USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Swampscott > Town annual report of Swampscott 1907 > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
Again the Auditors under the statute examine the books and accounts, all original bills, and vouchers and report to the Town in writing the result of their examination.
It will be readily seen therefore that in neither case are the duties of these officials as prescribed by statute such as might be reasonably expected from a bookkeeper, one who occupies the same relation to the business of the Town as does a bookkeeper to a concern doing as much business annually as does the Town of Swampscott, say $150,000. What would be said of a busi- ness house of that size that did not have a regularly recognized bookkeeper? It is often said that " the business of a Town can- not be run as one would run his own private business." But
73
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
even one who makes such a statement shows that by adopting it, he recognizes that a well regulated and prosperous private busi- ness is the ideal which a Town should have in mind when it makes changes to accommodate its methods to the demands of its increasing business.
The present system of accounting in the Town had its origin years ago. During this time, the receipts and expenses, and the debt as well, have increased. Two new lines of business have been inaugurated requiring an invested capital of $379,000, viz : The Water Department with $171,000 and the Sewer Depart- ment with $208,000. With the growth of the Town, the prob- lems presented for attention have increased as well. While no statistics are available, it is assumed that there has been an increase in the number of voters whose business takes them out of the Town during the day so that there is less opportunity for them to keep fully informed as to what is being done than if their days were spent in the Town.
To call further attention to the fact that it is not easy for the voters to keep informed upon all that concerns them, also to emphasize the fact that the accounting of the Town is growing to be a matter of some moment, we cite an act that was passed by the General Court last spring requiring towns, and cities also, to furnish annual returns, to the Bureau of Statistics of Labor. The following mention of what the act contains is concise but it will convey some idea of the magnitude of the requirements. It will be evident to all that the statements asked for whether summarized or detailed, will take more than one winter evening to compile, and that under our present system the Town is not equipped to comply readily with the requirements of the laws.
This act provides, and it is not to be assumed that any one can take it in at one reading, that the accounting officer of each city and town shall annually furnish to the Bureau
" A summarized statement of all revenues and expenses.
A detailed statement of all receipts and disbursements.
Statements of the income and expense for each public indus- try and of all the costs thereof (expenditures for construction, maintenance and operation being stated separately).
74
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 31
A statement of the public debt, showing for what each item of the debt was created and what provisions have been made for the payment ; and finally a statement of all current assets and and all current liabilities of the Town at the close of the fiscal year."
It is probable that these requirements will later be extended, for there is a growing diposition to ask for statistics. Year by year the Legislature adds to existing law so that in some depart- ment or in some new lines facts are required to be gathered. To say that whether or not there will be in time a law providing for uniform accounting in towns is not within the scope of the report of this Committee, but mention may be made that there is a movement in that line, for it has a bearing on the point now under discussion.
But it is not on account of the passage of the act that the changes in, or rather rearrangements of, the accounting methods of the Town have been suggested. It is on account of the Town itself. It has already been stated in several forms that the supervising of the disbursements is closely connected with the supervising of the doings of the subordinate agents by the Selectmen. No time need be spent to show that through the accounting the Selectmen have a most important avenue for the exercise of their duties. If therefore they are to be held to their full accountability for their stewardship, they must be given every aid and not the least of the aids to be placed at their disposal is that of one whose business it shall be to relieve them of much of the detail; attend to the routine of the financial work; see that contracts are at hand and properly executed before any payments even on account, are made and that subs- equent payments are in accordance with the terms of the con- tracts ; that accounts against the Town are properly and correctly rendered; that bonds of indemnity are seasonably obtained, and that the sureties are good and remain so during the con- tinuance of the contract; in short we must provide the Select- men, our agents, with the services of one on whom they can rely to attend to the detail of the financial routine for the accuracy of which they, and they alone, are responsible.
75
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
But the form of By-Laws herewith submitted provides that the Selectmen shall annually "appoint " a competent accountant who shall perform these services, and the question may be asked " why not elect him ?" The duties of Town Book-keeper, or better of Town Accountant, are peculiarly personal in the relations to the Selectmen. If the choice is left to the uncer- tainties of the polls, then in the event that the one chosen does not accomplish the work for which he was elected, there will be divided responsibility. The Selectmen will then disclaim responsibility on the ground of lack of ability on the part of the accountant, and the accountant-well, it matters little what he has to say. Let the Selectmen appoint their own man with a full knowledge of the importance to them that the choice is good, and then let the Town hold them to strict accounting as the Town's agents, for errors, whether of fact or of judgment.
Board of Auditors and Clerk of Selectmen.
It may now be asked what will become of the work hereto- fore done by the Auditors and the Selectmen's Clerk. These ' officials will still have their work to perform as provided in the statute. The Selectmen's Clerk will " enter all the votes, orders and proceedings in books and have the custody of such books," as provided in the statute.
