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Show I THE COMMISSION LAW H Some of the Principal Provisions of the Measure H i . Changing Salt Lake City's Form of H Government. H So many conflicting versions of the most im- H portant provisions of the new law giving Salt H Lake a commission form of government after Jan- H uary first, 1912, are being circulated and so great a H divergence In opinion seems to prevail as to H the powers of the mayor and four councilmen to Hj be, elected the seventh of November that a brief H resume of the main points of the law may not H be! amiss to the average voter at this Mjne. H JAt the election to be held Novel oer seventh, H a 'board of five commissioners consisting of a H mayor and four commissioners will have to be H elected by the voters of Salt Lake to administrate H the "affairs of the city for the next two years. An H auditor is also to be elected, making H city officers In all. The mayor and two of tho H commissioners will, following this first election H, under tho new plan of government serve for foul m years, the other two commissioners and the audi- H tor serving for two years and bi-annually there- K after there must be elected an auditor for a term of two years and two commissioners for a term H of four years each and quadrennially thereafter K there shall be elected a mayor for a term of four m years. fl Each of the commissioners will receive a sal- H ary of $3,600 per year, the mayor will receive M $4200 per year, and the auditor $2400 per year. M The new law divides the city government into H the' following five departments: Department of M Public Affairs and Finance; Department of Water H Supply and Water Works; Department of Public H Safety; Department of Streets and Public Im- H provement, and Department of Parks and Public M Pipperty. 7 m mayor is to have charge of one M of these departments and each of the four com- M missioners charge of one of the remaining four fl departments, the city auditor being elected to M his own office. The Board of Commissioners at H its first meeting designates which of its mem- M bers shall have charge of the various depart- M ments. H The Board of Commissioners then must ap- m point a city recorder, a city treasurer, and city B attorney and may then create any other office H they deem necessary for the good government of m the city with the further power to regulate and H prescribe the powers, duties and compensation of all other officers of the city. This gives the mayor aud his four commissioners the absolute power of hiring every employee of the city with the possible exception of those selected by the city auditor to perform the work of his office. The mayor is made chairman by law of the Board -of Commissioners and has the right to vote upon all questions coming before the board, but he cannot veto any act of the commissioners and the law forces him to sign every measure, resolution reso-lution or ordinance passed by the board. The scope of the powers ot this body of men who shall govern the city is greatly increased by the new law over the rights which now accrue to the present city council. For instance, the Board of Commissioners shall have the power to enforce the attendance of witnesses, the production produc-tion of books and papers and 'has the further power to administer oaths in the same manner and with like effect and under the same penalties penal-ties as to the judges of the district court exercising exer-cising civil or criminal jurisdiction under the laws of Utah. Three members of the five commissioner nust concur in all acts passed by the ,board to make them valid or binding. The commissioners must hold at least four public meetings a week, three of which must be held in the day time and one in the evening. The commissioners must each month print a pamphlet showing a detailed and itemized statement state-ment of all receipts and disbursements of the city during the preceding thirty days together with a summary of their proceedings and expenses for the month. At the end of each year the commissioners com-missioners must have a full and complete examination exam-ination of the city's books and accounts made by competent accountants and must publish tne result re-sult of such examination in the newspapers and in pamphlet form. A) her important division of the law is that it feces each of the four commissioners, the mayor and city auditor to publish at least once in a daily newspaper of the city a sworn statement state-ment of his election and campaign expenses and by whom such funds were contributed. Thi3 statement must be published within thirty days after the five commissioners and the auditor qualify qual-ify for office. All city employees appointed by the board of commissioners hold office until the municipal election next following their appointment, appoint-ment, unless removed sooner by the board of commissioners. com-missioners. The law is extremely stringent in its provision forbidding any of the elective or appointive officers of tho city from accepting directly di-rectly or indirectly from any person, firm or cor-iporation cor-iporation operating within the limits of. the city or from any railroad, gas company, water company, com-pany, electric light, power or heating company, m telegraph or telephone companies any frank, free ticket or free service upon terms more favorable than is granted to the public generally. This provision does not prohibit the free transportation of policemen or firemen in uniform. |