comprises articles by the heads of the leading departments of the city government, setting forth the problems of each particular department, what has been accomplished during the past two or three years, and a brief outline of the difficulties confronting any administration of the city's affairs. The subjects treated are the following: "The Office of Mayor," by John Purroy Mitchel. "Public Health and Sanitation," by S. S. Goldwater. "Police Administration," by Arthur Woods. "Fire Administration," by Robert Adamson. "Charities and Correction," by Katherine B. Davis and Discussion by Edward T. Devine. "Education," by Thomas W. Churchill. "Parks and Recreation," by Cabot Ward and C. Ward Discussion by Howard Bradstreet and W. B. Van Ingen. "Financial Administration, Budget and Tax Rate," by William A. Prendergast. 66 Discussion by Thomas W. Lamont and E. R. A. Selig man. Register's Office of New York County," by John J. Hopper. "Highways, Street Cleaning and Public Works," by Douglas Mathewson. Discussion by John T. Fetherston, Lewis H. Pounds and Marcus M. Marks. "The Administrative Organization of the Courts," by William McAdoo. 66 Discussion by William L. Ransom and George W. Alger. Discussion by Thomas I. Parkinson and Richard S. "Transportation, Port and Terminal Facilities," by John Discussion by Richard C. Harrison and Edward M. This publication will be ready for the delegates May 25, 1915. PUBLICATION No. 8 Another publication now going through the press will contain material on county government and will include the following items: I. Descriptive and statistical information relative to boards of supervisors and coroners supplied by the office of the State Comptroller in the form of tables. These tables will show: a. The composition and representation of various boards of supervisors. 1. Number of members from cities and from towns in each board. 2. The average representation per supervisor in each county of area (square miles), property valuation (equalized valuation of the several counties of the State as fixed by the Equalization Commission) and the population (for county, by city supervisors, by town supervisors and for the largest and smallest town in each county). b. Services performed by boards of supervisors in each county; the number of days of each session; the number of days for which supervisors were paid for session work; meeting of tax commissioners, and meeting of board of county canvassers; and total number of days' services paid for by each county. c. Results of county financing by the boards of supervisors, as shown by reports of the treasurer of each county; the surplus or deficiency arising from the transactions of the county financed by and under the control of the boards of supervisors. The above tables incidentally show: 1. The gross cost of general government, the items of revenue in reduction thereof and the net cost of the general government of each county. 2. The items and gross cost of improvements, including the interest on construction bonds; the items from sales, insurance recoveries, etc., properly applicable to the reduction of the costs of improvements, and the net cost of improvements. 3. The items and gross amount of indebtedness incurred and paid, and the net increase or decrease in the county debt. 4. The items and gross amount received as contributions for county government charges; the items and gross amount contributed by the county to the expenses of the State government and the government of other municipal subdivisions, and the net excess of the contributions received over the contributions made or vice versa. 5. The items and gross amount received by the treasurer from taxes; the items and gross amount expended by the treasurer in the collection thereof and in advances and refunds. 6. Minor items of advance made during the year and repaid on account of prior advances; deposits with the treasurer and deposits of previous years repaid; refunds on account of error. 7. Increase or decrease in cash balance arising from the transactions of the year with a distribution to the State funds; receipts from building bonds and temporary loans; receipts from highway bonds and loans; and receipts from the general county funds. The tables show nothing in regard to the expenditures for general government, except the gross amount. d. The cost of supervision of county finances in gross, per capita and by $1,000 of valuation. As an incident to these tables there will be shown: 1. The amount paid for supervisors' compensation distributed to salaries, per diem compensation, committee work, extending taxes, copying rolls and mileage. 2. The expenses of the board of supervisors distributed to authorized clerks and employees, emergency employees, traveling expenses for committee work, stationery, postage and office incidentals, telephone and telegraph, furniture and fixtures for supervisors' chambers and special counsel. 3. Expenses for general administrative officers. in certain counties performing duties elsewhere performed by boards of supervisors or their employees, distributed to county attorney, county auditor, county comptroller, purchasing agent and superintendent of buildings. e. The character of the work of the board of supervisors, as shown by the cost to the county in gross, per capita and by $1,000 in valuation, for that portion of the county government exclusively under the financial control of the several boards. The facts above will be shown under five class headings grouping counties in the order of their population. II. A detailed statement by cities, villages and supervisory districts of all of the expenditures for public education for the school year 1913-14, supplied by the Department of Education. The expenditures are subdivided under the following headings: Salaries Superintendents Men Women Janitors, engineers, etc. Libraries Text-books, stationery and supplies Compulsory attendance School board and business offices Transportation of pupils New equipment (apparatus and furniture) Repairing, hiring, insuring and improving schoolhouses, sites and outbuildings New buildings and schoolhouse sites Fuel, water, light, power, janitor supplies and other expenses of operation Bonded indebtedness Principal All other incidental expenses III. Papers read at the First Conference for Better County Government, held at Schenectady in November, 1914. These papers include the following: "Some Needs to be Considered in Reconstructing County Government," by O. G. Cartwright, Director of the Westchester County Research Bureau. "Administration of County Charities," by V. Everit Macy, Superintendent of the Poor, Westchester County. "Taxation and County Government in New York State," by Henry J. Cookinham, County Attorney, Oneida County. "The County Auditor," by Geo. S. Buck, Auditor, Erie County. "The County Judiciary," by Herbert Harley, Secretary, American Judicature Society. "The Sheriff and a State Constabulary," by Ernest Cawcroft, Deputy State Treasurer, Albany. "The County Manager Plan," by Richard S. Childs, Secretary, The National Short Ballot Association. "Schenectady's City-County Plan," by Benedict Hatmaker, Editor, The Schenectady "Union-Star." IV. A survey furnished by the Westchester County Research Bureau of the lines of service which are recognized in the laws of New York State as within the field of the governmental functions exercised within counties by county officers, county departments or county councils, and included under the general term county government; followed by a condensed description of the governmental organization of the county of Westchester. The above four publications will be included in one volume which is being pushed through the press as rapidly as possible. PUBLICATION No. 9 A critical survey of the State government prepared under the direction of the Bureau of Municipal Research of New York City and based upon the "Government of the State of New York," the publication referred to in the first part of this report No. 4 which has already been supplied to delegates. This Commission believes that the delegates to the Constitutional Convention are entitled to all the light obtainable on the important problems before it and will transmit this critical survey to the delegates in the belief that the criticisms therein contained, unfavorable as well as favorable, will be of substantial assistance to the delegates in considering possible changes in the organization of the State government. This Commission does not, however, by transmitting this publication to the delegates necessarily endorse any of the suggestions therein contained. |