The Auditors also have their duties prescribed by the statute. They shall examine the books and accounts of all the Town officers and Committees who are instructed with the receipt, custody, and expenditure of money, and all original bills and vouchers on which money has been or may be paid from the Town Treasury." This may be done once a month and shall be done once a year and the results reported in writing to the Town. The old By-Laws provided that the auditors should make up the Town report. This is not auditing, but account- ing, and should be done by the Town Accountant under the direction of the Selectmen, for it is the report of the doings they supervise. This report should balance that of the Town Treasurer. In the Town report must appear the certificate of the auditors that they have performed their duties including of
76
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 3I
course an examination of the Accountant's report. They can also take occasion to make such recommendations and comments as they wish.
Salaries for Certain Officials.
Now a word as to salaries. We recommend that the auditors serve without pay. It may seem a revolutionary suggestion, but it is not made without careful consideration supported with the results of the experience of other towns. The work of the auditors is not merely clerical, seeing whether the amount of the warrant agrees with that of the account which it pays, or whether or not the bookkeeper has made the proper charges. There are broader duties and wider opportunities, requiring a degree of judgment and sagacity the exercise of which is not called for in the checking of vouchers.
What the Town looks for in the Auditor's report is the assur- ance, not only that the vouchers agree with the warrants which the Treasurer has paid, important as this is, but an expression of confidence that the accounting system is adapted to the business of the Town, that it shows all that it ought to show. Further- more, if there are improvements that might or ought to be made, the Town looks to the Auditors to indicate them.
The suggestion that the Auditors, to whom this important department of the Town's work is entrusted, shall serve without pay, does not come from parsimony, but from a realization that the quality and ability of the men who ought to do this work is such that the Town can not afford to pay for it. Let us make the office of Auditor a position of trust and responsibility which it is an honor to be asked to fill, and men who will absolutely refuse to allow their names to be used in a contest at the polls, where the amount of the salary is an element, will readily con- sent to serve the Town, if the call to them is an expression of confidence in their judgment.
At the present moment many a man in private and social life is spending time and strength, thought and energy that through some organization he may be of service to those around him. Such men would scorn a suggestion of remuneration for these
77
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
services they are rendering freely and gladly. Their ardor would be checked and their work would suffer, if an intimation were made as to mercenary motives.
The time has certainly not arrived when service to the whole community, requiring no more time or attention than many a one gives to his church, his lodge, his social organization, can not be rendered attractive to those who now, " for the joy of the working," are serving portions of that same community.
Contracts of the Town.
A provision is recommended that "no contract or change of contract or order for labor or materials involving an expenditure of over five hundred dollars from any appropriation, shall be valid until countersigned by a majority of the Board of Select- men."
As the Selectmen are held accountable for the doings of sub- ordinate agents, it is but fair that the subordinate agents keep the Selectmen informed as to their contracts. This provision does not make the Selectmen a party to the contract, but it does require that your agents, the Selectmen, shall have notice of the expend- iture, and then, if they deem it for the interest of the Town, they may take such action as the circumstances warrant. This provision does not deny the particular board or official full credit for an advantageous contract or relieve from blame for a weak or inefficient one.
A further provision requires that contracts, after sufficient advertising, shall be opened publicly and the statute requires that a record be kept of all contracts awarded with the particu- lars thereof.
Overdrafts.
A troublesome feature of a Town government is the handling of overdratfs. It not infrequently happens that through an unforeseen contingency, the amount of an appropriation is not sufficient and it becomes necessary to incur indebtedness beyond that amount. Who shall determine whether a condition has arisen which warrants the Town being bound? Certainly this
78
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 31
decision shall not be permitted to rest with the officers or board alone, for if that were allowed, it would take the supervising of disbursements out of the hands of the Selectmen. The power to authorize an overdraft therefore should be exercised by the Town or by its agents, the Selectmen only. A margin must be allowed the latter, and this amount is fixed in the form of by-laws herewith submitted, at two hundred dollars. If it shall appear that the proposed overdraft exceeds that amount, then the Town itself must pass on the question.
In this connection, some one may have in mind the provision of the statutes that to certain boards and officials is given the power, in case of unforeseen emergency, to incur expense out- side of appropriation. It would be well therefore, when speak- ing of the general subject of overdrafts, to state that even these emergency provisions in the statute do not take from the Select- men the duty to see that no unreasonable bills are paid. The duty of the Selectmen to supervise the doings and the disburse- ments of subordinate agents cannot be avoided or evaded.
Financial Year.
