Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-07-21 | Page 18 | Commission Fights Increase in Taxes

r. COMMISSI FiSHTS INCREASE IN TAXES Plan Expected to Be Effected Ef-fected to Stay Within 6 7-8 Mills Levy. BUDGET TO BE SIFTED Problem of Raising of Wages for Laborers Confronts Con-fronts Officials. Endeavor to rut the cloth of revi utic to fit the ever -growing figure of municipal munici-pal expenditures proved to lie shirtsleeve work lor the city commission yesterday. yester-day. Tho five commissioners and the eity "i auditor put in a long hot day at the 'isk, finally adjourning at. o o'clock until un-til J o'clock Monday afternoon. At , thai, ' iii.e it, in expected that a plan ' !l I.e evolved whereby it will be po.,.-. to stay with u'lis mills levy, an inc., use ot' ' .-f a mill over the levy of I i.-i year. A saving Hi' . i'"0 vas made at a hI roke win ii lit.- ;h pr"prial ion made in Janunrv f-r nnuj-n , imi of the gravity grav-ity outlet" sewer vu s v. inim $77,000 to City lngin ! Sy I venter Q. ( Jinnnn reported that not more than $53,000 payment on tho work would be necessary this year. On the otlier hand, a showing from the waterworks department that $;W,-Oiio $;W,-Oiio would be needed for the laying of water-main extensions asked and vitally vi-tally needed. 1 n add it ion tn this, the firemen and policemen have asked for a! 10 per cent raise of salary schedule.; This won Id require an additional appropriation ap-propriation of 10,000 to these departments. depart-ments. An appropriation of $J5U0 was voted tn take care of raises in the health department and of $1440 for like purpose in the street department, Increase Opposed. n( (mo of the commissi on era was willing to advocate any considerable increase in-crease in tho tax levy. Commissioner Karl A. JScheid was insistent that econ-omv econ-omv be interjected wherever possible in tho revision of the budget. Jle objected ob-jected to raises of salaries for three liremen at the public safety building, ask i ng why t hroe firemen were needed at the present time, and was informed that they were required to keep hot water ftr the emergency hospital. It was apparent that if tho appro-, priation for water-main extensions and J that for raises of the salaries of the i firemen and Policemen be not allowed, the eity could worry by on the revenue i from 0"s milles, with an unappropriated surpbis of $:!l',000. As it looked at the adjournment of the budget "committee last night, the allowance of these would crowd t he levy above the mark that has been set as a dead Hue. This problem prob-lem will concern the commission at Monday afternoon's meeting. The problem of the water-main extensions exten-sions is especially a serious one, recognised recog-nised as such by all of the commissioners. commis-sioners. It was submitted on its merits mer-its by Commissi one- Stephen B. Newman, New-man, witli a report thowing that many extensions are being clamored for now that will pay the legally required 6 per cent on the investment. Commissioner lleber M. Wells of the street department, however, was (lis j -. "! to regard the water-main extern i' on tV; ; as having been as much vf w..,j i.aviiu : the defeat of the in.ii v .--ip-'. . : nested that if the -tnMpri;u 1 - :j for :e -'X tensions is allowed al-lowed uuc of si P.1' - ; he paving of tenter street wriM :as much in order. or-der. Other i-oiiHiH.-HiiH'rM thought the need of water in homes n ore essential. Raise in Wages. The raising of wages - " ' -ers 1 throughout the system. :. ..i ad ditional expense of $0(y' ,,: , r, nas made the problem of tii. i'ci v b ul- get without a consider;.;- iii.'jvase in levy the more difficult. The attitude taken was that a living wage must be paid to the laborers first and the trimming trim-ming of expenses conducted along Hues not likely to work a hardship with regard re-gard to living. That the entire budget may be gone over again Monday is possible from the disposition of the committee at adjourning ad-journing time last evening. hi the meantime, each one of the committee is cudgeling his brains to devise some means of effecting an economy that will show a way out of the dilemma.