USA > Massachusetts > Norfolk County > Quincy > Inaugural address of the mayor, with the annual report of the officers of the city of Quincy for the year 1935 > Part 1
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City of Quincy
1640
16.25 AN
QUINCY
1935
THOMAS CRANE PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1641 0096 9896 4
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THOMAS CRANE
PUBLIC LIBRARY QUINCY, MASS.
CITY APPROPRIATION
City of Quinry Massachusetts
CITY GOVERNMENT OF 1936
TOGETHER WITH THE
ANNUAL REPORTS
OF THE OFFICIALS OF THE YEAR
1935
16.
25
MANET
16
$129
QUINCY 988
CITY DOCUMENT NO. 47
194244
AN INDEX OF THE REPORTS APPEARING IN THIS VOLUME WILL BE FOUND AT THE END OF THE BOOK
Q.R 352
Qu4 1935 C
INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY MAYOR THOMAS S. BURGIN
Monday, January 6, 1936
Gentlemen of the City Council, and Citizens of Quincy :
The citizens of Quincy have entrusted to us the discharge of sacred and solemn duties in the executive and legislative branches of our municipal government. It is needless for me to remind you that a full and faithful performance of these duties is expected by our people. I do, however, express the sincere hope that we may conduct ourselves in a manner so broadminded and so well-advised as to win the commendation of all the citizens, regardless of political ties or personal preferences. The serious- ness of the general conditions throughout the entire country as they exist today should be in itself of enough importance to war- rant the most careful attention we are capable of giving to such problems as taxation, relief of unemployment, proper education, wise and careful spending of municipal funds, coordination of city departments, and last, but by no means least, the protection of the health, life, and property of our citizens.
As members of the legislative branch of our government, you gentlemen will assume the responsibility of appropriating all moneys to be expended by the municipality during the coming year. Serious thought and careful consideration must be given to every financial matter coming before you. While I do not be- lieve in lowering the cost of municipal government through reducing the wages of faithful city employees, I feel that under no circumstances can we increase the heavy governmental costs already being borne by our taxpayers. In certain instances I believe it will be necessary to lower departmental appropriations from last year, offsetting emergency appropriations that are made necessary to relieve unemployment and care for those of our citi- zens whose very existence is dependent in a large measure upon financial aid from the city. While I look to the future with en- couragement concerning unemployment, I realize full well that the problem still confronting us must be handled as effectively as possible, through our own resources and the various agencies which have been made possible through the Federal Government. We should be extremely grateful that we have in our city such a large industrial plant as the Fore River Shipbuilding Corpora- tion, and I pause in this address to offer thanks that during the past year the construction of new naval war vessels has made possible the employment of a great many of our people who, if it were not for this program of building, would have to appeal to our municipal relief agencies. The fact that a new $20,000,000
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CITY OF QUINCY
airplane carrier contract has come to Quincy during the past six months, encourages us greatly, as it should provide work for at least 3500 men during the next three years.
Before going into detail on certain matters I feel should be brought to your attention, it is my desire to particularly empha- size the fact that as Chief Executive of the city I stand ready to cooperate with you in every possible way. Having served almost continuously during the past ten years as a member of the City Council, I believe that your viewpoints will be understood and your wishes will be respected, so that a closer relationship may exist between the legislative and executive branches of our gov- ernment. Such should be the case for the benefit of our citizens. The various department heads have been instructed by me to cooperate with you in the matter of furnishing any information you may desire which will familiarize you further with the prob- lems presenting themselves at the various Council Meetings. In- asmuch as one of your major problems includes the finances of the city, I shall first give a brief resumé of our condition relating to indebtedness as of January 1st of this year. After the financial structure has been presented, I shall give a brief summary of the more important departments of the city and outline plans I have in mind for the coming year.
BONDS, ETC.