For a number of years, the Town has voted to close the financial year at various dates. Your Committee has sought to learn what the experience of towns generally has been, and we find that while the Town Meeting must by statute be held in February, March or April, the fiscal year may close at any time. Some towns close their books as early as November and others as late as March, but the date most generally favored is January 3Ist, and that is recommended herewith. Closing the books at this time will allow sufficient time for a careful preparation of the Town Report and will also render unnecessary the closing of the books for weeks as has been the custom. The appropriations however made at the March meeting, will be for the period extending to the next March meeting. It would be the duty of those having the care of appropriations to see that there is suffi- cient balance January 31st, the close of the financial year, to last until the next annual meeting in March. This system of bookkeeping is adopted too generally and works too well for any practical objection to be raised.
79
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
It is also to be noted that a provision is made that each depart- ment shall include in its report a statement of all its outstanding and unpaid bills on January 31st.
Committee on Ways and Means.
In order to enforce that principle, already enunciated in vari- ous forms, that the Selectmen are the chief executive officers of the Town, and that as such they should be relieved of detail so that they may be held to full accountability for their general stew- ardship, a provision has been carefully drawn which looks to taking from the Selectmen what has been a burdensome part of their work, namely, investigating proposed appropriations.
This is work for which we ourselves as voters must recognize our responsibility, a responsibility from which we can not escape by saying that it was a duty delegated to some lesser body than the Town meeting. At the same time it must be recognized that a proposition for an appropriation is many sided, and that much time must be spent in getting at the facts and their rela- tion to each other, for not until such relation is established, can one feel that he is voting intelligently.
One who says that a matter can be threshed out at Town meet- ing, fails to take note of the inquiring attitude of the voters' minds after a warrant is posted and before a meeting is held. How quickly is attention given to one who, in places where men meet and talk, can avoid personalities and speak of the facts based on full information. An observer of the Swampscott Town meet- ing sees clearly that the voters want facts, but that, if the facts are not forthcoming, in full supply, then personalities, the thrust, the parry, the sneer and the loud guffaw, are too often kept as a reserve force to be brought up to carry the day.
That there is difficulty, even in the Legislature of the Com- monwealth, in getting at the facts about a question involving an expenditure of public money or a grant of public property and its relations to the finances of the Commonwealth, is recognized in the rules of the Senate and of the House. The Senate has but forty members and the House has two hundred and forty, and they can take all the time they need, while our Town meeting
80
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 31
frequently has four, five and six hundred present and there is but little time for discussion. All such matters therefore in the legislature are referred to the Committee on Ways and Means and an appointment on that committee is considered an honor.
Among the towns which are revising their by-laws and which are taking advantage of the latest and best experience, we find that a similar provision is made. The powers of the committees in the various towns vary, but the basal thought is the same, namely, the acquisition of facts which shall be the subject of a report on the proposition itself and its relations to the finances of the Town.
We recommend the incorporation of such a provision in the By-Laws of Swampscott.
Provisions as to Committee on Ways and Means.
The number of the Committee is placed at seven, it being sufficiently large to be representative but not so large as to be unwieldy. No provision is made for its appointment, which may therefore be by the Moderator or by a Nominating Com- mittee, or by nominations from the floor. It is provided that no member shall hold any Town office at the time of his appoint- ment, and the reason is twofold. First, the officials and boards have enough to do to spend their appropriations discreetly and prudently without having to consider in addition the relation of that appropriation to the general finances of the Town, and secondly, and it will be evident that more efficient service can be obtained from a Committee the judgment of no one of whose members shall be influenced by the supposed necessities of his particular department.
It is also provided that the members of this Committee shall serve without pay. The question of unpaid service for the com- munity as represented in the Town itself, has already been dis- cussed fully. Is it not a self evident fact that seven men can be found in this community whose opinions on matters of business whether public or private will not only command respect but will be used as a guide to action.
81
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
Police Regulations.
But one addition has been recommended in the Police Regula- tions. This is intended to prevent expense to the Town caused by repairing gravel sidewalks, where they have been washed out in consequence of conductors from eaves emptying directly thereon. We are advised that it is quite an item of expense to the Street Department to repair such damages after heavy rains.
Accounts Against the Town.
It is but fair to give to the Town and to its creditors the same privileges which are freely claimed and granted among business men and in private life, viz : A sufficient time for the examina- tion of bills and accounts presented for payment. The Town Accountant shall submit all bills, after he has examined and approved them, to the Selectmen not later than the second Fri- day in each month. He may, however, on request of the department, submit them at other times. Pay rolls he shall submit within forty-eight hours after the close of the period covered by them. These provisions protect the Town and also assure the creditors of the Town that by a day certain their accounts, if approved, shall be paid.
Acceptance of New Streets.
