Debt Limit Dooms Municipal Ownership
Senator Elon R. Brown Makes Public Figures Showing Actual
Financial Condition of Principal Cities of New York State
(Special to the Record and Guide.)
ALBANY, May 8.—As a basis for the commence¬
ment of work by the Argetsinger Municipal
Ownership Investigating Commission, which is
to inquire into the whole question of municipal owner¬
ship and report to the next Legislature, Senator Elon R.
Brown, president pro tern of the Senate, has turned
over to the Commission an analysis of the financial
conditions of the cities of the State. This analysis was
prepared as a result of the demands of New York City
and several up-state legislators for the enactment of
municipal ownership laws at the last session of the
Legislature. It is an eifective reply to these demands,
presenting the cold figures which in practically every
instance indicate the absolute futility of municipalities
atte^npting to take over public utihties..
The potential margin of debt-incurring capacity of
New York City, according to this tabulation, which has
just been made public, is $102,958,766; ,of Buffalo,
$29,793,442; of Niagara Falls, $6,014,402; of Schentectady,
$5,753,870; of Troy $3,441,583.
The cities whose debt incurring capacity is given
below are centers where municipal ownership has
become a matter of every-day agitation, communities
represented by mayors and legislators who favored on
the floor of the Legislature the adoption of a state-wide
municipal ownership bill.
It has not been announced as yet when the Legislative
Commission will formally commence its hearings. The
belief is that the preliminary work will keep the experts
busy until the summer months, at which time the Com¬
mission will be ready, the preliminaries having been
disposed of, to inquire directly into the feasibility of
the municipal ownership schemes laid before the Legis¬
lature by Senator Wagner of New York City and
Senator Thompson of the Niagara-Orleans district.
The Brown analysis is here given in full:
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION OF THE CITIES OF THE STATE.
Albany .............$106,887,460
Amsterdam ........ 17,108.347
Auburn ..â– .....â– ..-... â– 21.457,693
Batavia ............ 11,248,337
Beacon ...........'.. 6,758.144
Binghamton •......-... 41,422.483
Buffalo ............. 507,043,025
CanandaigUa ...... 4,783,188
Cohoes ;........... 12,096,618
Corning ........... 9,132,521
Cortland........... 8,923,409
Dunkirk........... 9.914,011
Elmira ............ 31,575,247
Fulton^ ,r.....\:.... 6,631,112
Geneva ............ 10,417,297
Glen Cove ......... 7,947,439
Glens Falls ......... -9.287.755
Gloversville....... 9.090.962
Hornell ............ 7,442.500
Hudson ............. 5.163.365
Ithaca, ............. 15,242,445
Jamestown ..;..... 22,828,020
Johnstown :..........3.800.355
Kingston,........... 15.589,597
Lackawanna ....... 10,677,403
Little Falls ..-..•.... 7,368,285
Lockport .......... 11,188,957
Mechanicville ..... 2.949.925
Middletown ..:...-. 8,565,475
Mount Vernon ___ 42,345,304
Newburg .......... 14,511.873
New- Rochelle ....-.â– . 66.966.777
New York. Greater.8,254.549,000
Niagara Falls ...... '83,306,210
North Tonawanda.. 12,105,354
Norwich ,.......... 3,514,250
Ogdensburg ........ 5,693,215
Olean. .."............; 10,435,870
Oneida ............ 5,101,254
Oneonta :'.....'l',.;. 5,631.875
Oswegb .v:v,.,.w.. - '12,878,654
Plattsburg ..,...,, 3.000,060
Poughkeepsie ..... 27,190,314
Port Jervis ........ 3.938,845
.Rensselaer........ 5.989,905
Rochester ......... 264,952,860
Rome .....-,........ -10,831.720
Salamanca ......... 4,887.319
Saratoga Springs".. 9,408,487
Schenectady :...... 66,028,590
Sherrill .............. 398.862
Syracuse.......... 152,552.248
Tonawan'da '.....'... 12.538.231
Troy................. 59.785.034