The bonded indebtedness of the city now stands at $5,295,500. This includes not only the city debt for such purposes as School Buildings, streets, sewers, and the Water Department, but also the loans on tax titles. The latter I feel should be viewed in a somewhat different light from the balance of the debt, as these loans give every promise of being repaid from the redemption of tax titles. A year ago tax title loans stood at $572,000; today they amount to only $494,000. At the peak these loans stood at over $600,000, and, omitting renewals, a total of $1,347,000 has been issued since the spring of 1933. The progress that has been made in reducing them justifies my belief that they will all be retired without additional expense to the taxpayer. Omitting them, the debt would otherwise be $4,801,500.
During 1936 scheduled debt retirements total $883,500, to which should be added an undetermined amount for the further anticipated reduction of tax title loans. If the latter are reduced only by the same net amount that they were in 1935, debt retire- ments will total over $950,000. At present there are authorized loans to be issued shortly in the amount of $240,000 for the City Hospital, the Municipal Garage, Fire Department Equip- ment, and extension of the water system by the erection of a storage tank located on Cranch Hill. During the year I anticipate that our normal construction program for public works may in-
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INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY MAYOR THOMAS S. BURGIN
volve further borrowings amounting to $300,000, and that pro- vided enabling legislation is adopted by the General Court, we may find it advisable to borrow as much as $200,000 for relief purposes, including a portion of the city's contribution towards W.P.A. projects. The addition to the debt might then be in the neighborhood of $750,000, effecting a net reduction for the year of approximately $200,000. A program of this character has been my definite purpose, frequently expressed, in order to bring about a reduction in the annual burden of the debt service.
Whether the General Court makes it possible to fund a por- tion of the relief expenditures in 1936 is of vital importance to our taxpayers. Loans of this character in 1935 amounted to $235,000. I have every confidence that the requirements for re- lief in 1936 will be substantially less, but an added expenditure of this amount in 1936 to be provided solely from taxation would involve an increase in the tax rate of approximately $1.90, which even the greatest economies possible in other directions could not be hoped to offset.
It is particularly gratifying to me to note that tax collections on December 31st were over 60% of the 1935 levy, and that this showing was better than at any time since 1931. It has also been possible to effect a reduction in the amount of tax anticipa- tion loans carried over the end of the year, so that these now amount to $1,725,000, as against $1,950,000 a year ago.
MUNICIPAL DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
PUBLIC WORKS - HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Few changes in the personnel of the Department have been made during the past year, and I am convinced that taken as a whole the members of the Department are capable and are giving their best efforts to serve the city honestly and efficiently. The Department is handicapped by the inadequate quarters which it is now occupying at the City Stables, but hopes to have the new Municipal Garage completed early in the coming summer, as the plans and specifications for this building have been completed, and a call for bids will be issued as soon as the approval of the proper government authorities is received.
Some office changes are contemplated in the manner of requi- sitions for supplies in this Department, with the view of keeping a more careful check on cost accounts and a proper distribution of charges to appropriations.
A system is being considered for a more careful record of com- plaints and their final disposition.
The Department's road building equipment is old and very incomplete for a City of our size, but we will ask for very little new equipment the coming year, and that principally for snow
CITY OF QUINCY
removal purposes. A new tractor and plow are very badly needed to combat severe snowstorms, and, as teams are in the Com- missioner's opinion no longer economical to operate, the purchase of sidewalk tractor plows should be seriously considered.
The Department has at present fifty-four horses and plows quartered in different sections of the City for the purpose of plow- ing sidewalks this winter. It has also thirty-eight truck snow plows, which is an increase of five plows over last year. Two tractor plows, which have been completely overhauled this winter, will be used at Squantum, Houghs Neck, and Germantown. For the purpose of snow removal six districts have been estab- lished in the City, with a foreman in charge of each district. He will hire and register each man employed, issue a properly num- bered ticket, which will be marked with the time worked only on return of snow shovel when the man so hired is through work for the day. We believe that this method will be of great assist- ance to the Department in making proper payrolls.
