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REAL ESTATE
AND
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 18, 1915
I AT WORK ON THE CITY BUDGET PROBLEM |
â– I
I Paring Down the Department Estimates—A Tax Rate of $2.05 I
I the Estimate of the Advisory Council—The Mayor Says $2.09 I
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WITH the prospect of a tax rate for
1916 of about 2.05 the hearings be¬
fore the Budget Committee of the Board
of Estimate should command the most
careful study and attention on the part
of taxpayers and real estate associations.
The preparation of the 1916 budget is
now in progress and estimates have been
submitted by practically all but two or
three of the larger city departments.
Some of the departmental estimates
indicate that the requests for appropria¬
tions will be smaller than in 191S; but
many of the larger departments, like the
Police, Park, Health and Board of Edu¬
cation, have requested increases. In
view of the fact that it is almost impos¬
sible to analyze the budget in detail be¬
cause of the vast array of figures and
mass of statistics, taxpayers are direct¬
ing their efforts more towards a consid¬
eration of the general principles of econ¬
omy than endeavoring to recommend
econornies which may, for the most part,
be impossible to effect because of man¬
datory legislation.
Of the 199 million dollars in the 1915
budget, approxiiTiately 66 millions rep¬
resent obligatory appropriations for debt
service and deficiencies in the collection
of taxes. Of the remaining 133 inillion
dollars, 26 per cent, was i-nandatory leg¬
islation, 13 per cent, was partly manda¬
tory, leaving 63 per cent, in part discre¬
tionary with the city budget makers.
During the past five years the depart¬
ments under the Mayor have increased
their expenses on an average of about
11 per cent., while those departments
over which the Mayor has but partial
control have increased ZZ per cent.
When it is further understood that the
Board of Education, the county govern¬
ments and many of the city salary ex¬
penses are mandatory, to a certain de¬
gree, although included within the 63
per cent, of the budget now being ex¬
amined by the committee, it is evident
that the degree of saving which can be
accomplished by the city administration
is limited to a great extent.
Standardization of Salaries.
One very vital principle now being en¬
forced and which will shortly come be¬
fore the Board of Estimate for approval
is the standardization of salaries and
grades, among city employees. There
a.e approximately 103,000 employees
paid by the city; 21,000 come under the
head of the Board of Education; 11,000
under the Police Department; 8,000 un¬
der the Fire Department, and 35,000 la¬
borers. The tentative specifications with
regard to the classifications of salaries
relate at this time to those in profes¬
sional and clerical service, of which there
are approximately 26,000.
It may be quite possible that classifi¬
cation of salaries and grades may be ac¬
complished in the Police, Fire and Labor
Departments in the estimates of these
departments for 1916; but owing to the
fact that the Board of Education is a
separate corporation under the jurisdic¬
tion of the State, the classification of
employees can only be put into efifect
there after the Home Rule Amendment
to the Constitution is approved next No-
qpHE Board of Estimate, acting
-*- through a sub-committee, is
engaged in making up tentatively
a budget to show the sums of
money necessary to raise by taxa¬
tion to meet the expenses of gov¬
ernment next year. The Mayor
estimates, taking into account both
the State and city levy, that the
tax rate will be $2.09, as compared
with $1.87 for Manhattan in 1915.
With a desire to ease the burden
upon real estate as much as pos¬
sible the Mayor has directed the
Tax Department to rigidly enforce
the tax against personal property
and for the Budget Committee to
cut out all unnecessary positions
in the civil service.
vember. It has been estimated that if
the classification of salaries and grades
alone were to be put into operation in
all departments, a saving to the city
would be close to ?13,000,000. If the
Board of Estimate should approve of the
tentative specifications now being ap¬
plied by the Budget Sub-committee to
tlie profesr.ional and clerical services of
the city, it has been estin-iated the saving
in salaries would be about $2,000,000 and
the saving from positions abolished
would be approximately $2,000,000.
