171. Assessments. A common method of paying for improvements in certain parts of a city is that of making assessments against the property that is benefited by the improvements. Let us suppose that a new park is to be made. The city must buy land, lay out and build streets, and plant grass and trees. Those who live near the park will get a great deal of benefit from it; those who live a short distance away will get some benefit; those at a distance will get very little benefit. The city government sends experts to study the section of the city in which the park is to be laid out and to make a map showing as nearly as possible how the benefits will be distributed. Then the property owners are required to pay in proportion to the benefit they will receive. Similar payments are made by those who own property near subway lines, boulevards, and other improvements.

172. Apportioning Expenses. To decide how much of the income of the city shall be spent for one purpose or another is almost as difficult as to find the income. This work is so important that in some cities the most important organ of the government is called the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. This is a board which estimates or finds out what the city's needs are and divides or apportions the income to meet these needs. We have seen that the payment for some kinds of improvements, such as parks, may sometimes be easily apportioned among the property owners who are benefited. But most improvements cannot be treated in this way. Some of the citizens demand more schools; others, who are less interested in schools, demand better streets; still others want better police or fire service. How shall the city government decide on which of these things to spend more money? If there were plenty to

spend, it would be easy to meet the demands of all; but there are also large number of property owners who insist that the taxes are too high already and that the public expenses must be reduced.

173. Making a Budget. The work of deciding where to get the money and how to spend it, is called budget-making. The word budget means a little bag; and because the English finance officers used to carry their papers into the meeting of the government officers in a little bag, the papers themselves came to be called the budget. The word has now come to mean a statement of the public income and expenses. Cities which have efficient governments generally make up a budget once a year; and when they do so it is the great political event of the year.

174. The Manager and the Budget. A city with the Commission-Manager Plan of government depends on the manager to do most of the planning for the budget. He asks his heads of departments to give him a written statement of what money they will need, and also of what they have spent in the year just closing. From these statements he learns where increases are necessary and where money may be saved. Then he and the heads of departments talk over the whole problem together and draw up the kind of budget they think the city should have. This budget the manager presents to the commission and seeks its approval, for the law-making body must always approve plans for spending money. He explains to them fully all the city's needs; defends the increases asked for; and shows where he thinks money may be saved. If they agree, the budget is printed so that the citizens may examine it.

175. Hearings on the Budget. After the budget is printed the commission sits at times convenient for citizens

to come before them and criticise the plans. Some citizens may demand that certain expenses be reduced; others may demand that certain services be increased. Such hearings do not often change the budget very much, for the manager and the commission have studied the needs of the city and understand their business. But the citizens are better satisfied after they have heard the discussions and have had the plan explained to them. In addition to this, if the commission finds that there is a great demand for some service, such as more school buildings, they will put this added expense into the budget even if they do not think it entirely wise at the time. The government must do what the people of the city want done. The debates at the budget hearings are often between those who would save money and those who want service.

176. The City Debt. Nearly all cities have some debts. That is, they owe some money, just as all business men owe some accounts. It is wise for the city to go into debt for permanent improvements like bridges, a water system, subways, docks, and great buildings. But it is very unwise and unfair for it to run its ordinary business on credit. Some cities pay for permanent improvements by estimating how long the improvements will probably last, and then paying off a part of the cost of them each year so that the improvement will be paid for before it is worn out. In this way the city pays each year for all the service it gets. If it does not do this the people of one generation force the people of another to bear unjust burdens of public debt.

SUGGESTIONS AND QUESTIONS

By this time you will have formed an idea of the organization of your city government for doing the work you think should

be done by it. Now we come to the problem of finding the money to pay for it. The citizens pay for all their government does.

1. What are the expenses of your city for a year?

2. How is this money divided among the departments? How much for education? How much for police and fire departments? And so on.

3. What is the total income of your city? In what way is this money collected? How much in taxes? On what property are the taxes levied? How much from assessments? How much

from other sources?

4. How much taxes does your family pay? What would it cost for you to get the things the taxes pay for, if you did not pay for them with taxes? Consider schools, clean streets, police and fire protection, parks and play-grounds, protection of health, etc.

5. Does your city government make up an annual budget? If so, try to get a copy of it and find the summary, which should be simple enough for you to understand with a little effort.

6. Who makes up the budget, and at what time in the year? 7. Who accepts the budget after it has been made up? 8. Are there any public hearings on the budget? Ask some one who has attended a hearing what goes on at the hearing.

9. Has your city any debts? Why did it go into debt? Are the debts being paid off? Are the improvements for which the debts were made still in good condition?

10. Does your family spend money for anything which could be done more economically through the city government and paid for with taxes?

11. If you owned a plot of land in your city, would you like the taxes to be high if all the money were spent in making the city more attractive to those who wish to buy land?

12. If you rent a house, what part of the rent you pay does the owner of the house have to pay in taxes?