SEWER DEPARTMENT
The City has at present a sewerage system consisting of about 155 miles of completed main sewers and laterals. All sewers constructed during 1935 were built under a P.W.A. grant or with E.R.A. and W.P.A. funds. The City in the latter cases has furnished funds to pay for stock and supervision. Few extensions are contemplated for this year, except through W.P.A. allotments.
WATER DEPARTMENT
With approximately 195 miles of water pipe, and over 17,000 water services in operation, the problems in this Department are principally maintenance.
During the past few years the water pressure during the sum- mer months has been inadequate in many parts of the City.
The City Council of last year has appropriated $90,000 for the erection of a standpipe of 2,000,000 gallon capacity on Cranch Hill. With the erection of this tank the coming year the water will undoubtedly be maintained at a more constant pressure, but from advices at hand the situation will not be completely remedied until such time as the Metropolitan Water Commission increases the volume of water coming into the City through their supply mains.
E.R.A. AND W .P.A.
During the greater part of the year of 1935 the National Re- lief was administered through an organization created under the Emergency Relief Act paid by the National Government. On December 15th the E.R.A. was abolished, and the Works Pro- gress Administration was created under which the City is forced to assume the expense and responsibility for the administration
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INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY MAYOR THOMAS S. BURGIN
of all projects approved by the government. This has added to the duties of the Commissioner of Public Works and increased the expenses in this department. In 1935, under the E.R.A. and W.P.A., the National Government has expended approximately $1,000,000 for labor in the City, while the city's contribution to stock and administration has been over $110,000. About 150 projects for work under W.P.A. have been submitted by the City, many of which have been approved, a few completed, and others under construction. At the present time we have in operation 43 approved projects, on which about 1,000 men and 275 women are employed. There has been allotted for this work by the govern- ment $496,147, while the City's contribution for stock and equip- ment will amount to approximately $90,000.00.
The members of the Department are of the opinion that ample projects have been submitted to care for our quota of relief work- ers during the operation of W.P.A.
WELFARE DEPARTMENT
The demands on our Welfare Department during the past six months have not decreased as much as I would like to have seen them, due to the fact that it has been necessary to render supplementary aid in many cases where payroll checks have been delayed in being sent through by the Federal Government, and also due to the fact that in the process of changing over the Fed- eral Government employment program from E.R.A. to W.P.A. there was a period of approximately five to six weeks when many persons previously employed were without work. The Welfare Commissioner is lending every effort to reduce the cost of his department, through changes he believes will be advantageous in the manner under which municipal aid will be granted. Many cases against recipients have already been taken to the Courts, both at Quincy and Dedham, and in every case the Department of Public Welfare has been successful in prosecuting persons obtaining welfare aid illegally. Reimbursement to the City Treasurer of more than $1,000 has been ordered by the Courts from persons found guilty of fraudulently receiving aid. Several more cases are in progress, which I hope will rid the department of more unscrupulous people who wish to live on the city without cause. I will direct the Commissioner to give greater attention towards affecting settlements with other cities and towns, so that the city may receive reimbursement for funds paid out to persons receiving aid in Quincy with settlements elsewhere. A much closer supervision of the visitors making investigations has been made possible than ever before, and will be continued in the future. Purchases will be carefully scrutinized, continuing our efforts to establish a more uniform price paid for staple com- modities. I find upon examination that the cost per case is lower
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CITY OF QUINCY
in the Welfare Department at the present time than heretofore, „and I firmly believe that the city is receiving far greater value for money expended now than in the past. Several changes have al- ready been made, such as in the handling of script, handling of time cards and rent cards, securing of a flat price for coal and oil, and compelling welfare recipients to work for aid received. The increase for work hours by recipients has been almost 100% since August 1st, and while the city appears to be paying out sub- stantial sums of money, it is distinctly to the advantage of all citizens that those receiving aid are at least giving work in return. Conditions at the City Home are good, with almost a capacity list of residents.
