Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-12-30 | Page 65 | Revenue is $21,000 Less; Expense $20,000 More; Paving is Large Item

REVENUE IS $21,000 LESS; EXPENSE $20,000 MORE; PAVING IS LARGE ITEM Administration Successfully Meets Situation With a "Pay-asYou-Go" Policy; Grand Total for Public Improvements Is $417,153.70. Dl-SPITE a loss of ?2t,000 in city revenues due to the effect of state-wide prohibition, Ogden city will complete the year "on the riKht side of the ledger," accord - Ing to City Auditor Arthur J". Larson, and Wr also meet increased expenditures resulting result-ing from an extensive campaign of public improvements. Virtually every municipal department will show increased expenditures expendi-tures for 1017 as compared with 191(1, the increase for engineering being 520,000 over the amount spent during the previous twelve months. The administration's policy of "pay as you go' adopted in I Ml 6, was continued throughout the year now closing with the result that all outstanding warrants against the 1916-1917 administration will be paid by January 1, 191S, or the money will be on hand for payment, according to the auditor. During 1916 about $30,000. was paid on indebtedness incurred during dur-ing 1915, but warrants amounting to ap-proximately ap-proximately $107,000. which were unpaid aQ the time the present administration took charge of muncipal affairs, are still outstanding. Borrow From Banks. During the present year, as in 1916, current expenses were jmet by loans from local banks on short time notes, or from i ecenue-producing municipal departments. depart-ments. As a result of this plan tiie administration ad-ministration escaped the higher rate of interest charged on outstanding warrants. The city's portion of the annual taxes and the license revenues ere used to tiike up these notes and departmental pledges. The extensive programme of public improvements im-provements during 1917, which resulted in a total expenditure of approximately S.VWi.OOO, was not charged entirely to the property owners, for the Madison avenue storm sewer, cosLing $25,S0S.-13, was constructed con-structed entirely at the expense of the general fund. The cost of paving intersections inter-sections for two large districts was- also a large item for the city treasury to . handle. The of fictiil figures covering expend i-1 i-1 U'-cs in the various municipal departments depart-ments will net be. a callable until after January A, 191S, according lo City Auditor Au-ditor i. arson. Mis com pa rn live statement, state-ment, however, showing total' expenditures? expendi-tures? for 1915 and 191U. together with the first ten months of the present year, its as follows: Ten months Denartment 19! f. IMG. 1917. Police $40,219.77 ?39.6t'G.07 $.13.32.71 Fire 30.7S7.ll 33.722.20 30. 5SB.7S Health N. 619. 10 !l..i27.9S 1 0.Sol. 57 Streets 73.5U7.50 59, S M.MS -19. -176. 12 Engineering.. 53,9 10.94 6-"., 97;;. 97 So, 013. 75 Parks a n d cemetery .'. 8,723. ML 11,103.78 14, 676. 30 Paving Big Item Whih- there was a determined protest from the property owners in a very concrete con-crete form, the" fart remains that the 1917 administration prosecuted a vigorous programme of public improvements to its completion with an outlay for paving alone of $321,255.25. Approximately $25o,-uoo $25o,-uoo of this amount was expended on two districts which give Ogden twenty-four additional blocks of asphalt paving. The principal improvement of the year in the paving line was the construction of an asphalt pavement on South "Washington "Wash-ington avenue between Twenty-eighth street and the south city lirhits, thereby providing virtually the last lifj k in a hard-surfaced hard-surfaced highway between tthe business districts of Ogden and Salt' Lake. This Improvement was made, possible largely through the efforts of the Weber county commissioners in having Washington avenue ave-nue declared a state road, thereby procuring pro-curing about ?2o,00u from the state high-! high-! way fund. The total cost of sewers constructed during the year, including the Madison avenue storm sewer, was $71,9$$. 7 7, according ac-cording to the figures to be used by Cit Kngiur.er Joseph M. Tracy in his forthcoming forth-coming annual report. Anothei important, item in the list of public improvements for the year was the completion of Butler way, a unique and serviceable structure of parking and concrete work which provides pro-vides a pedestrian passageway between Fuller avenue at the south end and Twenty-sixth street. The expenditure was $9JLO.S7. , Public Improvements. Figures on the various fcrnis of public improvements during 1917, as furnished by ( Mly Ungineor Tracv. are as follows: Paving District Xo 121. ?.12.2SS.T3; district dis-trict No. 22 $35,890.35: district Xo. 123, $25.0111.94: district Xo. 121, S9110.S7; district, dis-trict, Xo. 125, $121,915.38: total, $32 f. 255.25. j Sewers District Xo. 135, ?H,S56.54; dis-i dis-i trict Xo. 1-6, $21iio.0ii; district Xo. 137. S2513.&M; district No. 13S. $2S.S0U.31: Madison Madi-son avenue storm sewer, S25.S0S.12; Twenty-third street relief sewer, $910; total for sewers. $71,9SS77. Curb and gutters. 813,262.71; sidewalks, $ 1 6-16.97: grand total for all improvements. ?M7. 153.70. Due to the effect of the world war upon markets and because of the federal government's gov-ernment's rei 'i ues t that public improvement improve-ment campaigns be curtailed as much as possihle, the administration found it necessary nec-essary to abandon its plan for rebuilding the sewer system of the city tins year. In this connection it had been planned to provide the Third ward witli an efficient sewage system, but these contemplated improvements must become the duty of some future administration.