USA > Wisconsin > Milwaukee County > Milwaukee > History of Milwaukee from its first settlement to the year 1895 > Part 12
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THE CITY UNDER THE CHARTER.
both real and personal property, for school pur- poses in each ward; and a similar tax for the sup- port of the poor, to be levied upon all property in the city, collectively; a tax not exceeding one- quarter of one per cent. for preserving the health and regulating the police of the city ; also a tax not exceeding one-half of one per cent. in each ward for the purpose of building and maintaining bridges ; and such further tax for county purposes as might be established by the county board of supervisors, pro rata with the other towns in the county.
A proviso in the charter prescribed for such lands in sections nineteen, thirty, thirty-one and thirty-two, as were not used for city purposes nor laid out into city lots, a complete exemption from all taxes under the act, save for schools and for poor and highway purposes; an exemption which, however equitable or politic, was completely destroyed by the clause in the state constitution adopted two years later, which prescribed uni- formity of taxation. The first decision of the Supreme Court of the state to that effect is found in the case of Knowlton v. Rock County, 9 Wis- consin Reports, p. 410.
The general approbation of the plan of Lieuten- ants Center and Rose, U. S. Engineers, for opening a harbor north of the mouth of the river and nearer to the crown of the bay shore, was testified by section thirty-two of the charter, which autho- rized a tax to be levied for that object in the first, second, third and fourth wards, if voted by the citizens of those wards.
Two days' work on the highways, streets and alleys were to be performed by each person liable to that duty under territorial laws.
The assessment roll for each ward was to be made out in May of each year by the assessor of the ward, and returned by him to the clerk of the city, who was to lay it before the common council. That body was to consider, revise and equalize the assesssments, after which the taxes were to be levied. The rate per centum on the assessed value of the estate, real and personal, was to be deter- mined for each ward by the majority of its alder- men, except for the general tax and the tax for the payment of ward debts, which were to be fixed by the common council, and for the county tax which the county supervisors should pre- scribe. The council and the county supervisors having settled the rates of all the taxes, the
clerk was to make out a schedule of all "the property and the taxes chargeable thereon, separating and classifying them so that the description of each piece should be followed by the several taxes levied npon it, arranged in a book for each ward, which was to constitute the tax list. The warrant of the common council to collect the taxes being attached to the list, the whole was to be delivered to the city treasurer, who was to execute it. The tax upon real estate, which constituted the great bulk of the whole, was enforced by public sales of the several parcels thereof by the treasurer, after six weeks' public notice, from which sale the owner might redeem within three years on paying the amount of tax with interest at twenty-five per cent. per annum. The tax was a lien on the land, charged from the time of levy of the tax, and a deed might be claimed on it by the purchaser at the tax sale after the period of redemption expired. Notwith- standing the supposed simplicity of these proceed- ings, and of the provisions of law intended to protect the purchaser's title and to throw upon the delinquent owner the burden of proof in attacking the transfers, the litigations growing out of transactions terminated almost universally in favor of the original owner, and on one ground or another acute lawyers successfully defended his title until tax titles became contemptible, and people neglected to contribute to the support of a government which provided no effectual penalty for failure. More careful legislation, devised by experienced lawyers, gradually changed the situ- ation, and in time armed tax deeds with a power that few, were willing to oppose. Men acquired the habit of paying taxes, and the treasuries of the city and the county of Milwaukee filled and their credit became high. But for several years "city orders " drawn upon an empty treasury, ranged below par, declining steadily until a careful revision of city finances once more restored the credit which had been so sadly impaired.
Personal property was placed in a separate part of the tax list, and the tax thereon was collected by seizure and sale at auction upon previous notice of six days.
Money could only be borrowed upon the credit of the city by the common council when author- ized by a vote of two-thirds of the electors voting at an authorized election, " who shall have been assessed and have actually paid a tax on real and
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
personal estate the year preceding such vote, ex- cept that a loan might be made in anticipation of the revenue for the year and not exceeding the amount of the anticipated revenue." No ward should be liable for a debt incurred "to promote the measures of any other ward." If a loan should be made for general city purposes no lia- bility therefor should devolve upon any ward nor on the property or citizens thereof, unless a ma- jority of the aldermen of such ward should have voted in favor of such loan ; but all those wards, the aldermen of which should have voted for the loan should be liable in their corporate capacity for the payment of the same in proportion to the assessed valuation in each, when the debt should become due. Improvements in each ward, the disbursement of corporate funds therein, and the management of its local affairs were placed under the sole supervision, direction and control of its aldermen. No wonder that provisions so indicative of local jealousy and distrust, leading to questions numerous and obscure, and to endless controversies between the wards and their creditors, were soon found unsuitable for use and were speedily abol- ished.
