Washington Night High School - Annual Yearbook (Cincinnati, OH)

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COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENTeContinued Of the other four Commissioners. one had charge of the police and Ere departments: one was superintendent of streets and public propertiex: one was water works and sewerage com- missioner, and the fourth was director of hnances and revenue. The hoard. by majority vote. determined of what department each member should have charge. Each one was directly re sponsible for the work of his particular department. Llnder this plan the old way of shifting blame for municipal mistakes, from Councilman t0 Mayorj and from the Mayor to some other department was avoided. for the authority was not divided as under the aldermanic form. The Commission Plan of government in Galveston is today the same .as originally adopted in 15301, with the exception of the clause which provides that the Governor appoint three of the tive members of the board. This was found unconstitutional and was amended March 30. 1903. Now the five members of the board are elected at large hy the voters of the city As a check upon the large powers granted to its Commission Galveston depends solely upon publicity and care in selecting its Connnissioners. All the meetings of the Commission are Open to the public. Newspaper men are present aml report all busi- ness transacted. Other cities, commission governed, supplement these safeguards by the initiative. referendum, and the recall. In estimating the achievements of Commission Form of Government in Galveston one must consider the double task which confronted the new administration. The city had first to be rebuilt. the entire City had to he raised as a protection against future Hoods, streets harl to he repavetl. water and light plants reconstructed. and the city credit restored. Not only should the degree of success attained in rebuilding G'tlveston 36 he considered, but also the extent to which the Commission Form has proven' capable of directing regular municipal business. The Commission secured ancl paid for the services of three eminent engineers, who devised plans for the great Sea lVallv and for raising the grade of the city. The county of Galveston expended $1.500,000 in the construction of the Sea ll'all. Of this sum eighty percent was contributed by the City of Galveston. The floating tleht of $200,000 has been paid without the issuance of a bond, and $1t125JJtttt of the handed debt itself has been paid. The Commission is diligent in collecting back taxes, The money of the eity'which was previously deposited where it drew no interest, now pays dividends. Between September 1S. 15ml. and December 31, 1910, the llmard 0f COmmissioners financed the following improvements: raising the grade of the city water works improvements, drainage, sewer extension, rock and shell streets, and an addition to electric light plant. at a total cost Of nearly $4.000,000. The Sea l-Yall is complete, grade raising is done. the bonds of the city are back at par. Galveston is 011 its feet again. and the great storm is only history. These achievement: leave no room for doubt as to the cfhciency 0f the Commission. Houston Texas. had no great storm; she faced no such crisis as that which confronted Galveston; there. the adoption of the Commiesinn Form was due, not so much to the need of the hem, as to the example set by her neighboring city and a desire for a better government. Three years Houston observed the working plan in Gal- veston. Her people saw the stricken city raised from ruin t0 prosperity with ihcreditable rapidity, Accordingly. july 5 1905, they adopted the same plan for Houston.

