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Real estate record and builders' guide: [v. 98, no. 2539: Articles]: November 11, 1916
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REAL ESTATE AKD NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 11, 1916 RESULTS OF CITY BUDGET ANALYZED Comparative Study of City's Appropriation, Chargeable Against Current Revenues for 1917, Compared With Other Years By DR. FREDERICK A. CLEVELAND, Director, Bureau Municipal Research "TPHE document entitled "City of New *■ York, Budget for 1917" was com¬ pleted at 11.32 o'clock p. m., October 31, official time—early in the morning of November 1, actual time. It was not till then that the central stafT—worn to ex¬ haustion by days and nights spent in analysis of estimates, in independent in¬ quiry, in conferences and hearings—fin¬ ished the draft of the annual appropria¬ tion bill, and members of the board, al¬ most equally exhausted, afiixed their of¬ ficial signatures to ineet the requirements of law. And this is not a novel pro¬ ceeding; it has been a recurring experi¬ ence year after year. The care taken in recent years in the preparation of the ordinance which is to be acted on by the Board of Aldermen granting funds for a new year, and the consequent pressure brought on the employees of the Board of Estimate and on the mem¬ bers themselves before Noveinber 1, has been very great. What have been tin- results? Total Appropriations Asked for. The first thing that attracts attention is that the total amount asked for as a charge against current revenue is $211,- 115,016.82, which is $1,841,160.72 less than tbe amount appropriated for 1916, the current year. But this fact has no sig¬ nificance other than to indicate a proba¬ ble reduction in the tax rate' the sig¬ nificant fact is when the Direct State Tax of last year and the county items are eliminated from the camparison the remaining $203,800,699.59 for city pur¬ poses is $11,921,109.73 more than the ap¬ propriation for city purposes for 1916: and that this is the largest increase since 1909—in fact, it is among the largest an¬ nual increases that tl e city has known, and that the reasons for this unusual de¬ mand arc entirely local. This unusual increase is the more strikin.g when it is considered that 1917 is the year for the next municipal election—a year, when, followin.g the usual instincts of political managers and the experience of past years^ we might expect the appropria¬ tions to be cut to the quick. If this may seem a strained conclusion then we may look to the appropriations from current revenue for city purposes for previous pre-election years. Why an Increase of $11,921,109.73? Since this is the last appropriation which can be made before the next elec¬ tion, it is natural that citizens should be most critical. Why this increase of $11,- 921,109.73? Any effort to explain at on(:e leads to a grouping of expenditures in such a way as will help to relate the changes to official responsibility. For this purpose, the appropriations request¬ ed for 1917 are giouped as follows: 1. Appropriations for State pur¬ poses—over which the Board of Es¬ timate has no control. 2. Appropriations for County pur¬ poses—over which the Board of Es¬ timate has little control. 3. Appropriations for city purposes —.grouped in such a manner as to show "totals" requested by each elected executive, and so subdi¬ vided as to show expenditures which can be controlled bv the Board of Estimate and those which cannot. TABLE I—Increase in Total General Fund .Ippropriations—lOOo-iyi'i'. Total Year. Budget. isioa.......................... .$t)7,iiu,o;ii. 1V»04.......................... 