Many suggestions have been made that a By-Law be recom- mended as to the acceptance of new streets, one that shall fix the width and also the construction. Other towns have also wrestled with this problem, which is one fruitful of controversy by reason of many elements entering into consideration of such projects. We learn, however, that no By-Law, passed by any town, has been held to be valid when tested, for the reason that under the statutes of the Commonwealth, towns do not have the right to pass such a By-Law.
Hawkers and Peddlers.
Many suggestions have been offered that some change be made in the By-Laws regarding hawkers and peddlers. Under the law, any one with a state license can hawk or peddle anywhere.
82
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 31
A town may however make regulations and these regulations have to be complied with. Thus the Town can control what at times seems a necessary evil. Provisions are therefore recom- mended that put these people under the control of the Chief of Police, to whom they must report once a month.
New Legislation Recommended.
It is pertinent to mention two subjects concerning which there is felt to be a need for determination by this and other Towns, but investigation has shown, that until new legislation is enacted, these special needs must remain unsatisfied. There are two in particular to which your attention is called and concerning which action is recommended.
First, the extension of the Australian system of voting so that it may apply to appropriations and any other matters the Towns may wish. It is a common experience that a voice vote, or even a rising vote, frequently does not express or represent the wish of the Town. This feeling is emphasized if one notes the com- ments as the meeting separates, or even when it is seen that out of an attendance of four, five or even six hundred voters, but a hundred or two and sometimes even a less number are recorded. True, every one present has a right to have his vote recorded, but the anemic or dyspeptic voter is overawed by his neighbor with leather lungs. Again, if for any reason, a voter is not able to remain through a meeting, or is not present at all, and so loses the opportunity of voting by voice, he can, if the Australian system is adopted, have his opportunity with loss of less time, to record his vote on as many subjects as the Town shall decide to put on the ballot.
It may be a matter of surprise to some that, of the voters of Swampscott, nearly one-half, forty-three per cent exactly, have never voted in Town elections in any other way than by the Australian system. Those who had experience under the old system of separate tickets will remember the annoyances which were many. If a voter did not care to vote a straight ticket, it was quite a task for him to get off in a corner by himself and mark the variations he wished. Sometimes a man would have
83
RECORDS OF TOWN CLERK.
1907]
to take a ballot to his home that he might escape the unsought advice of eager supporters of rival candidates. All these annoyances are now done away through the use of the voting booth where the voter is free from prying eyes. We recom- mend the extention of the Australian system more generally.
Second, the fixing of the quorum needed at Town Meeting. Under the law, as it now stands, any number of voters, however small, who meet in response to a legal warrant, can bind the Town. While therefore it is the intent of the law that all the voters shall attend all the meetings, yet experience shows that they don't and they won't and so in theory, they ought not to complain. This is true, to quite an extent, of special Town Meetings. It is generally recognized that a proposition at a special Town Meeting frequently involves a particular interest or a particular locality, and the particular supporters will there- fore attend, while those whose particular interests are not affected directly, are not sufficiently concerned as to the relation of the proposition to the general finances of the town to make an effort to attend. It seems well therefore that legislation be passed granting Towns the power to fix by by-law the number to bind a Town by the action of the meeting.
Repeal of Old By-Laws.
The form of By-Laws herewith submitted is not to displace or supersede the old, except so far as some of the provisions of the By-Laws of 1890 are inconsistant with those now submitted. The Acts of the Legislature which took the approval of By-Laws from the Superior Court and placed it in the office of the Attor- ney General expressly provided that By-Laws that had been approved by the Court should be valid unless disapproved by the Attorney General. Those By-Laws therefore which have proved their usefulness to the Town are not included in the form here- with submitted, which when adopted by the Town, will be passed upon by the Attorney General.
In conclusion your Committee therefore submits herewith the form of By-Laws embodying the changes herein commented
84
TOWN DOCUMENTS.
[Jan. 31
upon. When they are adopted by the Town and their submis- sion to the Attorney General for approval authorized, such of them as are approved by him will become in force after three publications.
September 10, 1906.
JOHN ALBREE, FRED C. MARSH, FRANK L. SIMPSON, DANIEL F. KNOWLTON,
Committee on Revision of Town By-Laws.
Filed in the office of the Town Clerk, September 10, 1906.
MILTON D. PORTER.
Town Clerk.
Statutes and Acts accepted by the Town since the Revison of the By-Laws in 1890.
Chapter 386, Acts of 1890. An act to authorize the printing and distributing of ballots for Town elections at the publi expense.
Accepted December 1, 1890.
Chapter 154, Acts of 1882. An act authorizing Towns an Cities to lay out public parks within their limits.
Accepted March 20, 1893.
Chapter 16, Acts of 1894. An act relative to the election o surveyors of highways.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.