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COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENT N September 8, 1900, a hurricane, driving up from the southwest with unusual violence, swept the waters of the Gulf of lVIexiCU over the city of Galveston, Texas, causing one Of the most disasterous hoods in the history of our country.. The bridges which connect the Island City with the main land were swept away. Trees were uprooted; residences wrecked; schools and churches were blown down; the light plants and water works were de- stroyed. The very streets, which were paved with wood blocks. floated away. The once level thoroughfares. and blocks of stores became :1 Chaos of fallen brick, ruined houses, broken telegraph poles and drifted sand. Among this mags of wreckage lay the bodies of six thousand citizens. We Can realize to what degree order was preserved in Gal- veston. and the general condition of the people. by recalling the frightful devastation of our own flood of last year. Yet, this disaster was but a mild one. compared to that which overwhelmed the beautiful Island City on the Gulf Those who survived the flood of Galveston faced a desperate Hundreds were leaving the city. Property values The city had a The municipal situation. had decreased fifty to seventy-tive per cent. $200,000 hoating debt previously outstanding. defaults in the payment of interest on bonds had caused them to fall forty per cent below par. The Governor of the state, when appealed to for financial support, refused, stating that he would not allow state money to be advanced to a city which, under normal conditions, permitted its expenditures to exceed its income, a city whose ordinary operating expenses were habitually met by the sale Of bonds. 35 The people saw that it the city was to exist again order must he wrought out of chaos. the dead buried. buildings recon- structed, and business resumed. In their distress the citizens looked to the Mayor and Aldermen for ways to renew confidence and restore ereiliti int they looked in vain, for the city gov- ernment failed them utterly. The Board of Aldermen did nothing but pass resolutions. Here the importance of government in ordering the large aspect of city life was revealed at a flash. Affairs stood in this posture when it was proposed that the h'leiyign- resign, and an emergency board be appointed. On September 18, 1901, one year after the stormt a new plan for governing Galveston went into effect. The plan pm- videtl a Commission, similar to the board at directors Of a business corporation; it concentrated both power and responsie hility in 3 small number Of men. The hrst Commission cone sisted of five men, of whom three were appointed by the Governor, and two were elected at large by the people of Gale vestnn. This board took the place of the Mayor and Council. It was its duty; First. to make and enforce such rules as it might deem ht and proper for the organization, management and Voperation Of all the City departments. Second, to appoint all efheers 21ml subordinates in all departments of the City. Third, to make all laws ahgl ordinances nut ineonsistent with the laws and constitution of the state. One of the Commissioners was called the MayorAPresident; it was his duty to preside at all meetings: he had 110 veto, but had a vote as one of the Five. The majority vote settled every question. The law required the Mayor-President to give six hours a day to his municipal duties.

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COMMISSION FORM OF GOVERNMENTeContinued Like Galveston this city prospered and progressed. The achievement of the Commission were many. Among them, were the elimination of a large floating debt. improvements of schools. public buildings. parks. sewers and streets. the purchase of the water works from a private corporation, all at a cost of 551400.000. In spite of these vast improvements. the tax rate fell thirty cents per hundred dollars. Under the old system there had been a city treasurer at a salary of $1500 per yeari Nothing was said about the interest on the city deposits. so these also went to the treasurer. The city commission abolished the office Of treasurer. and designated one of the national hanks as city depository. Now the city handles its business through the bank, the same as any other corporation. The city pays the bank fifty dollars per month clerk hire, and the bank pays the city interest on all balances to its credit. In this way the city annually receives $6,000 to $10,000 which formerly went to the city treasurer. XYe can measure the success of Houston, under this form of government, by the worth. of Mayor Rice of that City, in his Mi: Rice said: hThc financial condie We not only enter the annual message of 1mm. tion of Houston is in splendid shape. new year without any floating indebtedness, but with a surplus on hand. and $100,000 worth of Harris. County bonds in our sinking fund drawing interest. By electing the iiiei'iihers at large, the ward 3.5 an elective unit, is abolished. Under the Commission Plan a candidate's character mutt meet the approval of the whole city, instead of one ward only. A man elected by a ward is elected for the favors he can bestow upon his constituents. and his connection with a certain Hi5 character and ability are matters of elected from political faction. secondary importance. Councilmen wards, as L: e1 Limler the old system. do not have at heart the interests of the whole city for they are responeihle to their wards only. It i: the aim of each to secure improvements for his particular ward regartllesa of the necessity of improvements in other sec- tions of the city. Ts it not tobe expected that men elected with the knowedgc that they have been Chosen by the voters of the whole City for their ability and integrity. will serve the people more faithfully than men elected merely for a selfish service they may render a particular ward? The Commission Plan holds the attention and interest of ail the people because its meetings are open to the public. Its Commissioners are know to the citizens of the entire City. The citizens can see what the commission is doing, The acts of the commission are not clouded by heated oratory. The citizens can know the qualifications of the commission candidates, for they are few in number. Since they know the department for which each Commissioner is respmisihle, the citizens can place immediate blame for mismanagement and neglect The Cour mission Plan succeeds. because it puts the power where the people can see it The ballot on election day is unique. it is so short that every citizen knowa what he is doing without relying on a party label or 011 the guidance of a politician. The ;'average mamu the man in the street. or the plain man. whatever you chooee The most marked phencmenon of Commission Government. has been to call him, is in complete control of the government. the increased interest of the people in their city government. The acts of the Commission are the topic of conversation for the street car and the business l'l'lCt'liS luncheon. The force of public opinion has been repeatedly illustrated in the CommiSSion governed city, Each Commissioner knows his responsibility