Represented at the Hearings,
Real estate interests have been repre¬
sented at these hearings by meinbers
of the Advisory Board of Real Estate
Interests which accepted the invitation
of the Board of Estimate to sit with its
Sub-committee in the preparation of the
budget. Taxpayers are in no way com¬
mitted to the acceptance of the budget,
as recommended by the Sub-comtnittee
and, with the Advisory Council, will
have the privilege of appearing before
the Board of Estimate to protest, object
to and criticise any items that have been
included in the budget. Thi entire re¬
sponsibility for the making of the bud¬
get is imposed on the Board of Esti¬
mate, so that it is essentially important
that taxpayers be prepared to attend the
public hearings to be given at City Hall.
In advance of these hearings, copies
of the reports of the Bureau of Stand¬
ards to the Committee on Salaries and
Grades of the Board of Estimate and
.\pportionment should be obtained.
There have been three reports prepared.
The first is on the Cost of Living for an
Unskilled Laborer's Family in New York
City, in which this bureau maintains that
the minimum wage for an unskilled la¬
borer's family of fivi should be between
$720 and $840, to be consistent with
.â– \merican ideas. This would apply prin¬
cipally to salaries in the Street Clean¬
ing Department. Many reductions of
salaries have been recommended in the
reports on Professional Service and
Clerical Service, while many positions
will remain unfilled or be abolished if
the reports should be adopted. The
classifications cover practicalb' all em¬
ployees, except departmental heads.
Five Factors.
The basis for the rates of compensa¬
tion which the Bureau of Standards rec¬
ommends for the various positions are
based upon five factors, which are as
follows: First, the market value of the
particular kind of work performed; sec¬
ond, the conditions peculiar to certain
employments in the city service; third,
the experience of the municipal civil
service commission, in examining and
certifying for positions in the city serv¬
ice, at the existing rates of compensation;
fourth, the assumption that New York
City wishes, as far as it is financially able,
to be a model employer; five, the theory
that a range of salaries rather than a
fixed rate should be established for the
majority of positions in the city service.
These specifications are being careful¬
ly analyzed by the executive committee
of the Advisory Council, in conference
with the Director of the Bureau of
Standards, and a report of their conclu¬
sions will be submitted to real estate
owners within the near future. In view
of the fact that no ta.xpayers' associa¬
tion can intelligently or wisely analyze
tie budget, because of its complexity,
the Advisory Council believes that it will
be e-xpedient for the Bureau of Stand¬
ards, the Bureau of Contract Supervision
and the ofifice of the Commissioner of
Accounts be combined into a central
Bureau of Organization and Control.
Possibly under such a plan, the ofifice
of Chainberlain could be merged with
that of the Comptroller and the present
City Chamberlain, whose reports and in¬
vestigations have been very valuable in
the interests of economy, ceuld be des¬
ignated to act as the head of such a cen¬
tral Bureau. The duties of such a cen¬
tral Bureau would be to reorganize the
city administration along the lines of
eflliciency, abolish unnecessary commit¬
tees and departments and continue an
active investigation, for the benefit of
taxpayers, of the entire city budget, as
is now being done by the Commissioner
of .\ccounts, the Bureau of Contract Su¬
pervision and the Bureau of Standards,
as separate organizations.
State Equalization.
Notwithstanding the fact that property
owners are agreed that the assessments
placed by the Department of Taxes and
Assessments upon real estate through¬
out the city are abnormally high, com¬
pared with market values, the State
Board of Equalization at Albany has
fixed the ratio of assessment upon real
property in the City of New York as fol¬
lows: New York County, 9Z per cent;
the Bronx and Kings Counties, 92 per
cent.: Queens and Richmond Counties,
89 per cent., with an average of 92.41
per cent, for the five counties. The City
of New York will be required to pay
68 per cent, of the direct State tax upon
this basis, as compared to 12 per cent, in
1913. Out of a Direct State Tax of
$19,693,690 the city will pay $13,358,412.
In addition to placing the assessed val-