The city authorities were anthorized to fund the existing indebtedness of the town of Milwaukee and its east and west wards at a rate of interest not exceeding ten per cent. per annum.
Suits might be commenced against the city by service of process upor the mayor or clerk. Resi- dence within its limits did not thereby render any one incompetent to act as judge, justice, witness or juror in suits in which the city was a party.
Fire engine, hook and ladder, and hose com- panies were provided for, each to be composed of not more than forty able-bodied men, between the ages of eighteen and fifty, officered and governed in accordance with their own by-laws. Member- ship was to be voluntary and gratuitous ; the only rewards being freedom from highway labor and military duty. Engine houses, hook and ladder houses, the lots upon which they stood, and all fire engines, carriages and fire apparatus used by any authorized company were exempt from levy or sale under any execution, except in cases where the judgment was for the purchase price. The law has since been changed, and the property of a mu- nicipal corporation can no longer be levied upon to satisfy judgments; which, like other forms of in- debtedness, are to be satisfied by the levy of taxes.
The council was authorized to impose penalties for violations of ordinances in the shape of fines, not exceeding fifty dollars in any one case ; and in default of payment might authorize imprison- ment in the county jail not more than thirty days.
This, in brief, is a summary of the original charter of the city of Milwaukee. It was amended the fol- lowing year, so as to make the offices of treasurer, attorney and marshal elective instead of appoint- ive, and the number of assessors in each ward was increased to three. Other changes were made from time to time, and still others were pro- posed and discussed. A charter has never yet been devised which could long continue to satisfy the members of any community, and the first charter of Milwaukee was soon laid aside. The first attempt to supply a substitute was made in 1851, when a draft of a charter, understood to have been prepared by Hon. Andrew G. Miller, judge of the United States District Court, was submitted to a popular vote. This was drawn with the purpose in view of restricting taxation and preventing extravagance and corruption. It con- tained some excellent provisions, but did not seem to be entirely adapted to the requirements of the growing city. Whether on account of its merits or defects it failed to secure the approval of the voters. But in the following year a substantially new charter was passed by the legislature, under the title of " An act to consolidate and amend the act to incorporate the city of Milwaukee and the several acts amendatory thereof." This was submitted to the electors of the city for their approval, and was adopted by them at an election held on the first Monday of February, 1852.
The new charter, adopted in 1852, enlarged somewhat the boundaries of the city, without in- creasing the number of wards, and changed the date of the spring election from the first Monday of April to the first Tuesday of March in each year. The elective officers were mayor, treasurer, marshal and police justice elected from the city at large, and from each ward three aldermen, one assessor, one constable and a justice of the peace. The terms of office of police justice and of justice of the peace were for two years. Two aldermen were to be elected every year in each ward, one to serve for one and one for two years. In this way each ward was at all times to be represented by three members in the common council, but their terms were to beof different lengths. The two elected for
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THE CITY UNDER THE CHARTER.
two-year terms were to be members of the county board of supervisors. The terms of the other offi- cers mentioned were to be annual. The qualifica- tions for suffrage were made to consist in one year's residence in the city and ten days in the ward, in addition to the qualifications required under the general laws of the state of persons voting for state and county officers. The common council was authorized to elect a president, who should preside in the absence of the mayor, and a presi- dent pro tempore in the absence of the other two. A clerk was to be chosen by the council. The duties of the city attorney, treasurer and marshal were defined ; and the office of city comptroller was created, to be filled by the common council, the incumbent to be the financial officer of the city and to keep a careful oversight of all con- tracts entered into for public improvements. These were to be countersigned by him, as also were all certificates of work done under them. Estimates of needed improvements were required to be made by him and reported to the council for its guidance. The object of the creation of this office was to place a check upon the loose ad- ministration of city finances, but its authority was not so extensive as it afterward came to be. The council was to have the general control of the public funds ; but its authority was limited by provisions intended as a safeguard against extravagance in expenditures and in tax- ation. City orders previously issued were not to be received for taxes or assessments except in cer- tain specified cases. In payment of existing in- debtedness of the city and of its several wards, contracted for general city or ward purposes, the council was authorized to issue bonds bearing in- terest at not more than seven per cent. Taxes might be levied as follows : A general city tax on all property subject to taxation, not exceeding one per cent, for paying off existing indebtedness; a tax not exceeding three-fourths of one per cent to defray current city expenses ; a tax of not over one per cent in each ward, to pay off the in- debtedness of such ward, which was assumed by the city; and a tax of not over one per cent in each ward to defray the current expenses of the ward. Neither the city nor any ward was to be liable upon any ward contracts calling for any larger payment than was therein provided for; but the aldermen assenting to such contract were made personally responsible for the excess. The
aldermen in each ward were made street commis- sioners with authority within its limits to direct the grading of streets and the construction of sewers, wharves and alleys.
