/230 
 
 PLAN OF ORGANIZATION 
 FOR NEW YORK CITY 
 
 A MAYOR 
 A BOLRD OF DIRECTORS 
 
 AND 
 
 A CITY MANAGER 
 
 Saggestioas for Charter Changes \>f 
 HENRY BRUERE 
 
 FORMER CHAMBERLAIN, CITY OF NEW TfOWS 
 
 MAY, 1917 
 
JS 
 
 19/7 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 FROM 
 
 The Institute of 
 
 PulDlic Administration 
 
DATE DUE 
 APR 2 4 1951 
 
 "" ^ 'fin TiV ii. i\i 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 JS1230 1917 .B88 
 + 
 A plan of organization for New York city 
 
 3 1924 030 539 856 
 
 olin Overs 
 
H\ 
 
 XI 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this bool< is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030539856 
 
A Plan of Organization 
 for New York City 
 
 A MAYOR 
 
 As Chief Public Representative and Framer 
 
 of Policies; Relieved of Detailed 
 
 Administrative Responsibility; 
 
 A BOARD OF DIRECTORS 
 
 And, as a Corollary of 
 These Changes 
 
 A CITY MANAGER 
 
 Suggestions for Charter Changes by 
 HENRY BRUERE 
 
 FORMER CHAMBERLAIN, CITY OF NEW YORK 
 MAY, 1917 
 
 UKIV .: 
 
 ( f ; 
 
f\yt^']f3i 
 
 . M. B 
 
 BROWN/ 
 
 _ Be 
 BINDINO 
 CO. 
 
 91807-B-17-1000 
 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 5 
 
 Letter by William A. Prendergast 7 
 
 Letter of Transmittal 9 
 
 Chapter I 
 
 The Charter and the Administration of the City Government 11 
 
 Chapter II 
 
 Proposed General Administrative Reorganization of the City 15 
 
 The Mayor, the Board of Estimate and the City Manager 16 
 
 Centralized Administrative Responsibility 18 
 
 The Mayor and His Departments 21 
 
 Mayoralty 22 
 
 Police Department . . . , 22 
 
 Department of Education 23 
 
 Civil Service Commission 23 
 
 Central Purchasing 24 
 
 Board of Elections 24 
 
 Other Departments 25 
 
 Departments Under the City Manager (Plan 1) 25 
 
 Health Department 25 
 
 Building Inspections 25 
 
 Buildings, Plant and Equipment 26 
 
 Department of Public Welfare 26 
 
 Department of Public Utilities 27 
 
 Borough Presidents Under Plan 2 28 
 
 Departments Under the City Manager (Plan 2) 28 
 
 Public Works 29 
 
 Board of Aldermen 29 
 
 Conclusion ^0 
 
4 
 Chapter III 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Financial Aspect of the Problem of New York's Management 32 
 
 Increased Expenditures Despite Economies 32 
 
 City Debt 33 
 
 New Corporate Stock Authorizations checked 33 
 
 " Pay-as-you-go " Policy 34 
 
 Outlook Encouraging 35 
 
 The Budget 35 
 
 Debt Service 36 
 
 State Tax . 37 
 
 Education 38 
 
 Deficiencies in Taxes 38 
 
 Courts and Counties 38 
 
 Payments to Charitable Institutions, Board of Elections, Colleges, 
 
 Libraries and Park Commissions 39 
 
 Miscellaneous 39 
 
 Departments Under the Mayor and Boar.d of Estimate 39 
 
 Salary Rolls Chargeable to Corporate Stock Reduced 40 
 
 Some Allowances Below 1909 Budget Level 41 
 
 Economies Based on Study and Better Methods 41 
 
 Illustration of How Economies Are Made 41 
 
 Lower Cost and Greater Service 42 
 
 Control Over All City Expenditures 44 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 March 31, 1917. 
 
