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November 28th,
<br />
<br /> 6. Every mile~ of street provided with moderm sewers and high-grade paving and sidewalks
<br />will cost, on the average, $~0,000.00, with an annual inter,st and sinking fund charge of
<br />$~600.00. Were tP~s arnuu~l charge paid by the abutting owners, it would add to his taxes
<br />$~5 for each front foot or $13.75 for a let having a frontage' of 25 feet- assuredly a small
<br />charge for good sidewalks, sanitary sewers and drains, and smooth paving.
<br /> 7- A refereno~ to paragraph 1 of this~letter shows that each dollar-of the City's income
<br />for 1923-will be spent as follows:
<br />
<br /> General Government ....................... 6.6
<br /> Public Safety ........... ~ ................ 19.5
<br /> Public Welfare. .......................... 9%2
<br /> Highways ................ ~ ................ 2'5
<br /> Charities & Oorreotlons.~ ........... ' ..... 2~0
<br /> kduoation & Recreation..~ ................ 26.8
<br /> Markets & Cemeteries ..................... 1.6
<br /> interest & Sinking Fund .................. 21.5
<br /> 8th & 9th Wards .......................... 9-3
<br /> Miscellaneous. ......................... =. 1.0
<br />
<br /> Total, 100.0~
<br />
<br /> It should be noted that the hea~ng "Public Welfs~e" includes not only supervision
<br /> of health but the collection of night soil, the m~inten~nce a~d repair of sewers, strmet clean-
<br /> ing, collection of trash and garbage, operation of the Incinerator, Stables, and the expenSes
<br /> connected with the Sealer of Weights &n~easttres. The actual cost of the Healt~Department
<br /> propem is only $2~,000.00, or less than $.50 per capita, w~ereas both the Fe¢~eral Health De-
<br /> partment and the State Health Department ~stimate that a minimum of $1.OO per capita is neces-
<br /> sary for this purpose. It is seen from this table that Public Safety, Public Welfare, Educa-
<br /> tion & Recreation, Interest and Sinking Fund, and the 8th and 9th Wards, all absolutely unes-
<br /> capable expenditures, require 86.3% of our total income, leaving only 13.7~ for all other pur-
<br /> poses.
<br /> 8. A raise in the tax rate is regrettable an~ affects seriously our ls~rger tax payer whose
<br /> taxes~will be increased probably $500. to $750. by an increase of ten cents in the rate. A
<br /> man having property mssessed at $5,000.00 will pay only $5.00 additional annus~lly as a result
<br /> of a ten cent increase, and will evidently not be affected materiall~.o ~he only al~erna~iv$$
<br /> to an increase ~n the rate mrs: (a) decrease in ~ber of employees, (b) decreas~ ~n sa£ar~es
<br /> or wages; (c) a combination of (a) and (b), A small d~crease in the number of employees ane
<br /> in the wages cE drivers and in a limited number of other cases is being recommended. A further
<br /> de,ease in the number of employees will result only in our City work being less well maintained
<br /> and streets kept less eleven than at present. With the cost of living again rising and little,
<br /> if any, ~acrease in rent, I c~u not bring myself to recommend further decrease in salaries.
<br /> The first and second alternatives being inadvisable, the third is obviously e~ually so. It is,
<br /> therefore, recommended that the tax rate be fixed at $2.20 for the Old City and at an average
<br /> of $1,~5 for the 8th and 9th Wards for the Year 1923, and thmt the Budget be approved as sub-
<br /> mitted.
<br />
<br /> We can not h~ve a progressive an~ growing City with sewers, p~ved streets, proper
<br /> sanitation, parks, play~ounds, proper Fire ~nd Police protection, libraries, and p~blicbuild-
<br /> inge, without m~king th~ sacrifloes needed to pmy for them, and funds for paying for them can
<br /> come only from tax~tion in one form or another.
<br />
<br />"Respectfully yours,
<br />
<br /> On motion of Mr. White, the report and budget ~r~'r~ 't e
<br /> 2nd. Notice that on March22nd, 1922, M~. W~J. ~ilkins was appointed substitute poticem~n
<br />at the request of the~Portsmouth_Bas~Ball League for special duty at the Base Bail Park. As
<br />the baseball season is at an end, he is revoking Mr. Wilkin's appointment as~ substitute police-
<br />man, effective ~oFember 15th.
<br /> On motion, the notice was ordered to be filed.
<br />
<br /> 3rd. "Section $$0 of our Charter as amended by an Act of the General Assembly approved
<br />N~roh 10th, 1922, requires that the funds and other securites belonging to the Sinking FUnd
<br />shall be deposited in such banks doiligbusiness in the City of P~rt~smguth as m~.yi~e selected
<br />by the City Council. It is recommended that these banks be'design~ze~ as requ~ree,
<br /> I would suggest that the funds be considered under two heads:
<br /> (a) Stable or semi-stable funds which should be divided equally among all the banks,
<br /> (b) Checking account funds which for the purpose of convenience should be placed
<br />in a single bank."
<br />
<br /> On motion of ~r. Esleeck, it was resolved that the Council authorize the Sinking
<br /> to be deposited in the following Banks: American National, Merchants & Farmers, the Barzk
<br />of Tidewater, First National B~nk, The State Bank of Portsmouth, and The 0itizens~ Trust~Oo-
<br /> ~tho "With reference to communication from the Portsmouth 0hamber of 0ommerce relative~o
<br />facilities which might be offered manufacturers by the City Governmentto induCe ~hese manu-
<br />fact-o_rers zo locate in Portsmouth, I beg to recommend that I be authorized ~ the
<br />Chamber of Commerce that the Portsmouth Water ~epartment will after Js~u~ry ~ a
<br /> rate both to new and old manufacturing concerns in the Ci~y of Portsmouth, tha CounSy of Nor-
<br /> folk, and the City of Suffolk, ~ least as fmvorable as is supplied by any other ~ater Depart-
<br /> I believe also that the City shou'ld pledge itself to construct from any f~ctory in
<br /> the City employing fifty or more hands a hard-surfaced road to the nearest paved street. Ne
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