The general enumeration of the ordinary police powers of the common council was not changed in any substantial particular from that of the charter of 1846.
Additional privileges were conferred upon the members of the volunteer fire companies. The membership in each was increased from forty to seventy ; each company was to be governed by its own rules, but might be disbanded by the council-a not wholly unnecessary provision in view of the importance of these organizations the consideration accorded to them in the community, and the opportunities which they might possibly offer to ill-disposed persons to create trouble. It is to the credit of the citizens of Milwaukee that these opportunities were never abused; but the absolute liberty of self-government which they enjoyed, and their sturdy independence of any compensation from the city made it possible for a single company by a threatened strike, to bring the council itself to terms, and to compel adequate provision to be made for its needs as an efficient auxiliary to the protection of the city from fires. Exemption from jury duty was by the charter of 1852 added to the privileges of volunteer firemen while in actual membership, and after seven years service their exemption from jury duty, the poll-tax and military service was made perpetual. A still greater priv- ilege conferred by this charter was that of the right to meet and nominate every year their chief engineer and three assistants, nominations which it was made the duty of the common council to confirm. These officers, equally with the rank and file of the members, furnished their services without pay. The year before-1851-an act had been passed by the legislature for the incorpora- tion of the entire fire department, with a board of trustees and officers all elected by the members. The organization was authorized to hold funds up to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, the inter- est upon which was to be appropriated to the re- lief of indigent and disabled firemen and their families at the discretion of the board. The certifi- cates of membership issued by the officers of this incorporated body were the only proof required of the holders' right to the immunities above
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
referred to. The apparatus in use in the early days was ridiculously inadequate to the needs of the city. The engines were worked by hand; there were scarcely any large cisterns, and for many years, even after the introduction of steam fire engines, in case of a conflagration at any distance from the river, the method of obtaining water was by stationing the available engines in a line reach- ing from the river to the fire, the first pumping up the water and passing it on to the next in succession, the duty of applying it to the fire resting upon the last one in the line. The first steam fire engine arrived in 1861, and was not purchased by the city until the following year, after a special act of the legislature had been ob- tained authorizing-if not compelling-its pur- chase. Others followed, one by one. The special qualifications required of the men in charge of these engines led to legislative and municipal leg- islation making special provision for their ap- pointment and compensation, and in this way the old volunteer system was gradually displaced by a half pay, and then by a full pay department, with its more stringent regulations designed to promote better discipline and greater effectiveness in its work; and yet many a survivor of the old system refuses to believe that any great improve- ment has resulted from these reforms. The act of 1862 which authorized the purchase of steam fire engines, gave the council authority to reduce the number of volunteer fire companies as fast as this could be done in safety, and provided that when their number had been reduced to six or less, thereafter the chief engineer should be elected annually by the citizens at large and his salary be fixed by the council. Two years later the appoint- ment was, by an amending act, placed with the common council and the term of office was fixed at two years, with the privilege of re-appointment. The present law places both the fire and police
departments under a system of civil service regu- lations, which will be explained later on.
To return for a moment to the charter of 1852, The penalty of imprisonment which might be im- posed by the common council for violations of city ordinances, in default of payment of fines, was by this charter extended from thirty days to six months. The powers and jurisdiction of the police justice remained as before. A formal code governing the procedure in this court was enacted in 1853. The growing necessities of the city in- duced the passage by the common council in 1855 of an ordinance providing for the appointment of a chief of police, with a limited number of police- men, or "assistants," as they were called. This action was afterward-in 1858-ratified by the legislature and the office of city marshal at the same time abolished. The police force con- sisted at that time, and for several years after- ward, of no more than twenty-five men.
The charter of 1852 required the city to main- tain bridges across the Milwaukee river at Cherry, Wisconsin and Ferry streets and over the Meno- monee at West Water street; all of which, except the first, were to be provided with draws. This number has since then been greatly increased ; there being to-day no less than fourteen bridges across the Milwaukee, five across the Kinnikinnic. and four across the Menomonee, within the limits of the city, most of which are provided with draws to enable boats to ascend the rivers to their docks.
In 1853 the offices of city attorney and city comptroller were made elective. At the same time the office of railroad commissioner for each ward was created and made elective These offi- cers represented the city at meetings of the stock- holders of the railroad corporations in which the city held stock and voted upon its shares, dividing the city's ballots between them in the proportions of the assessed valuations of its several wards.
Alner Kirby
CHAPTER XIV.
DEPARTMENTS OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
BY WINFIELD SMITII.
