The Commoner
AUGUST, -1915 -
27
Putting a City Government
Business Basis
on a
personal direction of and in the pros-1 general supervision over all place of
enco of the commissioner of finances, I public amusement frcqHonted lay
children, girls and women.
12. Recommendation is made that
Readers of The Commoner may he
interested in the work now being un
dertaken byMayor Charles W. Bryan
of Lincoln, Nebraska, in advancing
a program of practical business effi
ciency in city government, and secur
ing for its-citizens the largest meas
ure of comfort, happiness and finan
cial benefits. His4 program, which
was printed in a recent issue of The
Commoner, outlined'in part liis ideas
of the things he believed necessary
for the welfare and future progress
ot Lincoln. t
Lincoln is no different from scores
of other American cities in its general
needs, but, likcmany. of these cities,
it has suffered from a lack of public
spirited leadership and a general
apathy of its citizens in. the conduct
of its city government. Lincoln,
though free from the taint of mu
nicipal corruption in the past, was
drifting into a condition that would
make it an easy prey to interests that
never hold the people's interests at
heart. Though nominally operating
under a commission form of govern
ment, city - government in Lincoln
was still tied by traditions "of prece
dent established when the city was a
village and not adapted to the thor
oughgoing city of modern times. In
stead of being the greatest help to its
citizenship, many of the practices in
vogue -in the -city government were
becoming a hindrance to the moral
and material advancement of the
city.
Last spring it became necessary to
elect a new commission. No one had
a definite program "for the future
welfare and advancement of the city,
and little 'or1 ho encouragement was
given to the ideas advanced by the
civic reform organizations. The mu
nicipal machine had lost its spark
Plug. Jg&w
Under these conditions, Mr. Bryan
announced a definite program for mu
nicipal advancement, and failing to
seeure the enlistment of a proper
leader to carry oui his plan, took up
the task -himself and, entered the, pri
maries.". He was endorsed by the" peo
ple, and. stood second on the list of
candidates in the number of votes
received. At the regular, city elec
tion, he was elected to the city com
mission by ajnajority of .1,418 over
his opponent q.nf- was later chosen
mayor of Lincoln. Immediately fol
lowing his election, he ., started . the
work of securing ,the reforms .out
lined in his platform. Some of these,
notably the-free city employment bu
reau and the. free qity. legal aid bu
reau, have, already ..been-secured. and
the city is enjoying- the benefit of
them. .......
Continuing his work, . Mr. Bryan
recently, submitted, 'a .list , of
recommendations ' to the city
commission. Ho has invited
the ca-operation. ,of ..the citizen
ship in his plan and hastask.ed citi
zens interested la the.matter to write
him at the ,. city hall, .giving .their
views .on city, matters. A digest of,
tne recommendations submitted by
Mr. Bryan follows:
TLo Mayor's Recommendations
1. The mayor recommends that the
care of the city hall be placed under
the supervision of the department of
accounts and finances.
2. The department of sidewalks is
a part of the streets department and
should be handled in connection with
that department, and the recommend
ation is made that the sidewalk de
partment be immediately placed un
der the department . of streets-and
public improvements. -- "... "
3. The recommendation is made
who is always in the department, and
thereby in the opinion of the mayor
give more satisfactory service to the, a trained visiting nurse shall bo em-
public than it is possible to do under ' ployed by th ) city and an approprla-
tlif iWroot nhnrtrn nt niilinrilhintnci nnd tlnn 1n marln fnr nam ft rami that ltT
that the department of parks shall be I almost wholly in the absence of the j entire time shall bo devoted to the
placed under the care of the mayor commissioner whose work in connec-' city's interest under the direction of
uiiuer me uepartment of public af- tion with the extension and main- the superintendent of health.
tenanco v.f the largo departments of
water and light prevent him from
superintending the dealing with the
fairs.