 The following report was written early in 1916, in an attempt to 
 formulate certain views regarding the structural reorganization of the city 
 through charter revision. I am venturing to make it public at this time 
 because I hope it will serve to initiate at least a discussion of more effective 
 organization of the administrative processes of the city government. 
 
 My views are not at all influenced by political considerations, but are 
 based upon ten years of close study of the administrative processes of 
 New York City. They are, of course, expressed with the warmest apprecia- 
 tion of the tremendous progress in administrative efficiency in New York 
 in the past decade, notably during the administration of Mayor Mitchel 
 and his colleagues. But notwithstanding this progress, and perhaps because 
 of it, there is a very pointed need of administrative coordination and per- 
 sistent leadership in the administrative field as distinguished from the field 
 of public discussion and policy-making with which the Mayor of New York 
 must be almost constantly occupied. 
 
 The present national crisis will lay new responsibilities upon the 
 mayoralty of every large city in the United States and conspicuously New 
 York, responsibilities of directing new machinery of government arising 
 from new occasions and emergencies. On the shoulders of the Mayor of 
 New York will lie the heavy responsibility of influencing the temper and 
 spirit of the city, in order that it may take its part most effectively in 
 meeting the great tasks that will confront the nation. In such a time it is 
 all the more important that the routine, established work of city government 
 be carried on with devoted effectiveness. To accomplish this result the best 
 possible form of organization should be provided. It may be, therefore, 
 that the very emergency which might suggest the postponement of dis- 
 cussion of civic reorganization may be the occasion which will facilitate its 
 
 achievement. 
 
 Henry Bruere. 
 
October 15, 1916. 
 
 Hon. Henry Bruere, 
 
 City of New York. 
 
 My Dear Mr. Bruere — I have read with great care the suggestions set 
 forth in your report on the reorganization of the city government. 
 I heartily concur in them. I believe it would be of great advantage to the 
 city to develop a permanent specialized administrative organization such: 
 as is contemplated in the office of city manager. I also believe that the 
 time has come when the mayor of this great city must be free from inti- 
 mate responsibility for the vast administrative detail involved in conducting 
 the routine business of the government. 
 
 The splendid record of the present administration shows how wide a 
 field of usefulness the office of mayor could cover, and what advantage there 
 would be to the city, and to the office itself, if highly qualified adminis- 
 trative assistance were provided. I approve the general principle of your 
 suggestion without at this time passing on the question of whether the city 
 manager should be appointed by the mayor and subject to his direction or 
 by the board of estimate and apportionment. 
 
 I hope that the suggestions will meet with public approval, and in 
 course find their place in the organic structure of the city. 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 William A. Prendergast, 
 
 Comptroller. 
 
Hon. John Purroy Mitchel, 
 
 Mayor, City of New York. 
 
 Sir — JAt the beginning of your administration a charter committee was 
 named by resolution of the board of estimate and apportionment which has 
 taken no effective steps toward charter revision, primarily because of the 
 attention given the larger question of home rulej As a member of this 
 committee, I began a general report on the administrative organization of 
 the city government with a view to submitting to the committee for its 
 consideration the results of ten years' close study of New York City's 
 administrative problems, [in view of the practical dissolution of the com- 
 mittee, I venture to place in your hands the completed part of the report 
 in order that you may, if you desire, call the recommendations it contains 
 to the attention of any subsequent charter committee that you may namel 
 
 The report outlines two plans for reorganizing the structure of the 
 municipal government. The first plan, while centralizing much of the 
 administrative responsibility of the government under the administrative 
 direction of a city manager, does not greatly disturb the present organiza- 
 tion of the city departments. It is suggested not as an ideal but as a prac- 
 tical working solution of the conspicuous administrative problems confront- 
 ing the city. The second plan is more radical and involves a substantial 
 change in the duties of the five borough presidents, as well as the develop- 
 ment of more highly specialized administrative machinery. 
 
 With respect to both plans the following are the outstanding features : 
 
 1. Further development of the mayor's office into one of policy- 
 
 guiding, general supervision and control, analogous to that of 
 the president of a large corporation. 
 
