USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Wakefield > Town annual report of the officers of Wakefield Massachusetts : including the vital statistics for the year 1919 > Part 10
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1,413.82
700.43
713.39
'Auxiliary agencies :
Promotion of health ..
1,369.67
Agriculture
1,977.44
1,977.44
Miscellaneous
452.86
Outlay :
New equipment
1,191.33
988.47
202.86
Permanent imp.
2,877.97
2,865.13
12.84
Tuition
127.86
127.86
Miscellaneous expenses :
Evening school
4.25
4.25
Total expenditures for all
school purposes ..
. $128,183.99 $41,502.31 $75,105.40 $1,272.17 $586.74
133
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
Report of Municipal Light Board
Wakefield, Mass., Feb. 6, 1920.
To the Citizens of Wakefield:
We submit herewith the twenty-sixth annual report of the Municipal Light Department, which is for the year ended December 31st, 1919. The report consists of a complete financial statement, our comments upon the business, some of the physical data regarding the plant and, in an appen- dix, transcripts from our several cash accounts.
The financial statement, which immediately follows, consists of the operating account, the profit and loss account and the balance sheet and is in the form in which we are required to report to the Department of Public Utilities as of the same date.
CHARLES S. SPAULDING,
Manager.
CHARLES W. HODGDON,
JOHN M. CAMERON, Municipal Light Board.
OPERATING ACCOUNT
Expenses.
Gas coal
$24,757.03
Steam coal
207.39
Water
7.00
Enrichers
7,337.13
Purifying materials,
487.38
Oil, waste and packing
160.99
Wages at works
18,621.40
Works, tools, etc.
381.09
Repairs, structures and holders
269.64
Repairs, machinery and equipment
2,418.34
Repairs, steam plant
123.09
Repairs, mains and services
6,537.82
Repairs, gas meters
424.44
Care of gas meters
126.10
Meter takers
1,183.45
Distribution tools, etc. 744.54
Stable
1,466.78
Garage
1,637.34
Salaries municipal light board
200.00
-
134
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Salary of manager
1,742.71
General salaries
2,290.62.
Office expense
2,315.62.
Insurance
714.51
State assessment
48.44
Total
$74,202.85,
Income
Coke
$ 2,107.89
Tar
2,406.17
Regular gas
37,167.98
Prepaid gas
28,087.50
Municipal gas
276.27
Total
$70,045.81
Balance to debit of profit and loss 4,157.04
$74,202.85
OPERATING ACCOUNT, ELECTRIC Expenses.
Water
$ 3.50
Wages at station
2,731.24
Repairs of buildings
6.00
Repairs, electric plant
361.60
Station tools, etc.
231.57
Current bought
24,572.87
Repairs, lines and conduits.
6,123.58
Repairs, meters and transformers
355.95
Repairs, street lights
172.41
Care of lights
244.00
Care of electric meters
599.93:
Meter takers
591.73
Stable
733.40
Garage
818.67
Distribution tools', etc.
200.87
Salaries, municipal light board.
100.00
Salary of manager
871.36:
General salaries
1,145.30ยท
Office expense
1,157.78
Insurance
357.25
State assessment
24.22
Claims'
2,000.00
Total
$43,403.23
Balance to credit of profit and loss 21,133.94
$64,537.17
135
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
Income
Commercial light $36,575.34
Power 10,922.73
Municipal light 1,539.10
Street light appropriation 15,500.00
Total
$64,537.17
PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT.
Debtor
To balance of Dec. 31, 1918. $59,675.23
To fire alarm plant removed. 7,912.04
To fire alarm inventory . removed 114.57
12,500.00
To depreciation, mach. and equip.
1,500.00
To depreciation, mains
1,400.00
To depreciation, gas meters
500.00
To depreciation, steam plant
600.00
To depreciation, electric plant
600.00
To depreciation, overhead lines
1,100.00
To depreciation, transformers
300.00
To depreciation, electric meters
498.33
To loss in stock account
3,179.39
To loss in gas jobbing
2,544.90
To loss in electric . jobbing
493.26
To interest on debt
2,145.21
To interest on deposits
15.00
To balance of operating account, gas.
