Show MAYORS MESSAGE MR BROWNING REVIEWS HIS PAST administration OF TWO YEARS reports of the various city officers condensed and commented upon claims successful adminis tra tion following fallowing Fal lowing is the annual report of M S bromine which ancor borates mayor and condenses the report of all t and members of the city council arthe last two years that we have been associated together in go ing the municipal affairs of 1 I 1 nave submitted to your honorable body certain recommendations for ane cites welfare which have been favorably acted upon by you and which have rebounded redounded ed very much to alie cites interest I 1 have kept you advised from time to time ot matters that were for the best interests of ogden city As this administration is about to go out of office for your information and for the information of the people at large I 1 will summarize the principal events that have taken place in the cites affairs during the last two years this administration inherited a largo floating indebtedness which had been accumulating for years we also fell heir to a number of large claims for hydrant rentals and legal expenses left over by former administrations and in addition we have had other large and unusual ex we have met notwithstanding these exceptional drawbacks we have kept our expenses further below the actual receipts exclusive of bond issues alian any former administration and the city is in better financial condition today than it has for years we have not accomplished this by sacrificing public improvements and repairs for it is a fact that we have done more work on the streets than lias been done for several years and we have extended the sewer system a distance of two blocks wea have also disbursed more than has been expended jor several years previous in repairing and improving our public buildings and in beautifying the public grounds and have done more in improving the roads in alic cemetery alian the work done in all former years we have prepared plans specifications etc for paving washington avenue from twenty second to twenty sixth streets and have contracted with J P cneill for doing the work at a very reasonable egure this administration has decreased the indebtedness of ogdan city as follows overdraft on treasurer lias been decreased bonds retired in addition we have paid the following amounts hydrant rentals amount incurred by former ad ministrations legal services eer vices rendered former administrations back salaries amount incurred by former ad ministrations total very substantial gain lias been made in the face of conr waging a very vigorous war against the waterworks water works companies which made our legal expenses over more than they would have been otherwise we had three smallpox epidemics increased the of the health commission and the charity fund over more than would have been alic case otherwise not been for these two alone we would have gained oscr more than the amount shown above thia administration has refunded in C per cent bonds at 4 per cent making an annual saving to the city of 1600 interest the fact that we were able to secure money at auch low rate of interest and the further fact that the city warrants have been at par practically all of the two years shows our credit to be most excellent the reduction of this interest in ferest as well aa tho reduced interest on the bonds refunded by alic last preceding administration enabled your honorable body to so amend the sinking fund as to divert per year to the general fund a sum w cieli had heretofore been used for the payment of interest the cites indebtedness for the year 1889 1900 and 1901 forms an interesting comparison and i shown as follows s bonded debt 1899 floating debt consisting of overdraft on treasurer 1899 total bonded debt 1900 floating debt consisting of overdraft on treasurer 1000 bonded debt 1901 floating debt consisting of overdraft on treasurer 7 total aswill be seen from the above figurea our wag increased little over the past year although it waa reduced over tho previous year but it inest be remembered that in alie past year 1901 we paid hydrant rentals and judgment for the baic amounting to it will alao be seen as heretofore shown that the floating debt at present h ica than when this administration entered upon its duties and in addition the bonded debt has been reduced the past two years our receipts and disbursements for the two acara just ended have been as follows dis for 1900 for 1901 total we have alao reduced the price of treet arc lights from 78 to 72 per light per annum POLICE department on account of tho large amount of railroad work in the vicinity of ogdan and the fact that several construction companies are making this city their headquarters hear quarters and paying point the city hag been the gathering place for an unusual number of alic rougher class which ha the police department considerable trouble in spite of aliis tho ecaca of the ity city c lias been well maintained and there have been no serious on life and but very few holdups or other serious crimes as compared with other western cities nl i the department has been carefully conservatively ana conduct eil and there are no factions or ds alons from 0 financial eland point tho department lias made showing in fact 1 do not think another police department in tho united slates has made proportionally as bood a showing during the past year hiie department has covered into the city treasury in cash and crediting them with days commitments at per day makes a total credit of the entire of the department has been 8 leaving a balance to its credit of 2 in tho expense of the depart ment was the sura of 6 was turned into the treasury and 2174 days commitments at per day makes a total credit of 48 there were 1104 arrests in 1900 and 1719 during tho past year ahe department now consists of a chief a captain a detective and eight patrolmen which h two patrolmen more than we had ladt year HUE department this department is in excellent condition it is being ably and economically handled and the fact that insurance rates have been reduced the last two years is very complimentary to its efficiency during the last two years the department has answered calls the total fire losi during these two years lias been of which was insured and was uninsured a very email nrc loss considering the number of fires at present there are ten men including the chief and a boy at station 1 and twenty three call men at station no 3 the department lias cost the city during the last two years 12 per year