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IMAG0001MINORITY REPORT 0? T ]t OR;:INANCE COILITTEE ON THF ORDINANCE FOR TI•HY: REDUCTICN OF MUNICIPAL "ALARIES. Sanford, Fla., JUly 31st, 18990 Hon. T. J. AFpleyard, Dear cir:- Prest. City Council. As a member of the Ordinance Committee to whom was w referred the BILL for reductions in municipal salaries, I must res..ectively didesir rom the opinion expressed by the Majority of r the committee, .� Al? It has, ever since the revi'on of the ordinances iia 4� 1802, been regarded impor ,°"bile making changes in the Revised O"dinancesi to retain the irimbers of the sections and thereby preserve the index references complete,co that the laws pertaining to certain s7tbjects could be ke?:t toget::er a-l.d readily located by the index. 'dims, since the revision of tree ordinancos, I have been able to ',eel: my ordinance book complete by simply clipping an ordina..ce from the new* a; er, when beim; advertised, and pastizig it at the ?^o'=er place in -�y ordinance book. Hence, notwithsetandig many changes in the lavas since the Revioed Ordinances were printed, � I have a fairly com;lete book of ordinances for ready reference; which the officers of the City and the Council frequently call for when seeking information as to the reading of the law now in force. + i This Bill limier consideration :instead of amending; the old sections 1' to read differently, -preserving the origional Section numbers,seeke s to repeal the numbers as well as the _laws. Not only this, but a r se.arate repealing PlauEe�for each section is embodied. This is � not only awkward but'adds to the verrage unnecestiarily ant Auto i the City to t:.e excenUe of advertising words w:.ich are ;holly zuD- urflucus. If the sections were amended to read differently, no re: e�-ling clause would be necessary. If. , however, a repealing T� Tit^Z^PCtS t(�`.(1`i T(lt. �q P•.Zti t.0 C:.0 ncttct ncc:rtmIrn z« T111 :.anzraci �, (2) 66"6 is ineisted upon for sear there are other sections i., the revised stat»tes or ordinE.nces pertaining to the subject of which thr: Council may nct be infcrmed ,siw ry then, in tnat catie, it would to sufficient to add at the bot`om, this clause: "All laws or ?=arto of la o in co flirt with this ordinance are hereby ap-pealed. " s gle to co, t.tO6 abov er co 'no seek toot erform every �tity FYit e an eye %lection\.d ec/nomy, referred the to the Orclinanc for the purl= xl.resZed, a i ? eratZon. ,,,-.iav Ing revising iit to cn wit:1 the ideas J ailed to do 0 , i objet to itT fi, Ac a member of vour Finance Committee, I have ever sought to keep the exrenses of municipal government within reasonable bc=ds, and have worked for and voted for every ordinance for the rediictinn of salaries of municipal officers and employees until with they were reduced to the lowest point consistent efficient service and the employment of men well qualified for the resr�ective positions. to reduce salaries beloc: the usual and custoiaery salaries of competent men similarly employed in other branches of business, is to make the office undesirable and :^revea good men from seeking Itty. employment, The result would be inevit- able. The offices wculd go a begging, or, va iat is worse, Fiould be fillecl wit!: incompetn:.ts. Anything wortil doing is worth doing well 00 pay and a rm.in.ici.aiity whic'r. cannot,reasorably for worn }:erforrnedif will be tae lover in thr,. long nt2a, It is better to pay a fair price for efficient service and have city bucinecs Troperly attended to than to pay a less sum for having the city business neglected, This zlile will aptly to any businecs, anrT the employer who attempt; to get something for nothing, gets uleftst. ;here is no escape. "Live and let live► is as true to -day as when it was first uttered, ;here are so many things that enters into the consideration of the (?) subject, that a very broad view is nese sary to its full ccrtemp- lation. Progressive citizens subscribe liberally towards any project that i:romises an increased butiiness or 7 75k population, and yet it is ,roposed^ o double up the duties of our city officials by giving these places to men already satisfactorily employed, and compel persons. in ever xray worthy of citizenship to j seek emoployment elsewhere. Will this aosiot the business men. The .-roc-r, t=:e baker ai7d the candle -stick -maker? There is a long tj-ain of incidents in the life of every 100ft family that contrib- ute to the rros;:erity of the city as a whole, and a comunity of interests demcand the reten`Ui; n of worthy inhabitants. The different in salarieti to the exchequer will not compensate for their loss, and it is a shortsighted policy that does not recognize the fact not that the city, as a municipality, is half as poor as the citizens comj;elle!i to find w^ys and eans to live. Our social cvctem de- man ?s t1.at our Churches, Schools, social orders, ewomoements, and business establishments must be su:ported,and population is as important to o•ir ge.leral welfare, and we should be as j elous of CA' 14A as if each was a j nwel of untold value; al:dlose no opportu- nity tn promote