 2. Development of the board of estimate as a board of direction in 
 
 law as well as in fact, and the imposition on that board of a 
 responsibility that it now regulates but does not bear. 
 
 3. Development of a complete department of finance, centering full 
 
 control aver revenues, funds and disbursements now to a 
 large degree scattered. 
 
 4. Provision of centralized, responsible, executive and administra- 
 
 tive direction in the office of a city manager subject to the 
 control of the board of estimate and the supervision of the 
 mayor, or responsible to and appointed by the mayor and 
 subject only to the administrative regulation of the board of 
 estimate and apportionment. On this point there are argu- 
 ments in favor of either alternative. 
 
10 
 
 I recognize that there may not be immediate agreement on the proposal 
 to establish the office of city manager whether subject to the board of esti- 
 mate or to the mayor, although it is now accepted that the board of estimate 
 shall regulate the general conduct of the city government. There should 
 be less dissent, therefore, from the proposal to make it possible for the 
 board to discharge its duties more effectively by relieving its members, 
 especially the mayor and the borough presidents, from some of the 
 burden of administrative duties. It follows as a logical consequence of the 
 heightening of the usefulness of the board of estimate that new administra- 
 tive machinery must be provided. This is found in the suggested establish- 
 ment of the office of city manager. In the end, I am confident that those, 
 genuinely interested in efficient, constructive government must determine on 
 some such solution of the great problem of providing the means for effi- 
 ciently administering' the business of New York's government which is 
 unparalleled in magnitude or complexity in any city in the world. 
 
 I have not worked out in detail the suggested changes in departmental 
 organization. These, I believe, can best be made from time to time as 
 experience develops the need for them. It is the judgment of experienced 
 charter-makers everywhere that a city charter should prescribe only the 
 general outline of organization and definition of functions. \j.i complete 
 home rule is not obtained for New York in the immediate future, the legis- 
 lature should at least grant to the local authorities power from time to time 
 to modify and adjust in detail the organization of departments and bureaus. 
 This was recently recommended by the joint legislative committee under 
 the chairmanship of Senator Elon R. Brown, which was appointed to 
 investigate New York City's finances.] 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 Henry Bruere, 
 
 Chamberlain. 
 
 May 1, 1916. 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE CHARTER AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
 CITY GOVERNMENT 
 
 Probably no city in America has been subject to the degree of legis- 
 lative doctoring that New York has endured throughout its history. When- 
 ever the city has sufifered from s6me disability, it has been necessary to 
 look to the state legislature for remedy. From time out of mind, citizens and 
 ofificials of New York City have shared with the remainder of the state 
 responsibility for distorting, encumbering and patching the administrative 
 structure of the government. Much energy and mental effort is expended 
 in attempting to determine whether the legislature is responsible for the 
 burdens and restrictions under which the city government labors, or whether 
 these embarrassments are the result of requests made to the legislature by 
 the city or its agents or of measures acquiesced in by the city through its 
 local representatives. 
 
 The fact remains that New York as a great human community, and 
 New York as a great municipal corporation, is unable to deal of its own 
 volition with the complete problem of getting its business done efficiently 
 and economically. It has no recourse for a solution of its problems of or- 
 ganization and method except to the state legislature, by whose enactments 
 its powers are accorded and its authority for action supplied. It is this 
 general condition of dependence and not any specific instance of restraint 
 which is New York's chief embarrassment in working out fully its program 
 for improvement. 
 
 As a primary condition of good government New York must have 
 what is generally described as home rule. This will not mean, of course, 
 complete separation from the government of the state, but it should mean 
 that the city be granted at least adequate powers to deal with departmental 
 organization, methods of administration and charter revision in accord- 
 ance with its growing experience and the judgment of its people expressed 
 through their representatives in the local government or directly uttered. 
 