T HE growth of the city during these years was very rapid, both in population and in territory, and accompanying this expan- sion was a corresponding increase in taxation and public expenditures, justified in part by the neces- sity of improvements, but largely, also, due to official extravagance and mismanagement. Actual corruption in office was hard to prove; but the clique in power knew how to use its power for its own advantage and jobs were given out to party favorites which added largely to the burdens of the tax payers without contributing in proper proportion to the real improvement or prosperity of the city. The extension of streets, addition of new plats and subdivisions, stimulated by activity in sales of real estate at a time when everything was " booming," afforded ample excuse for expen- diture: and work was ordered and contracts let imposing burdens on the owners of lots, often far beyond the benefits derived and beyond their power to meet. Contractors for such work as laying out streets through hills and over marshes, involving often great amounts of cutting and filling, received for pay street commissioners' cer- tificates. These were made by law liens upon the property improved. But this property was not always able to pay for the improvements ; and street commissioners' certificates fell in value and contractors' prices rose in proportion. The value of real estate and of mortgages thereon was affected and the owners of both suffered in consequence. In addition to this there were complaints of inequality and favoritism in the levying of taxes. The taxes of 1856 and 1857 were declared invalid by the Supreme Court, because the common council had undertaken to direct the omission of the Newhall house from the tax-roll, for those years-a measure wholly be- yond the power of the council; and a large por- tion of the taxes for those years went unpaid. Public indignation was aroused. Owners of prop- erty were outraged by the excessive burdens im- posed upon them. Holders of street com-
missioners' certificates were outraged because they were unable to collect the money due for work done and materials furnished in good faith under contracts for public improvements. The credit of the city suffered at home and abroad. These abuses resulted in a change of officers; and also in the passage of special laws by the legisla- ture having in view the correction of existing abuses and their prevention for the future. Among other things, provision was made for re-assessing and re-levying the taxes for 1856 and 1857 on an equitable basis, preserving the rights of those who had paid theirs.
Chapter 117 of the local laws of 1858 made im- portant changes in the charter. It took from the members of the common council the functions of street commissioners, previously discharged by them, and in their place provided for the election of three street commissioners in each ward, to whom was committed the supervision. of streets, alleys, public grounds, bridges, rivers, wharves, sewers and nuisances. Whenever in the judgment of the street commissioners public improvements were necessary, an estimate of the cost was first to be made by the city engineer and filed in the comptroller's office, after which the street com- missioners were required to assess the benefits and injuries resulting to the adjoining lots; the excess, if of benefits, to be a charge upon the lots, and if of injuries, to be paid to the lot owner out of the ward fund. Appeals from such assessments might be taken in the first instance to the common council, and from there to the Circuit Court. A plan of proposed improvements for the year was to be presented to the common council every spring, to be approved by the council before it could be carried out. The city comptroller was given supervision over all con- tracts let. Members of the common council and all other city officers were forbidden to become or to be pecuniarily interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract to which the city or any ward
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HISTORY OF MILWAUKEE.
should be a party in interest, or in any question pending before the council, or upon which such officer might be called upon to act officially. Vio- lation of this provision subjected the offender to the loss of his office, and was made punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not more than three years and not less than one year, or by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars nor less than five hundred dollars. A similar penalty was imposed as a punishment for the acceptance of a bribe and for the embezzlement of city funds by any such officer.
The mayor, comptroller and treasurer were made commissioners of the sinking fund for the redemption of the bonded indebtedness. The common council was authorized to issue bonds, at not less than par, in order to take up outstand- ing bonds and interest thereon, and to pay off the indebtedness of the city contracted before the 6th day of April, 1858. These bonds might be made to run for ten years and bear ten per cent. interest. No other bonds than those provided for by this act were to be issued.
Taxes in any year for general city purposes, not including special taxes, were limited to one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. This amount was to be set apart, first, to pay the annual interest on the city's debt ; second, not over sixty thousand dollars for general city expenses ; the residue to be turned into the sinking fund. In addition, for ward purposes, there might be levied in each year not to exceed sixty thousand dollars.
The ward assessors elected under the charter of 1852 were abolished and their duties were devolved upon three assessors who were to be appointed by the mayor with the approval of the common council. The mayor, treasurer, comptroller and city attorney, with the assessors, constituted the board of review. By this act the office of city marshal was abolished and that of chief of police substituted. The salaries of some of the city offi- cials were limited by the act to the following sums: city treasurer, twenty-five hundred dol- lars ; comptroller, two thousand dollars ; clerk, two thousand dollars; attorney, sixteen hundred dollars ; police justice, two thousand dollars ; chief of police, two thousand dollars; and policemen, six hundred dollars each.
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