4,157.04
To total
$99,234.97.
Creditor
By appropriation for debt retirement. $12,500.00
By services
3,063.16
By fire alarm appropriation removed.
5,698.33
By bad bills become good
12.94
By balance of operating account, electric
21,133.94
By total
$42,408.37
By balance of Dec. 31, 1919 56,826.60
$99,234.97
BALANCE SHEET
Assets
Land and buildings, gas, $ 9,173.16
Machinery and equipment 31,844.54
Steam plant 7,762.66
To loans repayment
136
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Mains
46,999.97
Services 3,781.32:
Gas meters 17,211.49
Land and buildings, electric 5,654.26.
Electric plant
8,893.35.
Overhead lines
45,584.21
Transformers
10,866.38.
Electric meters
11,712.18.
Street lights and fixtures
1,609.42;
Deposit fund
2,504.00
Operation fund
73.92
Depreciation fund
0.00
Construction fund
269.80
Accounts receivable, gas
2,651.88.
Accounts receivable, electric
5,526.19
Accounts receivable, sundry
1,204.84:
Gas coal
2,115.00
Steam coal
189.20
Coke
112.50
Tar
525.00.
Enrichers
536.20
Purifying materials
360.00
Other gas materials
1,042.77
Work tools
850.35
Distribution tools, gas
473.90-
Stock
3,001.16.
Station tools
595.75.
Distribution tools, electric
141.65.
Other electric materials
765.11
Stable equipment .
885.30
Garage equipment
500.00
Office furniture
589.40
Total
$226,006.86
Balance of Dec. 31, 1919
56,826.60
$282,833.46
Liabilities
Appropriations for construction $ 43,233.90
Bonds outstanding 45,000.00
Notes outstanding 1,000.00
Accounts payable for construction 27.00
Accounts payable for operation
3,311.89
Interest accrued but not due
456.67
137
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
Deposits 2,504.00
Total
$ 95,533.46
Loans repaid 187,300.00
$282,833.46
Early in the year, we engaged Mr. C. W. Whiting, consulting en- gineer, to make a study of our affairs and to tell us what he thought of them. Later, we engaged him to install a new system of accounting and a new set of account books and the work is now nearing completion. The accounts for the year have been re-arranged and re-written and the fore- going financial statement is the result. What Mr. Whiting has to say regarding it may be of interest to some so we append a letter from him, dated February 6th, 1920.
Because of the continued high cost of labor and materials, we have been obliged to increase our prices for gas and electricity. The price of gas was increased 10 cents per thousand cubic feet, on February 1st and again on November 1st. The present price is $1.70 gross, with a dis- count of 10 cents for prompt payment. The price of electricity was in- creased on the same dates and is' now 15 cents per kilowatt-hour gross, with a discount of 2 cents for prompt payment.
Additional street lights were installed on Broadway at Foundry St .; on Broadway near the Pumping Station; and on Lakeside Ave. and Cyrus St. The street lights on Main St., from Water St. to the Rockery, were changed and the service was improved thereby.
Extensive repairs were made on the lines and others will be re- quired during the present year in order to put the lines in reasonably good order.
It was the custom, in the past, to read all of the meters during the last twelve days of the month and to send out the bills on the first of the following month. This resulted in a great amount of office work during one half of the month and little during the other half. We are now reading meters every day but Sundays and holidays and sending out the bills the day after.
The demand for gas, during the past year, shows that, if there is any breakdown or serious trouble with our apparatus, we shall not be able to supply what our consumers require. An additional water-gas set should be installed as promptly as possible and a request for the necessary appropriation has been made. Your favorable action on the matter will be highly appreciated.
Below are some physical data pertaining to the plant.
PHYSICAL DATA.