 Honest and intelligent effort can continuously improve the character 
 of the city government, but no patchwork attempt or partial adjustment 
 will bring about a thoroughly effective administration of city affairs. The 
 task is too big for tinkering. The problems of the city government have 
 outgrown temporizing and partial measures of relief. Radical reorganiza- 
 tion of the structure of the government is essential if efficient administra- 
 tion is to be achieved and if there is to be complete responsiveness on the 
 part of the government to the desires and determinations of the electorate. 
 This reorganization must primarily be directed towards definitizing re- 
 sponsibility and providing more effective administrative machinery. 
 
12 
 
 The government of New York as now constituted is not adequately 
 designed for the effective and economical performance of its services. The 
 various administrative departments are in many instances the result of 
 piecemeal legislation. New functions have been added to the original 
 administrative unity of the government, until there has grown up an organi- 
 zation which is neither logical nor capable of effective operation. The first 
 condition of good management is wise planning and efficient executive 
 supervision. The government of the city of New York is now so sub- 
 divided that no single authority or body can be held responsible for formu- 
 lating plans for the entire city government and supervising their execution. 
 The mayor as chief executive officer is directly responsible for only 30 
 departments of the government, spending 29% of the 1916 budget, exclusive 
 of the state tax. The borough presidents in their respective jurisdictions 
 are solely responsible for primary municipal functions. The department of 
 education with the greatest of all services to administer is virtually a head- 
 less, irresponsible legislative body with no adequate executive organization 
 subordinate to it. The administration of the counties is vested in frequently 
 changing elective officials for whom no coordination or supervision what- 
 soever is provided. In addition to the department of education, other impor- 
 tant branches of the government are practically without executive super- 
 vision in that they are under the control of boards which are in effect 
 continuing bodies. Conspicuous among these is the department of Bellevue 
 and allied hospitals administering a budget of $1,500,000 a year. 
 
 A large part of the machinery of government is the machinery of 
 inhibition and not of execution. Bureaus and divisions have been provided 
 to prevent careless and wasteful expenditure, but there is lacking a central 
 planning, conducting, directing force. What is needed is simplification of 
 the city organization, a reapportionment of functions involving the re- 
 grouping of divisions of activity in a logical, systematic order, and the 
 centering of responsibility for plans, methods and results in a body directly 
 accountable to the people of the city. 
 
 An illustration of the broad community questions which should receive 
 fuller consideration from the members of the principal governing board of 
 the city is furnished by New York's port, harbor and terminal needs. The 
 provision of port facilities adequate to equip New York as the greatest 
 export city in the world and to prepare it to lead all America in the de- 
 velopment of foreign trade is a problem of almost unparalleled magni- 
 tude. This problem is fundamental to the industrial, commercial and social 
 advancement of the city. The board dealing with it should be free from 
 the details of executive responsibility. New York needs urgently an effec- 
 tively organized board of directors to handle such stupendous community 
 problems in a masterly way. Yet port and terminal problems are only a 
 fractional part of the multifarious phases of city development and manage- 
 ment whose execution a central board must direct. 
 
 Such a board as has been indicated, in turn, will require continuous 
 
13 
 
 vigorous leadership and representation. This function will naturally fall 
 to the mayor. With the increased responsibility for guiding the board of 
 estimate added to already exceptional responsibility for representing the 
 city in important relations, less time than is even now available will be left 
 to the mayor for supervision of the departments. As a result of the growth 
 of the problem of representing the city — in dealings with the legislature, 
 with the public individually and in groups, in attending conferences, in 
 addressing important gatherings, the mayor already finds it almost im- 
 possible to give detailed consideration to the administrative problems of the 
 city government. The task is too great for any one person. But effect- 
 ive management of city business is not possible without coordinating super- 
 vision of the administrative departments. Latterly, the board of estimate 
 through specially created bureaus and committees has in large part supplied 
 the supervision that in theory the mayor exercises. No mayor of New York 
 has ever systematically exercised it and no future mayor will be able to 
 do so under the present form of organization. 
 
