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Show i The Budget PRELIMINARY figures for Salt Lake City's budget for 1938 call for disbursement of $3,338,890.31 to cover departmental and all other normal costs for the year ahead. This is $M,392.69 Ies than the estimated revenue for the period, the total expected being $3,291,383. The budget for 1938 exceeds the 1937 budget as orginally adopted by $187,131.13. Additional appropriations appropria-tions made during 1937, however, have brought 1937 city expenditures to within $15,475 of the propose IMS budget total. The 1938 budget contemplates a blanket raise In pay for firemen and policemen of $10 each per month. It also provide for restoring to other city employes the 2 Vi per cent cut in wages and salaries ordered several years ago aa depression de-pression economy. The community wiU applaud and approve this proposal to bring payroll fig-urea fig-urea up to those prevailing in other cities of comparable populations. This U simple justfce to underpaid employes and will be reflected in stimulated spending in business here. Commissioner Murdoch, chief of the city finance department, eatimates that if the budget U approved there ia likelihood that the city Ux levy of 15 mills may prevail in 1938. Though the 1938 budget figures as submitted show healthy increases allotted to each department, various commissioners, speaking unofficially, declare that they will resist the proposed departmental de-partmental totals "because they do not adequately ade-quately provide" for their departments. Thia breaking out of tha desire of political ambition 1 not wholly unexpected. But the taxpayers will demand that the city live within its income. Not to do so will mean deficit at the end of the year, and deficit at the end of the year will mean an increase in the tax burden. The commissioner may as well know now ss at any other time that to go beyond the already al-ready increased totals in tha preliminary budget will be to court reprisals by taxpayers. |