gone through
certain rules that they supposed were in
the charter to govern them in making
their November estimates of the prob4-
BILE revenue and expenses for the ensuing
year, but always with an eye single to
party purposes. In the following Janu-
ary the estimates under the proper item
ised heads are arranged In an ordinance
and passed for the current year. The
next thing In order Is somewhere about
the month of May-the levying Of the
taxes-which hurts our city politicians
very much and puts them to their wits,
each party trying to get the advantage Of
the other; and IL is no difference which
side wins, the citizens have the tax to
pay, or foot the bill. These petty poll
ticians at this time have wonderful de-
sire 10 show to their constituents how
hard they struggled to keep the taxes
down. l recollect in one of these strug-
giles Councilman said this to his party
in caucus: at is no difference what the
other party sets the percentage at, let us
make motion to make it less, and we
can get note discounted If we should
fall short at the end of the year." With
my own knowledge and observation |
don't believe thai the levy made on the
assessment has been high enough at any
one time for twenty years. When will
the people come to their senses and carry
Oh our city affairs honestly?


Second, will now consider what is
called making extraordinary approp ia
tion means, as i understand the city
charter but it would be well for us first
to say word respecting our present
Council, as when the present party came
into power the appropriations had nearly
all been exhausted, with about $4,000
of floating debt and no money in the
treasury and taxes nearly all paid. Now
what was to be done to keep the wheels
or the city in motion +? Extraordinary
appropriation begins to ring in our new
Councils ears, and then, following in the
footsteps of their illustrious predecessors,
make another appropriation and call 1t by
the name of extraordinary. What an


idea that this should be called by that
name! 1t was nothing but deficiency,
failure OIL the part of the previous


Council to provide for the current year.


This thought strikes me very forcibly {:
Has the President of Council got copy
Of Webster's dictionary ? If he had, and


looked at the word "extraordinary" he
would have ruled that an ordinance un-
der this head was not right, for said ap-
preparation was only to meet deficiency
and ought to be under that head. 1t
would have been just as lawful and mole
honestly done.


My communication is long enough and
! must now wind 1t up, but 1 wish 10 say
that the way read the city charter the
Councilmen who voted for the last
amount to meet the said appropriation
are accountable for the debt, and the
same rule binds the old ones. 1t is high
time that the people should put stop to
this thing of second appropriation that
has not been provided for by taxation |;
for this is the way our floating debts are
made, especially when it is dishonest aud
without law. II the present City Coun-
Gil will run the city honestly and eco
nomically and always below the appro-
priations they will do the most extraor-
dinary thing that has been done in This
city for the last 20 years. A. T.