I shall not go into statistics, but will be very glad, through the Welfare Commissioner, to furnish the members of the Council with any information they might desire concerning any phase of his department.
It is my sincere hope that through the following methods of employment which will be used during the coming year, we may be able to very definitely and decidedly reduce the number of people receiving aid from the city: W.P.A. projects for men and women, city street construction, sewer construction, con- struction of new water tank on Cranch Hill, construction of a municipal garage and new hospital building, increased employ- ment at the Ship Yard, construction for the elimination of the grade crossing at Water Street, State sidewalk projects, and a further return to private industry.
It is my idea that every branch of private industry in the city could render valuable assistance in requesting employment for persons now on relief rolls, and also to notify the Welfare De- partment of any persons offered employment and refusing, so that their names could be checked to see if they were receiving welfare and declined employment for that reason. The strictest action will be taken against such cases. By a spirit of cooperation along these lines, much can be accomplished.
QUINCY CITY HOSPITAL
The manner in which this department of the city is functioning is more than gratifying, and the changes put into operation by the new Board of Managers have done much to increase the efficiency of the institution. The City Hospital comes nearer to serving every home in the city, either directly or indirectly, during a period of years, than any other department. Few of us realize the physical improvements to the city hospital property that have been com- pleted during the past year. Almost every building has been thoroughly repaired, painted, and put into generally good con- dition. New fire hydrants have been put on the grounds adjacent to the buildings, a new tennis court for the internes and nurses has been built, underground steam lines have been run from the
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INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY MAYOR THOMAS S. BURGIN
main heating plant to the nurses' home on the westerly side of Whitwell Street, and a new garage has been provided for the ambulance. More improvements, too many to list in this ad- dress, have added greatly to the general efficiency of the hospital.
A closer relationship seems to exist between the medical staff and the Board of Managers, and the cooperation between the two branches is most reassuring. For the first time in the history of the hospital, a male superintendent, Dr. Joseph P. Leone, is in direct charge of the hospital. His work to date reflects credit upon him and the splendid preparation and training he has had. Within two weeks, bids will be advertised for, to erect the new City Hospital Administration Building, for which the City Coun- cil has already appropriated funds. Through agreement with the Federal Government under P.W.A. regulations the city will assume 55% of the cost, and the government will allow a direct grant in the amount of 45%. This newest addition should com- plete the building program at the Hospital for some time to come, and will give the people one of the finest groups of hospital build- ings in the state.
It is my personal judgment that our citizens should be exceed- ingly proud of their Hospital and its personnell. Both the Board of Managers and the Medical Staff are deserving of our deep appreciation.
SCHOOLS
With the completion of the final wing of our North Quincy High School early next spring, the citizens of North Quincy will see the realization of their hopes, long held, for the students in that section of the city. There is very little that I can say regard- ing our present school system, other than in the most complimen- tary terms. The members of the School Committee have ren- dered valuable service to the people of Quincy during the past year, as in previous years, and I shall continue to offer them every cooperation.
I should like to make special mention of the retirement of Col. Warren E. Sweetser, who has given fifteen years of continuous service, without compensation, in the interest of our youth. The city will lose the services of a splendid type of citizen.
I have received no recommendations from the School Commit- tee relative to further building requirements, and it seems ad- visable at this date that we eliminate school construction in the coming year. A project has been prepared and approved by the Federal Government wherein an enclosed athletic field will be built in North Quincy, adjacent to the school, for the use of students participating in athletics. This, by a previous vote of the Council, will be under the direct control of the School Com- mittee. In another part of this address I shall refer to the matter of a central stadium for the use of both High Schools.