As of December 31st
1918
1919
Feet of mains
208,318
211,926
Gas meters
2,538
2,638
138
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Gas consumers
2,538
2,638
Cu. ft. coal gas made
35,776,000
37,657,000
Cu. ft. water gas made
20,240,000
18,460,000
Cu. ft. total gas made
56,016,000
56,117,000
Cu. ft. gas accounted for
43,540,000
43,637,000
Cu. ft. gas unaccounted for
12,476,000
12,480,000
Per cent. gas unaccounted for
22.2
22.2
Feet of wire
794,453
809,543
Transformers
303
302
Electric meters
1,235
1,394
Street lights
609
613
Electric consumers
1,235
1,394
K. W. Hrs. purchased
925,345
849,792
K. W. Hrs. sold for light
262,934
307,773
K. W. Hrs. sold for power
413,056
248,948
K. W. Hrs. used for street lights
79,904
120,985
Hours operated, Square lights
2,326
3,687
Hours operated, other street lights
1,813
3,105
It is with great sorrow that we record the death of Mr. Edwin C. Miller, a leading member of our board for many years, and we feel that. we can do so in no better way than to place here a copy of the letter of condolence which we sent to Mrs. Miller.
"Mrs. Ida F. Miller,
Richardson Ave.,
Wakefield, Mass.
Dear Mrs. Miller :-
It was with deep regret and sincere sorrow that the Wakefield Muni- cipal Light Board learned of the sudden and untimely death of your honored husband, Mr. Edwin C. Miller, on January 26, 1920.
As chairman of our board many years, Mr. Miller had won the re- spect, admiration and love of his associates, likewise all the employees of the department, both office and plant. Mr. Miller's interest in the Municipal Light Plant and his devotion to the welfare of Wakefield for so many years, gained for him a conspicuous place in the municipal, civic, social and fraternal life of the town of his adoption. His passing away is universally deplored by our townspeople.
As members of the Municipal Light Board, we shall long cherish the memories of the many pleasant meetings we have spent together, at which Mr. Miller was invariably on hand to give us' the benefit of his long experience and wise counsel.
We deem it particularly appropriate at this time that a quotation from a letter recently sent from our office by Mr. Miller to a Wakefield family, might here very truthfully apply in the case of yourself and fami- ly .:
'Trusting that the Heavenly Father' will comfort you during the
139
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
days that you are passing through the darkness of this great loss, we beg to remain.'
With kindest regards and sincere sympathy for yourself and family, we beg to remain,
Yours sincerely,"
Respectfully submitted,
CHARLES S. SPAULDING, Manager.
CHARLES H. HODGDON, JOHN M. CAMERON, Municipal Light Board.
APPENDIX.
Because of its different characteristics, the cash we handled is kept in three cash accounts called operation fund, depreciation fund and con- struction fund. Transcripts from these are given below.
OPERATION FUND Debtor
To balance of Dec. 31, 1918 $ 0.00
To appropriation for debt retirement
12,500.00
To appropriation for operation 15,500.00
To gas receipts
68,420.81
To electric receipts
49,620.39
To sundry receipts
11,276.20
$157,317.40
Creditor
By debt retired $ 12,500.00
By interest on debt
2,263.75
By transfer to depreciation fund
8,044.83
By transfer to construction fund
654.30
By operating expenditures
132,053.36
By cash to town
1,727.24
By balance of Dec. 31, 1919.
73.92
$157,317.40
.
DEPRECIATION FUND
Debtor
To balance of Dec. 31, 1918. $1,272.30
To transfer from operation fund 8,044.83
$9,317.13
Creditor
By transfer to construction fund.
$9,317.13
By balance of Dec. 31, 1919
0.00
$9,317.13
140
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
CONSTRUCTION FUND Debtor
To balance of Dec. 31, 1918 .. $ 0.00
To appropriation for construction 600.00
To transfer from operation fund
654.30
To transfer from depreciation fund
9,317.13.
$10,571.43
Creditor
By additions to mains
$ 1,806.92
By additions to services
709.21
By additions to gas meters
1,853.22
Ey additions to overhead lines
3,793.14
By additions to transformers
891.08
By additions to electric meters
1,248.06
By balance of Dec. 31, 1919
269.80
$10,571.43
.
REPORT OF CONSULTING ENGINEER.