which includes new nose horses and apparatus STREET department when it is understood that we bava eighty three jmiles of streets to improve and keep in repair n can be readily seen that it takes a great deal of labor to do so during tile past two years they hara been kept in very good condition anu several important improvements have been made on them alic expense of this work for 1900 was and for 1901 a total of WATER SUPPLY during 1000 over 20 miles of street were sprinkled per day at an expense of in 1001 about twenty five miles were sprinkled at an expense of which includes the purchase of three new sprinklers lers at a cost of 1005 the expenses 01 protecting our right to the waters of strongs and waterfall canyons and other expenses several miles more of streets were sprinkled the past year than were ever covered before RECORDERS OFFICE in this office all records and documents are kept and indexed in an able systematic and approved manner and can readily be referred the recorder reports that your honorable body has held 65 meetings this year as against 55 in 1900 the total meetings held for the last year of me preceding administration was 35 which gives a fair idea I 1 of the additional labors which have been performed in the recorders office during the past two years twenty one ordinances were passed by your honorable body during the past two years as against eighteen ordinances in 1899 the total receipts of the recorders office for the was for 1900 it was and for 1899 LEGAL department from ahe report attorney macmullan Mac MUlan it appears that there are pending and leave been tried in the district coura of ivener county during the present administration seven civil actions and five criminal notions that there Is one case pending on appeal to the supreme court of this state that there arc pending in the circuit court of the united states at salt rjake city three cases and one in alie district court of salt lake county during the last two years damage suits aggregating over have been tried against ogden city all of which after long and hotly contested trials in eacle instance resulted in a verdict for the city no cause of action a record which I 1 believe has not been equalled equal led heretofore in ogden city the most important case now pending in which ogden city appears as a party is probably the case of ogden city vs bear lake and river water works and irrigation company in the district court of salt lake county in this case ogden city in december 1900 obtained a judgment for 91 but on account of a defect in the complaint a new trial was granted an amended complaint has been served upon the defendants and new parties brought in as defendants so that this defect lias been remedied and it is confidently expected that a retrial re trial of thia case upon the amended complaint will result in a judgment for ogden city for the value of the old water system for the earn ings which that system would have produced to the date of trial and also for hydrant rentals paid by ogden city to the various water companies alio have operated alic present system which judg mant will be a first lien upon the arcs ent system of waterworks water works in the united states circuit court at salt lake city there is pending a case brought by the ogden waterworks Water works company against ogden city to quiet tho title of alie present system of water works in ogden in that company ogden city lisis by ilg answer raised the same issues case ag are raised in the case pending in the district court of salt lake county there is also bendin in the circuit court a case brought by W C weaver receiver lp obtain judgment for water hydrant rental alleged to bo duo under the IS otwell contract ahe answer of he city filed in this cabe taisey were not raised in tho longcr case brought by mr weaver for rentals under the same contract and it hoad tnt the new alca bcd the city will with be able to defend the ease so I 1 all le prevented from obtaining a judgment under thia contract obtained fraud department atio city engineers report herewith n complete and comprehensive and I 1 mu this say deportment hag been managed most carefully and ef and tho work connected it hay been done in a thorough and manner SANITARY department the condition and the erol health of the people gen arc at present very good theror being no smallpox at present neither has there been durin tho pant year very 0 many cabes of con diseases ns compared with neighboring cities thia I 1 consider is largely duo to alie eternal vigilance of the sanitary inspector during tho past year there have been births and deaths in 1000 were births and deaths nearly all cities the eize of ogden in lg fc i tho united states have public libraries these are and should bo free to all heretofore such lias not been the caso in this city but with the opening of tho present year ogden will bo in possession of a free public library through tho munificence of sir andrew carnegie ogden haa been able to erect a beautiful and most appropriate structure at the cost of which will bo ready for occupancy in a few months your honorable body by resolution lias provided alie sum of 2500 yearly for its maintenance so that in a short time ogden will be in possession of its own freo public library the new library will be governed by a board of nine directors of which II 11 II 11 thomas president of your honorable body ia a member alie present library biad 2300 books at the beginning of 1900 and have 2875 at alio present date the circulation was in 1900 and in 1901 tho city has paid per year to aid in its maintenance te nance AUDITORS the arduous work in this moat important emco omco has always been done with dispatch and the greatest precision every account balancing exactly the auditors report an unusual amount of cash in the treasurers treasur ers hands but alm is on account of the county collector turning over a large amount of taxes of 1001 on december 30 which did not give the treasurer time to call in the outstanding warrants for that amount in turning over the administration of affairs to the newly elected officers wo also leave for their use the sum of is due on the 1901 tax role from alma D chambers county treasurer and which had not been collected and turned ocr during 1001 A more elaborate and comprehensive report of the cites present condition and what has been done in the two years of this administration may be found in the reports of tho various departments which arc submitted to you herewith yours very respectfully MATTHEW S BROWNING mayor of ogden city |