Utica .........•..... 51,732.445
Watertown ........ 16,126;315
Watervliet ......... 5,754.952
White Plains ...... 24,274,080
Yonkers ........... 125,034,011
_____, tn *->
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28,610,257
13,552.213
9,010,857
53.795.432
557,190,137
6,975,982
14,231,315
10,619,210
12,223,847
15,252,324
37,147,349
12,056,567
13,889,729
13.245,731
15,479,591
16,529,021
9,923,333
8.605.608
20,323,260
33,570,617
6,909,736
20,786,129
18,409,315
10,526,121
18,342,552
5,899,850
17.130,950
58,812,922
25.020,470
69,039.976
,781,435,116
83,306,210
15,131,692
6,630,660
8,133,165
17,154,629
7,970,709
9,386,458
16,725,524
7,200,120
33,987,892
7,877,690
7,986,540
319,220,313
20,830,230
6,787,943
11,615,416
101,582,446
997,155
183,797,889
17,175,521
66,427,815
83,439,427
26,010,185
6,770,531
40,456,800
147,098,836
$10,688,746
1,710,834
2,145,769
1,124,833
675,814
4,142.248
50,704,302
478,318
1,209,661
913,252
892,340
991,401
3,157,524
663,111
1,041,729
794,743
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909,096
744,250
510,336
1,524,244
2,282,802
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1,558,959
1,067,740
736,828
1,118,895
294,992
856,547
4,234,530
1.451,187
6,696,877
825,454,900
8,330,621
1,210,535
351 ,,425
569,321
1,043,587
510,125
563,187
1,287,865
360,006
2,719,031
. 393,884
598,990
26,495,286
1,083,172
488,731
940,848
6,602,859
39,886
15,255,224
1,253,823
5,978,503
5,173,244
1,612,631
575,495
2,427,408
12,503,401
$13,360,932
3.001,464
2.861.025
1,355,221
901.085
5.379,543
55,719,013
697,598
1,423,131
1,061,921
1.222,384
1,525,232
3.714.734
1,205.656
1,388,972
1.324.573
1,547,959
1.652.902
992.333
860,560
2,032,326
3,357,061
690,973
2,078,612
1,840,931
1,052.612
1,834,255
589.985
1,713,095
5.881.292
2,502,047
6.903,997
878,143,511
8.330.621
1,513,169
663.066
813.316
1.715,462
797,070
938.645
1,672,552
720,012
3,398,789
787,769
798,654
31.922,031
2,083,023
678.794
1,161.541
10,158,244
99,715
18.379.788
1.717.552
6,642,781
8,343.942
2.601,018
677,053
4.045.680
14,709,883
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$ 7,292.558
1,265.000
1,011,398
777.315
421,460
2,500.927
25,925,571
125,000
809,200
375.853
478,822
178.131
2.671,500-
514.557
370,865
303,000
289,050
805,485
376,850
358,200
1,131,724
1,083,416
216,696
1,047.500
416.000
509.900
842,487
214,685
233,484
4.012.016
685.932
2,827.966
775,184,745
2,316.219
737,800
228.298
220.300
512.554
202,777
243.220
645,500
306.500
2,308.390
153,000
512,005
20.493.884
704,159
335,169
440.500
4,404.274
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11.236,651
380.680
3.201.198
2.739.581
1,372.707
355,202
2,501,494
8,479,306
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$ 3,396,188
445,834
1,134.371
347,518
254.354
1,641.321
24,778.731
353,318
400,461
537,399
413,518
813,270
486.024
148,554
670,864
491,743
639,725
103,611
367,400
158,136
392,520
1.199.386
163,339
511,459
651,740
226,928
276.408
80,307
623,063
222,514
765,255
' 3,868.911
50,270,155
6.014.402
472,735
123.127
349,021
531,033
307,348
319.967
642,365
53,506
410.641
240,884
86,985
6,001,402
379,013
153,562
500,348
2,198,585
39,139
4,018,573
873.143
2,777,305
2.433.663
239,924
220,293
"4,'02'4^695
$ 6,068,374
1,736,464
1,849,627
577,906
479,625
2,878,616
29,793,442
572,598
613,931
686,068
743,562
1,347,101
1,043,234
691,099
1,018,107
1,021,573
1,258,909
847,417
615,483
502,360
900,602
2,273,645
474,277
1,031,112
1,424,931
542.712
991,768
375,300
1,479,611
1,869.276
1,816,115
4.076,031
102,958,766
6.014,402
775.369
434,768
593,016
1,202,908
594,293
695.425
1,027,052
413,512
1,090,399
634,769
286,649
11.428.147
1,378,864
343,625
721,041
5,753,970
98,968
7,143,137
1.336,872
3,441,583
5,604,361
1,228,311
321,851
1,544,186
6,230,577
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