Municipal Light Board,
Wakefield, Mass.
Boston, Mass., Feb. 6, 1920.
Gentlemen:
In view of the fact that you are about to report to the town upon the operation of the Gas and Electric Department for the year ended December 31st, 1919 and upon its condition at the end of that year, I beg to submit the following:
The financial statement, which I am handing to you to be incor- porated in your report, is in somewhat different form from that used in the past but it is in good form and such as I would recommend for the future. It is in the same form as prescribed by the Department of Public Utilities to whom you are required to report annually. Furthermore, it is a direct copy from your new general ledger, without any computations or alterations. It is comparatively simple but, even so, I would make some comments upon it and upon. what it indicates.
The statement consists of the operating account, gas; the operating account, electric; the profit and loss account; and the balance sheet. It is a complete financial statement of what the department accomplished during the year and how it stood at the end of the year. The operating accounts show the operating expenses, the operating incomes and the balances between these, which balances are carried to the profit and loss account. The latter shows the non-operating expenses, such as interest, depreciation, etc. and the non-operating incomes, whatever they may be. The balance of the profit and loss account is carried forward from year to year and represents the surplus or deficit as the case may be. The balance sheet shows the book values of the assets and of the liabilities
141
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
at the end of the year and the difference between these, and this latter also represents the surplus or deficit and agrees with the profit and loss balance.
The operating account, gas, shows a loss of $4,157.04. This is very unsatisfactory because there are also non-operating expenses and obliga- tions, such as interest, depreciation and debt retirement, that are charge- able to the gas division. If these are added to the operating loss the showing will be as follows:
$ 4,157.04 Operating loss
922.00 Interest charges
3,400.00 Depreciation charges
6,813.00 Debt retirement
$15,362.04 Total loss
In order to make the gas division self-sustaining, the expense of mak- ing and distributing the gas must be reduced, the price of gas sold must' be increased or a combination of these two remedies must be applied.
The operating account, electric, shows a profit of $21,133.94. If the non-operating expenses and obligations are deducted from this, the show- ing will be as follows:
$ 828.00 Interest charges
3,098.33 Depreciation charges
5,687.00 Debt retirement
$ 9,613.33 Total
$21,133.94 Operating profit as above
9,613.33 Non-operating expenses and obligations
$11,520.61 Net profit
This is very satisfactory but it appears to be more satisfactory than it really is because of the means by which it was obtained. Part of the income was an appropriation from the tax levy for street lights and this amounted to $15,500.00. According to the records, 120,985 kilowatt-hours were supplied to street lights during the year so the cost of this current, to the town, was 12.81 cents per kilowatt-hour which is more than it should be.
The profit and loss account shows a deficit, at the beginning of the year, of $59,675.23 and a deficit at the end of the year, of $56,826.60. These will be referred to later but it should be noted that they show a profit for the year of $2,848.63. This figure should be considered in connec- tion with the items that produced it.
In the first place, when rewriting the accounts, I thought it best to separate the fire alarm accounts from the gas and electric accounts since it only leads to confusion to keep the two sets together. The fire alarm
.
142
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
appropriation, amounting to $5,698.33, had to be written off through the credit side of profit and loss and the fire alarm plant and inventory, amounting to $8,026.61, had to be written off through the debit side of profit and loss. The difference, amounting to $2,328.28, represents fire alarm plant that was built, in the past, out of funds belonging to the. gas and electric department and shows as a loss, now that it is taken out of the gas and electric accounts.
In the second place, the stock account was not kept properly in the past. Materials were debited to it when purchased but not credited to it when inventoried for closing the books. The balance of the ac- count represented a loss but this loss was not written off each year through the profit and loss account but was carried forward as an asset and called an inventory. The balance, as of December 31st, 1919, amounted to $3,179.39 and I have written it off through profit and loss.
