| Show DININNY ON DEBT LIMITS city rity Attorney Dininny has hai hd d a re revelation revelation elation on the amount of o new bonds the city may issue without exceeding its debt limit and an like some of or DI Dl other revelations It is or ought to be subject to revision With Without without Without out notice I IThe The special auditors who have 1111 i adorned the city pay pa roll so long and I so dearly dear figured the ultimate limit of new bonds at less than whereas Dininny sees a possible po in his dream of bonds He arrives at this thU result by assuming that the refunding bonds issued to take up the debt incurred in is territorial days are are not a debt at all allIn allIn allin In the sense that they the apply appl to the limit Now Non o strange as it may mn seem the constitution of or the state of ot Utah does not take the same sam view ti of or the debt limit that Mr Dininny does The constitution con constitution constitution says sas in article 14 section 4 that No o city eft town school district or other municipal corporation shall be become become become come Indebted to an amount including including IncludIng ing existing indebtedness exceeding 4 per of or the value nIne of or taxable property therein Provid Provided ed further that any city may mil be allowed to Incur a larger indebtedness In Indebtedness Indebtedness not exceeding 4 per additional for supplying such city or town with water artificial light or sewers sewer It will be noted that this constitutional constitutional constitutional provision includes existing in indebtedness Indebtedness in its restriction upon the limit of o bond Issues It does not ex except except refunding bonds or any other bonds but it does implicitly include all aU outstanding indebtedness s sAs As a matter of ot fact tho the bonds re referred referred erred to were called refunding Is Issues Issues sues ues because the bondholders wished their securities to retain their original status and when that issue was up for discussion the best beet lawyers in the city held that the bonds would take rank as a part of the limited 1 debt In n the constitutional conven convention convention convention tion the same view was taken of or the question In the tha case of ot the state a specific exception was made by b which the state limit of was in addi addition addition addition tion to the existing territorial indebtedness Indebtedness indebtedness edness and even een then the limit Vas Seas Vasto as asto to be applied whenever the Uie territorial debt had been extinguished There is another constitutional clause dause which the city administration seems to have overlooked It is ar article article article 14 H section 3 and it says No o debt in excess I of or the taxes for Cor the current year jear ear shall be created by b bany any city It town or village un unless unless less le I tho proposition shall have been submitted to a vote of such qualified electors as shall sha l have paid a property tax in hr the tha year preceding such eie tion In 1907 the present administration created an indebtedness in excess of its revenue from taxes t amounting to about without authority from r the taxpayers and in plain pl ln violation of this provision pro of or the constitution There here is a serious question also as asto ast t to Lo whether pome Bome ome of the vouchers is ls issued Issued sued In 1907 1917 wore not illegal being In Ine excess e tess ut of u the debt limit As to this r Jf 1 and other detail le ail the financial fin condition there thee Is iss no information information be because because because cause the council its special auditors and all the officials who vho might possibly possibly possibly bly have the Information refuse to tomake tomake tomake make the feats fats f ts known The joyous jOOlS reception accorded Di opinion n by the city hall officials ta w seem to Indicate that in their Judgment a prospective increase In the load of o city debt Is a cause for Jubilation Needless to say that view is confined to the city officials the common citizen would feel much more like celebrating If Dininny or orsome orsome orsome some one else in authority were to discover some way of reducing the thee extravagant expenditures Such Sucha a contingency is unlikely unlike of course because no one In the administration is trying to find a method of ot economizing economizing economizing mizing Their aim in life me is to find how far the debt limit can be stretched to furnish funds for another year of ot municipal dissipation Hap Happily Happily two obstacles are In their path the t e necessity for submitting any an pro proposal proposal proposal for new bonds to a vote ote of the taxpayers and the certainty that no bond Issue in excess of ot the real debt limit could find purchasers at any price no matter what the opinion of the city attorney as to the legal limit Bond buyers have lawyers who pass i upon just such questions as this and a athey they are not influenced in their opinion opinion opinIon ion by b the political exigencies of or city administrations In need of ot cash |