The recent movement for park ex
tension from J street to O street and
the educational work done to carry
a bond issue for that purpose was in
itiated and carried on by the public
not in official capacity. Not that' the
commissioner" having in charge the
matter of work of providing park fa
cilities for the people of Lincoln was
not interested in parks, but because
it was physically impossible for him
to' lead a movement for park exten
sion by the acquiring of lands and
the development of a series of parks
such as the Lincoln people ha-e
asked for and that the city has been
handicapped owing to thejack of. The
educational work, coupled with the
acquiring of properties and the de
velopment thereof for park purposes,
the establishment of boulevards, etc.,
is a large department in itself. The
importance of it tb a city can not be
overestimated, and this department
in a number of other cities of the
size of Lincoln is handled by one
commissioner without any other du
ties. In the acquiring of land for
park purposes and the development
thereof the superintendent of parks
is required to deal with all other de
partments of the city, and. in the de
veloping of the park system of Lin
coln it is necessary for him to work
in conjunction with the sanitary
board, and by virtue of his office the
mayor having a general supervision
of all departments, being the member
of the commission thaS deals with the
public and speaks for the public on
all matters of public affairs, is by vir
tue of his office in a better position
to do work with the public in carry
ing out the park extension and de
velopment in the opinion of the mayor
to a better advantage than would be
possible for any other commissioner
to do who is charged with the grow
ing needs of two large departments
owned by the city and handling the
business that is larger in scope and
responsibility than all other depart
ments of the city combined. The pre
liminary work which has already
been done in carrying out the de
mands of the public in extending the
park system from J street to O street
has demonstrated in many -ways the
importance of the park work being
immediately placed under the depart
ment of public affairs.
Extend Lighting Business
4. The recommendation Is made
that at least $5,000 he appropriated
for an extension of the wiring and
municipal lighting department so
that the public desiring to patronize
the municipal lighting plant may
have the privilega of doing so.
5 Recommendation Is made that
all moneys collected for taxation or
from public utility service by the city
shall be paid directly to the city treas
urer The charter only contemplates
one city treasurer, and requires him
to give' a bond sufficient to protect all
the moneys that come into the pos
session of the city. By the payment
;uf tn. ihP tv treasurer all money
received for municjpal lighting and
water, the puurc moneys wm u
safely guarded, the duplication of
hten-prlced department heads will be
avoided, which will amount to con
siderable saving to the public, and
employes who will be engaged in the
cSlection and accounting for money
can be reduced, and the dealing with
,? ilublic by those who were charged
wth the responsibility of collecting
111 moneys will be done under the
Bell Park Bonds Now
13. A recommendation is
made
public in the matter of settling' all that the fifty thousand dollar park
water and light bills and the adjust-''bonds recently voted for park extcn
ment of misunderstandings. , sion bo immediately sold so that the
In the opinion of the mayor it was 1 money shall become available for'the
undoubtedly intended by tyie charter! acquiring of the property desired for
and it Is In the Interest ot saiety, city parte extension.
14. Recommendation is made' that '
$3,500 be appropriated for the estab- :
( Hahing and maintenance for one year
of a public city market located be- 4
twecn tho retail business and tho
residence district of the city which '
will be accessible to the housewives,
economy and efficiency that the col
lections of water . nd light funds bo
immediately placed under the depart
ment of public accounts and finances.
Only One Polo Lino '
6. The recommendation Is made
.. i . .1 II. ..illllt.. ,.m.n..t ACf try
mat an puouc uuhubb u ui v . - and thus enable the public to secure
eluding the city's mjnWP1; fresher vegetables and a reduction
be required to use the same poles Jn CQ8t
on the streets and alleys and that an hn' Ml(! lmvn .umvtoil that &
ordinance should bo passed at .once garbag0 (ll8posal ,)lant bo construct
regulating the joint use of same. J C(1 and hav(J V(JtCfl flfty tnollBand
7. uecoinracnuauon i "-'; dollar bondB for that purpose. A
landscape architect bo employed for
one year at a salary not to exceed two
thousand dollars per annum under
the supervision of tho mayor for the
recommendation is made that the
plans for the garbage plant be devel
oped as soon as possible and that an
appropriation of $2,000 for the com-
nurnoRe of advlslnK as to tho con- . na(inl ,rnnl ,in . ' nriniflli nr iia
solidation and removal of poles from malntcnance
the park spaces and to draw plans 1(J A recommendation is made
for the parking of each piece ofparK I that aJl garbag0 wagons should be
land now owned and also for new Qwned by.the cJty an(1 tnat they
jand as it, is acquired for park pur-, ghould hayo Ught c(jycr ftnd tuftt
poses so that our park system will uc syBtematIc concctjon . of garbage
mapped out ana aeveiopeu muub - i 8nouia oe done by the city to protect
the public health.
