CITY IS
amendment that will leave the
HAMPERED BY
LACK OF FUNDS
June Budget Shows
That Either Schools
or Streets Must
Suffer, While Much
Needed Sewer Work
Will Have to Go Over.
The Atlanta Constitution,
June 14, 1914
With appropriations, which are
meager and insufficient to meet
the growing demands of the
city, the June budget, carrying
$5,022.723 18, part of which
represents items carried over
from last year, will be presented
to council this afternoon.
Two budgets will be offered.
Chairman W. H Humphrey will
offer one and Alderman C H
Kelley will offer the other. The
issue which will be advanced
when the sheets are offered will
be whether Atlanta schools are
to be given preference over
street improvements.
Chairman Humphreys’ sheet
proposes taking $10,000, at
least, from the South Pryor
Street .re-grading fund and
applying the money to the
appropriation for schools to
launch the re-organization plans
recently adopted by the school
board. Alderman Kelley will offer
a substitute sheet with an
Pryor street money intact.
The Kelley amendment proposes
taking $5,125 from asphalt
repairs, $1,000 from streets
ordinary of the second ward,
$950 from Georgia Avenue
paving fund,. $472.77 from
Georgia Avenue re-grading fund,
$250 from West Mitchell, $300
from stockade clothing fund,
$250 from the "penny lunch”
fund of schools, $501.84 from
payroll at Oakland cemetery,
$1,000 from insurance und, and
$12,165 from bridges, paint and
repair funds.
Where Money Would Go.
The amendment proposes
adding the money taken from
the above funds to the
following: Cherokee avenue
paving $5,000, Normal School,
$1,599; fire extinguishers in
schools, $701.50, Ira Street
improvements, $250, salary of
primary school supervisor six
months, $720, principal of
Normal School, $871, assistant
$580, and twelve teachers,
$2,2730. The items apportioned
for the teachers represents
salary for four and six months.
Regardless of the issue raised
by the finance committee,
members of council who have
been struggling for years and
months for more sewer and
construction work are going to
have an inning. The Butler and
Highland Avenue sewer
agitation will be aired in council.
Alderman Albert Thompson and
Councilman Claude L. Ashley, as
whose instances Mayor
Woodward called a special
meeting of the finance
committee, sewer committee
and bond committee
Wednesday afternoon, are going
to the heard from. They want
Council to take $52,000 from
the unexpended sewer bond
balance and use it on the
extension of the Butler and
Highland sewers.
City Losing Money
In January the finance
committee gave the fourth ward
$25,000 for Butler and Highland
Avenue sewers. To complete
Butler Street sewer the city
needs $14,000 and about
$60,000 is needed on Highland
Avenue. The $60,000 is more
than the ward has for the
project.
Out of the total $1,359,498.08
of the bond money voted for
sewers, there is a balance
unexpended amounting to
$219,910.51.
The balance is in the bank
drawing or earning a meager 2
per cent, whereas the city is
paying the bondholders 4 1/3
per cent.
The scheme of the fourth ward
members is to put the banked
bond money to work. They
proposed putting back into the
treasury the $25,000 from the
sewer fund, and $27,000 from
the engineers contingent fund
which amounts to $52,000. By
this method of transferring the
funds the fourth ward members
hoped the $25,000 they would
put back could be made
available for departmental
purposes, and would also
restore the $7,000 taken from
the street ordinary
Chairman Fletcher Quillian did
not approve the fourth ward
proposition. He took the
position that the transferral of
the funds as proposed by the
fourth ward delegation would
not be legal. He also stated that
he was opposed to the
expenditure of any part of the
bond money except for the
specific projects set forth in the
bond ordinance.
No Sewer Relief In Sight
Hence the fourth ward
representative, after thoroughly
going into the proposition, will
have nothing more than $2,500
to complete the sewer up to a
point on Ponce de Leon Avenue,
and means that residents of the
fourth, ninth, sixth and eighth
wards, instead of getting the
immediate relief they have been
hoping and praying for, will be
exposed to nauseous odors
which percolate through the
sewer openings and the disease
which may result.
It is doubtful whether the
general council will pass the
sheet Thursday afternoon.
Some members of the finance
committee have a scheme
where they hope to get the
consent of council to dispose of
some invaluable property
estimated to be worth about
$30,000. if the property can be
sold for $25,000 the money will
greatly relieve the strained
condition of the treasury. But
there is considerable opposition
in the present council against
the sale of any city property,
particularly in view of the fact
that the city will be needing
property to meet the growing
demands for new schools, fire
engine houses and other
facilities.

Graham West, chief clerk in the

comptroller’s office, has been
instructed to draw up a
resolution authorizing the mayor
to appoint a committee of three
to investigate the property
listed as being of no immediate
use to the city, and to take
steps in the direction of
advertising it for sale by the city
marshal.

The resolution will be presented

to the council along with the two
finance sheets.