Show GUARANTEE FUND Last Saturday the supreme court courto of It Utah Ulah ordered Ogden city to pro tide pro Ida ide a guarantee fund to take care careo o oE the special Improvement bonds It the he court courts court's 8 mandate calls caUs for the maximum prevIsIon provision of ot the law was passed In Iii 1921 the he city will be required to set aside a sum equal to a tax of one mill mm on all cit city property For twenty years Ogden's special Including l sidewalls Sewer curbs gutters and street pa have shown delinquencies due to the failure ot of abutting prop prop- property property erty owners to pay promptly with with- withIn withIn within in the time limit There are a number of ot big prop prop- property erty owners l ho ho have not paid on their paving Many small email homes have allowed their heir sidewalk taxes to drag As a result the funds have ave fallen short of ot meeting the special improvement improvement I warrants arrants I or bonds In the legis legis- legislature legislature legislature lature of ot 1921 a number of ot con con- contractors contractors tractors and ad others had bad a measure meaS enacted requiring the general fund und to get back of ol the delinquents delinquent and making provisions tor for fore tore foreclOsure foreclosure closure of ot property on which U ci dil t had not been paid Og- Og Ogden Ogden den Og-den den city contended that the law lawit If retroactive would be unfair work a great hardship on Ogden cit and pour Into the pockets ot of othe he contractors or the holders of otheir I their bonds an unearned profit to- to totaling to totaling a very large largo sum One out out- outside outside side bank Is said to have Improve improve- Improvement ment nent bonds bought at a discount as 1 high gh as 15 per cent At the time the work was done the contractors tors heavily discounted t the Im Ira Improvement provement bonds recognizing the bonds or warrants to be slow pa- pa paper paper pa paper per So under the new law the ret ret- ret retroactive e feature benefits no one other than the he contractors or the purchasers of their paper Ogden city stood prepared to guarantee all special improvement arrants issued since 1920 but re- re re d the piling up of ot an accumulation lation tation of ot delinquencies and convert convert- converting ing lag that heavily discounted paper Into a cash demand on the city Fhe city contented there was no equIty In the move that paper bought at a big discount because It was slow pay should not be boosted to par by an arbitrary act Ogden special Improvement bonds Issued within the past two years have bave sold as 81 high as ST Sper 7 per cent The law as a whole has merit as it provides a away way whereby the of property owners to promptly meet their pa-menth pa gives ves the tho city the power to force collections and in that way p pre prevent vent delinquencies On Once co a guar guar- guarantee guarantee guarantee antee fund of sufficient size is es- es established es established to care for tor all payments on special improvements the bonds should command close to par ar The Theono Theono Theono ono serious objection Is to the ret ret- retroactive retroactive feature which hasi ha upon the city a heavy cash obliga oblIga- oblIgation obligation obligation tion in m meeting paper that at the time Ume of its issuance was discounted as high as 15 per cent But the bonds must be paid at some time and the court may have based its jUdgment on that fact tact fact holding that no great injustice could be Inflict Inflict- Inflicted Inflicted ed Cd bv by suddenly bringing the cities to 10 a basis of ot sound financing on special pedal improvements The public must not Dot contuse confuse special special cial improvement bonds and bonds based on Ogden city's general funds Ogden city's general bonds command a premium Those sold four months ago at 4 per cent brought a premium The case just decided by the su u premo preme court grew out of tho too failure of the state of Utah to pay for the paving In front of the state industrial trial school 1 which ch caused a delin delia delinquency quency in the fund established forthe for tor the tho ho north Washington paving dis di- district district on 00 |