 This supervision by the board will increase instead of diminish. The 
 development of the board's administrative activities has been acquiesced in 
 by responsible officials as a wise means of obtaining effective management 
 and has met with the cordial approval of the public. It has unquestionably 
 proved benefiicial to the city. But such supervision must stop short of actual 
 operative direction. To give such responsibility to a board would increase 
 rather than diminish confusion and ineffectiveness in the management of 
 city business. 
 
 It becomes necessary, therefore, if the development of centralized re- 
 sponsibility is to be continued, to provide some means of relieving the mayor 
 of the burden of administrative detail, and at the same time make available 
 to him and to the board of estimate an agency for directing and coordinating 
 the various activities of government which are subject to appropriating and 
 regulating authority. 
 
 There must be provided, in other words, some official machinery anal- 
 ogous to that of a general managership in a corporation. The character of 
 this office is suggested by the experience of various cities throughout the 
 country which have adopted the/^ity manager form of government. The 
 functions of this official would l)e wholly on the administrative side of 
 government. It would be his duty to plan, coordinate and supervise, and 
 to see to it that the service activities of government are effectively car- 
 ried on. He would not determine policies nor would he have a voice in 
 making appropriations. These would be the functions of the board of 
 estimate as at present. His field of work would be limited to those activities 
 which are chiefly administrative. To enable him to develop effective service 
 without the embarrassment of dealing with delicate questions of public 
 policy, it would be wise to exclude the police entirely from his jurisdictionj 
 The mayor, it is proposed, should continue as now to be the chief officer oT 
 the city, the chairman of the board of estimate, the spokesman for the city 
 
14 
 
 in matters of policy and representation and the general supervisor of the 
 city government.* 
 
 In the following discussion various suggestions are made for the 
 radical readjustment of the city government with a view to providing a 
 better means of administration and to promoting public control of the 
 government. 
 
 No attempt has been made to distinguish between those provisions of 
 the present charter that have to do primarily with the structural organiza- 
 tion of the government and those that have to do with the method of 
 procedure or administration, pt has for many years been recognized in 
 the discussion of a revised charter for New York City that the adminis- 
 trative provisions should be separately stated from the organic provisions, 
 and that accompanying the prescription of structural organization and 
 definition of powers and duties in the charter proper there should be 
 prepared an administrative code susceptible of local amendment. This 
 suggestion was made first to the Ivins Commission in 1909 by the Bureau 
 of Municipal Research and has been recognized since then as a sound 
 principle in charter-makingj The administrative code would deal with 
 methods to be employed in carrying on city work. The bulk of the exist- 
 ing charter now consists of administrative provisions which should be con- 
 tained in an administrative code. 
 
 There is no reason why an administrative code should not be prepared 
 from the present charter and ordinances. If the city is granted home 
 rule one of the first desirable steps would be the preparation of such a 
 code. This code should also be available for adoption in case a revised 
 charter were accepted by popular vote or in case authority were vested 
 in the legislative body of the city to amend existing administrative provi- 
 sions in advance of the adoption of a new charter. A great quantity of 
 material is now available for the preparation of an administrative code 
 should it be deemed desirable to proceed with this work at once. 
 
 * It is expected and proposed that the mayor become increasingly the leading mem- 
 ber of the board of estimate and apportionment. The suggestion has been made but 
 the merits of the proposal have not been fully canvassed, and the recommendation is 
 therefore not made at this time, that the mayor be given more than three votes in the 
 board, possibly four or five, and that a reduction be made in the votes of the president 
 of the board of aldermen, who has no direct responsibility for administrative results 
 My own view is that the mayor's position gives him greater authority than his three 
 votes imply, and that in time, if the plan suggested herein finds approval in application 
 the tendency will be to enlarge the mayor's power in the board. ' 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 PROPOSED GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RE- 
 ORGANIZATION OF THE CITY 
 