and advance their interests. Since the money ,'aid in :Jalaries by the municipality is 4 --rived from taxes, and taxes are collected very lamely from non- residents, and extended here amongst ourselves by the officials to Whom it is j�td, the hone people should be well satisfied wits: the arrangement,- unless there is undue extraviganee in this direction. We all know, and they all ki:ow, that no one is getting more that; a bare living for t::emselves and their Families under the :resent ordi>.ances, The £act that I re resent one of the non-resident tax Fayers with large ro-certies�and several others with considerable Froerty which hardly jays expenses, does not warp my judge-:ent as to t .ae question ul:der consideration. I see the difference between (4) COOL t -.at 1"auceo thrift, Q `a lmony wi11c�4 des^oura es it. You can manage /j t: TL C is _we wit:rl a wise economy and make a success, zy but if you go beyond this and becore mean a .d stingy, your HUMIN W become discouraged and neglectful and in the end you will become �'`�� eou=lly di^couraged and 4 There ic a ha -41y mediI. course to t�rsue, and to go beyond this in either direction, �t P is to invite �h u,�` 7 "�'`' Ca `tis -s 1��•� i� `�'-` `.! �' ' " �'`y �vt . • �z�It is admitted b4Nr Aldermen vino savor t.1s Bill that the position of City ^lerlc, Treasurer, and Asse sor, would leave to go to a clerk already connected with one of our business corporations and the duties of the office combined with the duties he is new performing. riven if the city's business is ever so im ortant and exacting, would #20 per month, wi'h no boss, receive fair treatment arainst $50 or#75 dollars per month already plaid by said incorpo- ration whose eagle eye watches its employees every movement? Then, again, hwv long vrould it be before the corporation salary wo�,ld be cut to meet the cllanged conditions, and the would be office holder nc better oft' t.:an he was before with a double duty to Lerform. There are other considerations. These corporations are heavy tax pavers, doulet the dial aosecsor and faithful servant of both, be influenced in hiss j-1iAgernent as to the value of - ro_�erty ovrned by his other emplover? For one, I v!il' opp©ee 4sW such corlrlicatiol.s. �lhatevcr we ay, let us :ay it t,o a man unbiased by any such 400116 -@w ani when the city gets too ?%oor to ray and control its ovrn officials, had better surrender the city charter and assume 64 s:radeling cloths,-soii , Not king could better i ;dicate when a munici.ality shinuld eeaee to ejxist, tial t e time it is comtelled to farm Out its � to j Qs The higliest order of blzcinec's ability is required in a clerk -Trey user & Aeseetior. His bumFs of caution, attentiveness, and roliteness must be well developed. And to be •- = r�"?'i�r efficient, he must have excerience and brains. I do not know of another rositl.on in the city wilere there is greater � resronsibility. TherC is a long and complicated list of duties running all through the ordinances, and ?iany of them accomranied by or.ecial dates when these duties mutt be attended to. To neglect SFv � to rel�ferm them or. time✓ ie a violation of law which tax payers would promy.t1,✓ avail them0elves of. At least a .fear tax pavers zam rould, regardleso of the rights of others. To undertake to recite the .details of t.ie duties of t..is officer would not empathize this argl-iment beccauoe Nre are all more or less informed in regard to tree and we know that even the duties of the Council wo?xld be frequently overlooked except for t :e watchful brain of ail efficient Clerk. Ac to the financial condition of the city. I viiil save an For a nimber of Nears, as the result of,� iii jiidged attempt at eccnomy, in the limiting of taxation, and by the imrrovment of our cererc and st,-eets which was a mliniciYal neeesUity, the city was compelled to exrend more than co•.1ld be realized from taxes, T3114 , the C01.1110il :i"ely carried on the munici ality with a warra..t, do wor,7ed, that it could not become a vehicle of oP- recSvlon Jr, the h?nds of selfish creditors. To -day, ;otwitnsta-nding the freezes and other depressing influences, tiie city is holding its own, and gr:=dually refunding its warrents 1. r�0 Year bonds on whici� the Interest is bei --:g raid : romrtl' �• We are Confident of better times ahead and should persue the even tenor of our v;av and not pet "rattledu and disccmforted by the"calamity howler". 'We should not allow Smalm discourap-merts to Induce convulsive sniffling, When we do this we destroy nope�and the future Wi�T be black and abysmal. �To one can know, and few believe that suitable candidates will se=} for service under such hard and_ unreasonable conditions! There -fore the paccage of such a law m1g;1t result in a small saving to the ^.ity, and it might result in comy.lete chaos. Hence tiAe bill under consideration is cleGrly speculative in its character; and as such, is beneath the dignity of law, if not in contempt of j-rs*tice. lith all i ue resl=ect to the other members of the ordinance eomTnittee, I am compelled to recommend that tike Bill do not pass. Respe^tfully Submitted, A