pert lines rather than by untrained
men. The immediate carrying out of
17. Recommendation is made that
this suggestion will erpatly -enhance I n approl)riatIon for an additional
the value of property in ' ( automobile for tho police department
beautifying and placing Lincoln in t Bnould be provided so that the public
better position to compete with otner may recelv0 qulck 8ervice in emer
cittes In growth and development, ( gency cases wherc moro than ono
and from an economic standpoint it e case re(JUre3 attention at
will be a money maker to the people, QnQ UmQ
as a great deal of tho present develop- lg A recomraendation is made
meut will have to be done oyer again thftt ad(mional firo equipment should
later on in order to meet the tastes Q suppljed and an appropriation be
and condition that Lincoln people are i made fop Bamo flQ that thc I)roperty
interested in. 0f the city will have better protection
A Real City Auditor I and that thc ch'ef of the fire depart-
8 A recommendation is made thatjment be requested through tho com-
!. .i, j. i.i,i vo nnnnintfid tnlRRlnnnr of nubHc-fiflfetV to submit
a city anwwi uu.u .; . --------""..-; ;r -,?, nnaa,M
whose work will bo unuer uw huiic
vision of the mayor. The present
auditor is also city clerk, and the said
clerk is appointed by tho city treas
urer and his work is supervised by
tho city treasurer, and I understand
that the recorc1 ; kept by the auditor
are taken from the figures supplied
him by the city treasurer. The city
clerk's department should either be
in iUa xnnnnll nt flin nnrllnnf nnctalhln
( VV ..- V ..... ..- , -
moment a list ot tne present equip
ment and the chief's recommendation
for additional equipment and his rea
sons therefor so that the council can
consider this matter in making up its
budget.
19. Recommendation is made that
tho salaries of all cmployeslat the
citv hall doinc similar work should
put under the department of public (De standardized so that all will re
affairs so that the said clerk will act ceiv0 the same pay that 'are doing
in the capacity of auditor or a .separ-1 simiiar work, and that the matter of
ate auditor should be employed by I salaries for heads and sub-heads un
the city to carry out the duties of an der the various commissioners be
auditor as so intended and directed considered as to amounts to be paid
in relation to tne cnaracter oi tne
work done and the necessary study
and preparation to fit such employes
for their respective duties.
20. A recommendation Is made
that funds should be provided by an
appropriation so that an Inspector of
weights aid measures can be em
ployed whose entire time shall be de
voted to tho work of inspection to
prevent the public from being im
posed upon through negligence or in
tent as the public has been imposed
upon in the recent past.
Provide Winter Work
21. A recommendation is made
that extension and development work
of all departments of the city that
tur iVttx nhnrtfir
9. Recommendation Is made that
the city should pay for the surety
bonds of the city treasurer in place
of the, banks doinj it and that banks
should 'be required to pay the rate
of interest to the. city of Lincoln that
they pay for the city funds of other
cities and. for state funds under sim
ilar conditions. , .. .
10. Recommendation is made that
the superintendent of accounts and
finances publish a list of all unpaid
taxes and other individual, partner
ship" corporate indebtedness to the
city at least once every twelve
months for the consideration of the
11. A recommendation is made'can be postponed until after Septem
thftt one nolice woman be employed i i)er 15 shall be commenced after that
and her salary be provided for in the j date and continued into the winter, as
annronriation and that she should re
main on duty during the hours of 2
p.m. to 11 p.m. to advise with and
protect young girls and to keep a
far as possible. The carrying out of
this recommendation will employ
Lincoln men r.nd Lincoln citizens who
(Continued on Page Thirty)
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