106.674,<)o.5. 1905.......................... 109,817,.59.'!, 1900.......................... 110,805,490. 1907.......................... 1:J0,421 ,.505. 1908.......................... 14:1,572,200, 1909.......................... 1.56,.5.52,748, 1910.......................... l(H,128.-270. 1911.......................... 17.3,907.8:35. 1912.......................... 181,090,256. 1913.......................... 192,711,441. 1914.......................... 102,995,.551. 1915.......................... 198,989,786. 1916.......................... 212,950,177 1917 (bill)................... 211,115,016 10 ,09 .02 ,;17 06 ,17 ,14 .37 10 51 ,10 (12 .52 .54 ,82 Amount of Increase in Total Budget. *9i555'92:;!;'l9 3.1-12,(i:',7,!H 0,9,S7,,S79.:U i:;,on;,(115.29 ]:i.l5(J,7(i(l,51 ]2.9,S0,-1S1.'.I7 0,5T5,.-,2L'.L':; I0,,s:;:),5(;4.7:i 7,122,421.:;5 11.021,1,S4,05 2,s|,ll(i.4C. 5,994,2:',4.9i,) 13,900,391.02 •1,841,160.72 Rate Per Rate Cent, ot In- Rate Per Cent, crease in Per Cent, of of Increase Assessed Increase in in Total Valua- Tax Rate tor Budget. tions. N. Y. County. 9.84 2.95 6.30 11.60 10.08 9.04 4.20 0.04 4.09 6.42 .15 3.11 7.02 •.SO 3.83 4.81 0.65 7.76 5.33 1.29 2.29 10.79 •.14 1.53 .70 .84 1.46 (?) 6.98 •1.45 •0.78 0.41 8.70 3.96 4.76 •2.02 6.25 •1.09 •1.66 5.06 9.09 •Decrease. TABLE II—Primnry Divisions of the Total General Fund Year. 1903.......... 1904.......... 1905.......... 1906.......... 1907.......... 1908.......... 1909.......... 1910.......... 1911.......... 1912.......... 1913.......... 1914.......... 1915.......... 1910.......... 1917 (bill)___ Total Budget. .$97.119.(i.';l.l0 100,074.:i.55.ij:i l(i9,.si7,."i'.):',.o:! 110„SI 15.40(1.37 i:;ii.i2i,."05.00 14::.5T2.2(;(;,17 1.5(;.5.-,2.74,s.14 10:'.,12S,L'7O.:',7 l7::,:i(;7.s:;5,io 1N1.(I'.KI.2.5(;.51 192,711,141.10 102.005,551.02 10S,0s:i,7S(i.52 212,'.l5i;.177..54 211,115,010.82 Appropriations for State Purposes, .$.5,50,1.57.28 5.50.542.03 717.024.49 903,032.09 75,704.i:i 4..301,:W5.e5 7,947,031.96 4,570,:W3.43 13|9'75;62i;7.'} Appropriations lor County Purposes. .f:3,723,004.14 3,711,694.:« 4,042,:M8.00 4.]51,:-10O.5O 4,004,8:i9.50 5,097,802.28 5,17.5,790.23 5,355,124.84 5.453,805.25 5,915,808.43 «,234,661.86 6,630,105.66 7,0:W,716.82 7,101,505.95 7,314,317.23 Appropriations Appropriat. —1903-1917. for City Purposes Amount. .$92,,S45,,S()9, 102,4OI',,71.S, 105,O5,s,22O 111,7.")<1,40T 125,CSd !1(;2 1,38,474,40:; 151,:!70,;)51 1.57.77:;,115, 108,514,020, 170,87:;,1(12, 178,.520,747, 18l,7.'^;),os2, 191,050,(K!!), 191,870,.5,SO, 203,S(-I0,()00 OS 1:; ,54 .l,S (c; ,so ,01 .'.'i a:: ,:;4 Rate P. C. of Increase. 10.30 2.59 6.37 12.47 10.18 9.:33 4.23 6.81 1.40 4.48 1.83 5.59 •.04 (S.21 •Decrease. TABLE III—Primary Classification of Appropriations for City Purposes—1903-1917. Tear. Total. 1003......... $92,845,809.68 1004......... 102,400.718.73 1905......... 105,058.220..54 1906......... 111,750,497.18 1907......... 125.080,962.03 1908......... 1.38,474.403.80 19(19......... 151,376,951.91 1910......... 1.57,773,145.53 1911......... 108.514,029.91 1912......... 170,873.102.43 1913......... 178,.529,747.34 1914......... tlSl,789,0,82..53 1915......... 101,956,009.70 1910......... 191.879,589,86 1917......... 203.800,099.59 •Tax Dericiencies. .$3,000, 3,000, 2,922 4.0IX), lO.OOO 3,287, 2,:300, 2,500, 0,112, 4,000,1 5.000, 000.00 ',000.00 ,447,08 ,000,00 ,000.00 :?00.74 ,000.00 '.OOO.OO (192.44 000.00 .000.00 Debt Service. $23,094,008.85 29,711,290.04 2o,2(;(;,oo4.7:; :il,110,2117,21 :;5,25s.445,:;7 40,454,772.S(; 47,22:;,o7s.:;:; 4(;,4i:;,(;;i5,72 .5o,(;oi,,s2i,o:i 51,254,52S.17 54,077,:;,si,:;i 52,i;i 1,517.115 5o,v';2,:;,-