Council Proceedings: April 20, 1900: Part 1 of 2

Petition

25

FILED 3/19 1900 Jno T. Montgomery by W. Estes

18

FILED 4/20 900 Jno T. Montgomery CITY SECRETARY

Fort Worth, Texas 4/20 1891900

Be it Resolved

We, Your Committee The Hon. Mayor City Council

Gentlemen

I hereby appoint John Leems. Policeman at standard Theater. to be paid by proprietor of said Theater

Yours Truly W. M. Rea Chief of Police

approved R. H. Tucker John F. Lehane J. T. Montgomery

Police Com

Police

REPORT OF

Resolution of

Filed 4/20 1900 Jno T. Montgomery City Secretary

To the Honorable City Council of Fort Worth:-

Gentlemen:-

In assuming charge of the affairs of the City it is but proper that you should know the exact status of the City Government. To this end I commend to you reports of the various departments for the year that has passed and also submit some views and recommendations, as the chief executive of our administration. We are confronted with grave problems of finance and government which will require united action, executive ability and hard work upon our part to successfully handle. The financial condition of the City is deplorable! overburdened with debt, with no means to make necessary repairs and improvements, and an insufficient water supply and no money to furnish one; a deficit of $200,000.00 in the reserve sinking fund which is yearly growing greater, with sanitary conditions demanding reform and a lack of means to improve them; with streets urgently in need of repairs and the appropriation for the fiscal year already overdrawn. This is the condition which confronts the new administration which must be appaling to you as it is to me.

_F_I_N_A_N_C_E_S

The finances of the City are not in as good condition as we would like to find them. It is an easy matter to say that the finances of the city are al right, because there is $105,000.00 in the treasury. The late Finance Committee only last November labored hard and long over the budget for the present year, and were unable to make the expenses come within the income, even after they had cut the appropriation for Interest and Sinking fund to $84,800.00 from $149,580.00, which it really amounts to after leaving the Water Works Department to meet the interest and sinking fund on the old Water Works bond assumed by the City on the purchase of the plant in 1885. The Interest which amounts to $10,500.00 per annum and the minimum amount required for Sinking fund is $3,000.00 per annum. After making this great reduction of over $64,000.00 and making appropriations for other departments that would not suffice--for instance I will cite you to the street and alley appropriation of $15,000.00. In six months they have expended over $21,000.00 or over $6,000.00 more than the appro