 As pointed out in Chapter I, the government of the city because of 
 statutory restrictions is carried on under administrative conditions which 
 are hostile to efficiency and make impossible the first requirements of good 
 management, viz., definiteness of responsibility and control. /The present 
 government is composed of largely uncorrelated, independent parts, kept 
 together by personal and political affiliation rather than by administrative 
 coordination. New York's expenditures are still largely in excess of actual 
 requirements because they are not made under the pressure of close, cen- 
 tralized, administrative supervision.'^ 
 
 It is easy enough to continue making partial economies. Present tax- 
 payers, moreover, could be relieved by supplementing the present method 
 of taxation with an income tax or some other device, as recently pro- 
 posed, but there would still remain the all important question of the adequacy 
 and effectiveness of governmental service. 
 
 Complete local financial control, so often urged in recent years and 
 discussed in the final chapter of this report, is, therefore, only the first step. 
 The second, and equally essential part of the program for a more economical 
 and efficient city government consists in freeing the local authorities from 
 administrative restrictions now imposed by law. Fifteen years of experi- 
 ence with the provisions of the charter of 1901 have shown clearly that the 
 present organization of the city government as laid down in that vast in- 
 strument is cumbersome and ineffective. The two chief defects are an 
 over-specification of city functions and a lack of centralized responsibility 
 and control. The problem of governing the city of New York is not so 
 intricate and cumbersome as to require a legislative act in the form of a 
 charter establishing at great length the duties of the city and the means for 
 discharging them. A general grant of power from the legislature establish- 
 ing perhaps the major departments of the city but leaving the local authori- 
 ties free to adapt the details of the government to the needs of the city 
 would operate to simplify governmental procedure. 
 
 Two charts are appended which indicate in some detail proposed means 
 for correcting to a large degree the existing difficulties in the way of 
 effective municipal administration. Any legislation enacted to empower 
 the organization of the city government along either of the two lines sug- 
 gested should restrict itself merely to providing the functional structure. 
 The details of operation should be left entirely to the local authorities. 
 
16 
 
 The Mayor, The Board of Estimate and the City Manager 
 
 In the first of the two plans submitted herewith, provision has been 
 made for centralizing much of the administrative responsibility of the 
 government in the hands of a city manager. At the same time, however, 
 the present organization of the city's departments has not been greatly 
 disturbed. Plan 1 is suggested not as an ideal but as a practical working 
 solution of many of the difficulties now confronting the city. Plan 2 is 
 more radical and involves a substantial change in the duties of the five 
 borough presidents. I shall first discuss the general provisions of the two 
 proposals and then take up in greater detail the effect upon the various 
 departments of the government of the changes and consolidations recom- 
 mended. 
 
 In respect of both plans the following are the outstanding features : 
 
 1. The creation of a genuine policy-guiding position of public leader- 
 
 ship in the office of mayor. 
 
 2. The development of the board of estimate as a board of direction 
 
 in law as well as in fact, and the imposition on that board of 
 a responsibility that it now directs but does not bear. 
 
 3. The development of a complete department of finance, centering 
 
 full control over revenues, funds and disbursements now to a 
 large degree scattered. 
 
 4. The provision of centralized, responsible, executive and adminis- 
 
 trative direction in the office of a city manager. 
 
 Under both plans the membership of the board of estimate remains as 
 at present. The mayor continues to be the head of the city government. 
 He is given direct responsibility for the conduct of those departments such 
 as education, police, civil service, and taxes and assessments, where large 
 questions of city policy are concerned. As the chief administrative officer 
 of the city he alone should be held accountable for these matters. His 
 power of appointing city magistrates and the head of the law department 
 is also continued. 
 
 Provision is made for an adequate staff of investigators and examiners 
 under a commissioner of accounts for the mayor's use in investigating and 
 reporting on administrative problems. This is done in order that the mayor 
 as the principal officer of the city may be in a position to secure information 
 on every branch of the government no matter under what administrative 
 direction. 
 
