Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1900 — County Council Echoes. [ARTICLE]

County Council Echoes.

Owing toother matters occupying our time and attention we have been unable to give as much space to the proceedings of the county council at their regular September meeting as we desired to. That the law creating county councils is a step in the right direction every taxpayer in Jasper county not holding office must admit. Every taxpayer of the former class desires to have the management of county business conducted economically

and honestly; he is not arrayed against the honest office-holders, as the enemies of the law would have people believe. The law has jiow been in force about eighteen months, and two years tax levies have bebn made. In nearly every county in the state the levy for county purposes has been reduced. Tn our county the levy for ordinary county expenses was reduced 5 cents on each one hundred dollars valuation last year, and 11 cents this year, making a total reduction of 16 cents in two years. The reduction this year is really 15 cents, as 4 cents levied this year is for paying principal on court house bonds, and no levy had been made in previous years for this purpose. Notwithstanding this great reduction in local taxes and the fact that everything has moved along the same as in years gone by i and all neccessary and ordinary I improvements have been made, not one word of commendation for the council or the measure which created it has appeared in either of the five republican papers of this county nor has any taxpayer heard one word of praise for the council from any of the republican office-holders, although a majority of the council are republicans. The Democrat and the democratic party of Jasper county has from the first spoken in favor of the law, and while many republicans have upheld the council in its work, those known as the politicians and spoilsmen have had nothing but sneers to offer. In view of the great savings made is there a solitary taxpayer in the county who can honestly say it has not proved a blessing in Jasper county ? There is danger of the good results thus far obtained, by reason of having nonpartisan boards, being obliterated by the election this fall of partisan boards, controlled by the profesional looters, the fellows whose patriotism is measured by the amount of “money i there is in it” for them, and it behooves the people of this county to carefully consider this matter before casting their vote this fall. Below we give in brief space as possible, and as correctly as we i can obtain it from the records, the 1 amounts asked for in the estimates |of the county officers and the ap- ! propriations made by the council, I the total estimates having been reduced nearly $20,000:

Estimate. Appro'n. Court house expense*.... $2,935 00 $2,460 00 Jail expense 300 00 217 00 Poor farm 4.115 00 2,970 00 Bridge* (10) aud repair*.. 9,075 00 7,300 00 Commissioner*' court.... SOO 00 725 00 County attorney 400 00 300 00 Gravel road repalys 3,700 00 2,480 00 Interest on ct. h’se bonds 6,882 50 6.823 50 Reform schools, etc 670 00 670 00 Public printing., 700 00 700 00 Board of review 260 00 250 00 Township poor 1.185 00 1,585 00 Miscellaneous expense.... 2.225 00 1.765 00 Auditor, sal. and otii. exp 2.925 00 2,496 00 Treasurer, same 1,493 50 1.446 20 Clerk, same 1.726 50 1.663 75 Recorder, same 1.632 50 1,579 50 Sheriff, same... 3,271 06 1.882 65 Surveyor, same 3.359 95 1,700 90 County Supt,. same 1,377 20 1,265 95 Coroner, same 310 50 170 40 Truant Officer, same 726 00 154 00 Sec. Rd. of Health, same.. 267 12 314 37 County Assessor, same... 465 85 312 20 Township Assessors,<*'me. 2,544 15 1,974 20 Circuit Court A Insanity, 5,079 00 .3,219 00 The poor estimate in Marion tp., was increased from $.350 to $650, and_ in Carpenter from $225 to $325. All the poor appropriation, clerk, recorder and sheriff salaries are returned to the county, as is also appropriations for other purposes amounting to several thousand dollars, which are merely advanced by the county, thus cutting the net appropriations (not including the court house bond interest and sinking fund) to less than $30,000, probably about $25,000. How does this compare with

the $50,000 to $60,000 of a few years ago? favorably or unfavorably? An appropriation was asked for to pay for the vault furniture for the recorder’s office, which has been stored in the basement of the court house for the past nine or ten months, but the council after investigating the matter refused to make the appropriation, and whoever is responsible for ordering the furniture, contrary to law, will have to fix it up with the Art Metallic Furniture Co. The bill for this was $375. All members of the council freely criticised the commissioners for allowing two days pay and over $1 per day for meals for a part of the election boards in the late railroad election, and thought inasmuch as the vote v was all counted out at about 7 o’clock p. m., one day’s pay and two meals should have sufficed. Those who serve on the election boards this fall will get but two days pay and three meals, instead of three days pay and abbuta week’s board, as heretofore, for which the taxpayers again have The Democrat to thank, as this paper single-handed and alone fought for this and thereby saves several hundred dollars to the people.