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CITY OF QUINCY
PROTECTION OF LIFE AND PROPERTY
POLICE DEPARTMENT
The use of two-way police radio has revolutionized Police De- partments throughout the country, and has proved itself to be of inestimable value as a means of rendering almost instantaneous service in maintaining law and order. Quincy has advanced rapid- ly in the development of this modern method of combating crime, and the results to date have more than justified the expense in- curred. I believe that police radio will afford much more pro- tection for our citizens and will be of the greatest value in re- ducing the ever-mounting costs of this branch of public safety. The use of cruising cars for larger territories, rather than the old fashioned plan of foot patrolmen trying to cover a lengthy beat will greatly increase the efficiency of this or any other Police Department. The day of increasing the personnell, necessitated by foot patrolmen covering beats throughout the city, has passed. Radio equipped prowl cars, with two men assigned to each car, can render much more effective service in case of emergency, for any car could reach the furthest point in its district in a matter of only three to four minutes.
The demands each year for additional foot patrolmen to proper- ly cover every section of the city have resulted in heavy expen- ditures to the taxpayers. This additional expense must be stopped. Even at the present time, if the old fashioned method of patroling the city was continued, an additional expense of $20,000 would be necessary to fill existing vacancies in routes now wholly uncovered during certain parts of the day and night. The elimina- tion of such large expenditures annually is a matter deserving of your serious consideration. I have instructed the Chief of Police to reorganize his Department to comply with the modern methods of police protection in the use of more radio cruising cars than at present. I trust you will give immediate consideration to the request he will make of you within a short time for two more cruising cars, fully equipped, whose total cost, including radio in- stallation, will not exceed $2000. His entire plan, already pre- pared, creating four districts in the city instead of two, will be presented to you shortly. Business centers ought to be and will be covered by foot patrolmen, but many residential sections, now only partially served by foot patrolmen, will receive far greater protection under the cruising car plan.
Recent changes in our department, through the creation of two new Sergeants and a Supervisor of Radio, should and will increase the efficiency materially. The Department is composed of capable men, who are zealous and conscientious in their work. The responsibility for the success of this Department rests squarely upon the shoulders of the superior officers. The morale of the
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INAUGURAL ADDRESS BY MAYOR THOMAS S. BURGIN
men must be kept at a high point. They must be physically fit and well-versed in their respective duties. Proper discipline and respect for superior officers must be maintained. To the superior officers, from the Chief down the line, I serve notice that their conduct will be observed most carefully. The old practice of "drifting along" will not be tolerated for one minute. I recom- mend that monthly conferences be held by the Chief with his subordinate executive officers, at which time suggestions to im- prove the efficiency of the department may be considered. The op- portunity for having the best Department in the State lies in the hands of the superior officers. The taxpayers expect full value received for the large expenditure necessary each year in main- taining it, and I feel confident that these men will reflect credit, not only upon the city, but upon themselves.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
This department will have its efficiency materially increased through recent emergency Council action authorizing the purchase of three new pumping engines to replace the eighteen-year-old trucks in service at West Quincy, Quincy Point and Houghs Neck. Orders have been placed for the new equipment, and de- livery is expected for one in thirty days and the other two ten and twenty days later.
I shall recommend in the budget that funds be provided to replace the chassis of the floodlighting truck. This truck is seven years old, and one of the most necessary pieces of equipment in the Fire Department. I shall further recommend that the present Chief's, car be replaced. These two minor additions will leave the general equipment of this department in very good condition.
The need for a new Central Fire Headquarters on Quincy Avenue must receive the attention of the City Council, as the present building is entirely inadequate to house the seventeen men assigned there on each platoon and the equipment stationed there. I recommend that the committee on public buildings make a thorough study of this problem and report its findings to the City Council.
Much-needed repairs are being made and have been made at the Fire Stations in Atlantic, Wollaston, West Quincy, Houghs Neck and Quincy Point through the use of Federal employment agencies with the cost of materials only being borne by the city.
I recommend that funds be provided by the Council for a suitable drill tower, either through the employment of city labor or through the W.P.A. This is an addition much needed for the proper training of our fire department members, and will prove its worth many times over, just as it has in other cities. The City Council should consider amending the Fire Department Ordin- ance to add two Captains for the Central Station, one to be drill-
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