Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 196, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 August 1911 — Examination of Trustee's Books Less Expensive This Tear. [ARTICLE]

Examination of Trustee's Books Less Expensive This Tear.

• . —- It is probable that ail the reports have been made of tlie examination of the books of the township trustees this year, but they are not made to t’ie county auditor, but to the advisory board of the trustee, and are supposed to be open to public inspection, so if any taxpayer of any township wishes to know how his trustee stands with the board of examination, be can find out by consulting the president of the advisory board, to whom tue report is sent. In Marlon township the report was recently sent to H. W. Wood, Sr., and it shows H. E. Parkison, trustee, to have all of his books in excellent condition, and> he is credited with conservatism and businesslike management of the affairs of the township. Only two small, errors were discovered in his accounts of the previous year. He had paid the members of his old advisory board $lO each, they having had some extra work to do. The examiners turhed this down, and allowed them only $5 each and Trustee Parkison returned sls to the township treasury, being out the sls himself. His other error was a mistake of 20 cents, which he had neglected to pay to some one, but the report does not say to whom. The township fund was 20 cents long thereby, but the report said that he had promised to hunt up the party and draw another voucher in his favor for the 20 cents, thereby giving him all that was coming and squaring the books of the township. Examinations were less expensive this year than last, but the field men were careful not to take more than one trustee in a single day. Three townships got in this year under the new rate of $8 per day for each examiner, but the others all paid at the old rate of $lO per day. Only one day was required in each township, except'Union and Walker, as will be seen by the following list of the expense of the past two years:

• 1910 1911 Barkley $40.75 $20.68 .Carpenter 1 60.75 20.68 Gillam 40.75 16.68 Hanging Grove 25.75 20.68 Jordan 50.75 20.68 Kankakee 40.75 16.68 Keener 50.75 20.68 Marion ....... 40.75 20.68 Milroy 40.76 16.68 Newton : 40.75 20.68 Union 60.75 42.68 Walker ..... 103.40 61.48 Wheatfield 40.75 20.68 Total township cost,. 637.46 319.64 Other examinations: Remington school town $61.43 City of Rensselaer 201.43 Rensselaer school town 61.43 Town of Wheatfield 32.83 Wheatfield school town 32.83 County offices £79.10 $1,332.03 The aggregate sum paid in the two years of field examiners for county, city, town and township work is $2,289.13. This money was paid by the taxpayers of Jasper county. With the reduced pay for the field examiners the cost in a county like Jasper for a full examination every year should not exceed SSOO, and possibly not that much if the examiners would hustle a little. It wouid seem that two examiners should go over the accounts of three or four trustees in one day and we believe they can if they will hustle, and $8 per day ought to get hustlers. Not all the county offices have yet been ekamlned by the examiners under the public accounting law, but a new bunch of field men is apt to drop in and start work at most any time. Whenever they do it means a matter of sl6 per day to the taxpayers.