In the third place, it seemed best to change the method of keeping the accounts relating to gas services. In the past, the cost of installing gas services, except that part paid for by the consumers, was treated as an expense and charged to the operating account. That was not correct because the services were part of the plant, just as the mains and the meters were. In so far that method was followed, I gathered together the costs, made an allowance for depreciation and wrote the resulting value onto the books by crediting profit and loss and debiting a plant account called services. That produced an abnormal profit for the year amounting to $3,063.16.
Except for the entries mentioned above, the net profit of the depart- ment would have been as follows: $2,848.63 Profit as shown
2,328.28 Loss from fire alarm accounts
3,179.39 Loss from stock account
$8,356.30
3,063.16 Profit from services
$5,293.14 Virtual net profit for the year
The balance sheet shows the standing of the department as of De- cember 31st, 1919. It is given in the form prescribed by the State but it requires an explanation. It shows an apparent deficit of $56,826.60 but that results from the fact that the debt which has been retired, amount- ing to $187,300.00, is set up as an apparent liability. Actually, so far as the department is concerned, the assets amount to $226,006.86 the liabilities amount to 95,533.46
$130,473.40 So far as the town is concerned, the assets amount to
and there is a surplus of
$226,006.86
143
REPORT OF MUNICIPAL LIGHT BOARD
the liabilities amount to
52,299.56
and there is a surplus of $173,707.30
The difference between these two figures is $43,233.90 which is the sum of the appropriations made from the tax levy for construction.
The new general ledger contains three cash accounts and these are called operation fund, depreciation fund and construction fund. The reason for separating the. cash in this way is that it has different char- acteristics. Some of it may be used for certain purposes and may not be used for certain other purposes. The operation fund is intended to handle the cash available for operating expenses, the depreciation fund is intended to handle the cash available for renewals of the plant which may be required to offset the depreciation that takes place and the con- struction fund is intended to handle the cash available for additions to the plant. The cash for the depreciation fund is transferred from the", operation fund, once a year, and amounts to 3% of the cost of the plant, exclusive of the land. The cash for the construction fund is appro- priated by the town, either from the tax levy or from bonds or notes; , or it may be transferred from the depreciation fund by orders of the Municipal Light Board to the extent that there is cash in the deprecia- tion fund available for the purpose.
Transcripts from these cash accounts are shown and I would say a few words regarding them.
The credit side of the operation fund shows $1,727.24 as paid to the town and $73.92 as on hand December 31st, 1919. The sum of these two amounts was the balance of the operation fund at the end of the year. It was assumed that the balance of this account should be made over to the town and the $1,727.24 was so treated and deposited with the town treasurer up to late in the afternoon of December 31st. After that, how- ever, the $73.92 came in and was on hand at the end of the day. This will be reported by the town treasurer and town accountant as being received in 1920, so that the several sets of books will agree. It seems that the town by-laws provide that the balances of appropriations shall revert to the town at the end of the fiscal year and it is claimed that the balance of the operation fund is the balance of the appropriation for the gas and electric department. Of course, it is not, because the ap- propriation was expended long since; but the chief objection to this method of procedure is that it makes it more difficult to keep the ac- counts so that they will show exactly what the department is doing. The money earned by the department should remain in the department and this is especially so for two reasons. In the first place, the accounts now show a deficit of $56,826.60 and the department should wipe that out before it returns any money or pays any dividends to the town. In the second place, the department requires some money every year for additions to the plant in the way of mains, services, lines, transformers 1 and meters and, if it has a balance in the operation fund at the end of
144
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
the year, it should be allowed to transfer that balance to the construction fund. It will then have to ask the town for just that much less for con- strruction This matter is of so much importance and has given so much trouble in the past that Mr. Weed of the Department of Public Utilities has proposed the following as a vote for a town to pass in connection with the appropriation for street lights:
"Ordered, That there be included in the tax levy for electricity used for street lights the sum of . dollars, and that said sum and the income from sales of electricity and gas to private consumers and to municipal buildings during the current fiscal year be appropriated for the municipal lighting plant, the whole to be expended by the manager of municipal lighting under the direction and control of the municipal light board for the expense of the plant for said fiscal year, as defined in section 114 of chapter 742 of the Acts of the year 1914 (as amended by chapter 77 of General Acts of 1918), and that, if there shall be any un- expended balance thereof at the end of said fiscal year, the same shall be transferred to the construction fund of said plant and appropriated and used for such additions thereto as may be authorized by the muni- cipal light board during the next fiscal year."
I recommend that this be proposed at the coming and future town meetings.
The construction fund shows a balance of $269.80 whereas the balance on the books of the town accountant was $265.46. The differ- ence is due to my rearrangement of the entries pertaining to services and could not be adjusted before the the books were closed. The depart- ment should deposit, to this account, the sum of $4.34.
Respectfully submitted,
C. W. WHITING.
-
145
RECORD OF BIRTHS
Record of Births
Jan. 9-Rose Terravecchia. Mickele and Marie Andonica (Locash). Jan. 9-John Corindia. Joseph and Aghitina (Caruba).
Jan. 12-Alice Louise Fraughton. John R. and Alice (Muse). Jan. 12-Pauline Rogers. Linnwood A. and Evelyn (Merrill). Jan. 13-Angiolino Riccitelli. John and Rosina Angelo (Renzella). Jan. 13-Donetta D. Benedette. Carmillo and Julia (Ferricillo).
Jan. 14-Robert Huff Taylor. Herbert F. and Marion Esther (Huff). Jan. 15-Rosina Filoramo. Joseph and Josephine (Filoramo).
Jan. 16-John Carbone. Vito and Angelino (DeFeo).
Jan. 17-Sophie Jarzynka. Frank and Fannie (Krzewicka).
Jan. 17-James Thomas Hurton. James F. and Mildred (Nichols).
Jan. 17-Gertrude Belinda Kelloway. Wm. R. and Gertrude (Parsons).
Jan. 19-Viola Luciano. Dominic and Concetta (Longo).
Jan. 20-Jerry A. Cavalier. Michael and Victoria (Raymond).
Jan. 20-Antonio Guiseppe D'Alesandro. Felice and Assunta (Evan-
gelista).
Jan. 21-Margaret Louise White. Henry F. and Mary Maude (Frotton). Jan. 22-Vienna Antonucci. Peter and Gertrude (Di Tono).
Jan. 22-Marjorie Fairbrother Denton. Arthur L. and Edith Marcia (Fairbrother).
Jan. 22-Enrico Rufo. Orazio and Carmella (Citrone).
Jan. 22-Bronistaw Pawtowski. Bernard and Anna (Kwietek).
Jan. 22-Antonio Fiore. Antonio and Lena (De Lucca).
Jan. 24-Joseph Le Roy Muse. Richard and Helen C. (Smith).
Jan. 24-Marian Elizabeth Winter. Frederick F. and Bernice Laura (Huntley).
Jan. 25-Geraldine Eva Eames. Ralph G. and Elizabeth Geraldine (Mohla).
Jan. 25-Henry Karol Kroll. Charles and Regina (Halliday).
Jan. 26-George Joseph McMannis. George W. and Catherine H.
(Foley).
Jan. 26-Del Rossi. Antonio and Guiseppina (Del Rossi).
Jan. 27-Harold Joseph Amiro. Raymond and Frances (Hubbard).
Jan. 28-Doris Dutton Van Alstine. Linwood S. and Doris (Dutton).
Jan. 30-Marian Di Giacomoantonio. Arturo and Marie (Del Rossi).
Jan. 30. Edna Beatrice Gregory. Edward N. and Susan E. (Farns worth).
Feb. 1-Clarence Frederick Field, Jr. Clarence F. and Una Louise (Barteum).
Feb. 4-Rita Julia Curley. Peter and Mary Julia (Mead).
146
TOWN OF WAKEFIELD
Feb. 5-Alberta Lorraine Gates. John G. and Ruth Elizabeth (Bowers). Feb. 8-Marcus Ernest Hall. Orick D. and Mary A. (McNeil).
Feb. 10-Naomi Murray. Edmund K. and Sybil (Lewis).
Feb. 12-Audrey Willena Steeves. Harold and Christina May (Mac- Neil).
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