 The board of assessors and the board of city record are also retained 
 under the mayor's control. Two added duties, however, are imposed upon 
 him. It is recommended that the members of the board of elections be 
 appointed by the mayor instead of by the board of aldermen and that the 
 membership be reduced from four to two. This recommendation has 
 already been made in a report of the commissioner of accounts. It is further 
 suggested that control over a board of central purchase be vested in the 
 mayor in accordance with the terms of a bill which was introduced at the 
 1916 session of the legislature. 
 
PLAN-I 
 
 SUGGEISTEID R^OFiGAN/ZAT/ON 
 
 or the: 
 
 GOi/EF^NMENT OF THE C/TV OF NEW YOHK 
 
 ELECTORATE 
 
 PffESIDENT 
 
 BOflQ. OrMANHATTAN 
 
 PRESIDENT 
 
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 in 
 
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 PRESIDENT 
 
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 reijmred 
 
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 ORGA/^/ZAT/ON 
 
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 iWf/ce and Information. 
 
 CITY 
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 BLPC ftiSPECriONS 
 
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 Fire Prevention 
 ejectncWiring (IMS CAB I 
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 8LDGS.PLANTS EQWf^. 
 
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 Armor V Board 
 rtunicipol Garoge 
 
 HCALTH 
 
 BcJ/tfue S Allied fioipifah 
 
 Mfspiiafs otOepl off^b Cftar 
 
 Dept Of fftaftft 
 
 Tenement House Otpt (mrtJ 
 
 Ba of Inebriety 
 
 Sd of Ambufance Service 
 
 PutL Cf>antab/e Institutiom 
 
 ST/fEET CLEANING 
 
 PUBUC UriUTfES 
 
 Docfrs & Femes 
 
 l^*)ter Supply, Gos S ElPCt 
 (ItcepftrnterfferCollMbter 
 htite S Electric wirmg} 
 
 PUBUC WEtrAME: 
 
 imemtion al fyivatt fiKtitadva 
 Social Investigations 
 Cfi/d tt-effare 
 ^b Emph'^meal BurMu 
 
 HENFIY BBUERC 
 CHAMBERLAIN OF TH£ CITY OF NEW r08K 
 
PLANE 
 
 SUGGESTED REORGAN/Z/^T/ON 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GOV^RNM^NT OF THE C/TY OF NEW YORK 
 
 ^ 
 
 ELECTORATE 
 
 PRESIDENT 
 BOKO OF Maf4HftrrflN. 
 
 ChiSirmttn of Locti/ Improrf 
 m^nt Board. fifi^OflLih> 
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 Loc^f /mpreyem^nfi, 
 
 PRESIDENT 
 
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 Chairman of Local Imei 
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 for Initiation q) aU 
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 fh/p 
 
 COMPTf{OU£R 
 
 fjft filter Cal/fttHnt/finti/H 
 
 Prf$fnT Fvietioni of 
 Chimb^rhint Off'tf. 
 
 OF 
 
 fJLDERMEN 
 
 MAYOR 
 
 lludit If SoekKttpin^ 
 
 Police O^'t 
 Licmns^s 
 
 eOiJCl^TlON 
 
 B4 <jf £aucat'ort 
 Hvfiftr Cb//e^ 
 
 COM/i OF acCOONTS 
 
 Rti«<juafa staff for thf 
 tidi^or's {Jit in hvostlya- 
 ti<fns and Refiorfi on 
 ifiistfOfirt firobl*m$ 
 
 Present l4it/ />ty>'t 
 
 aa OF /iissssoAi 
 
 ^ttsmt 0d of t}ist3iof3^ 
 
 6P OF CfNTRPL Pl/fKH^V 
 
 6t/l to bf/nf reduced in 
 i9it, ftyiiQn of t/t* Lffii/t 
 hira Empoajmringtfie 
 Cr^tionof this aoard 
 
 PPES/PBWr 
 BOdftO 0F/91OSJIMSA/ 
 
 Miin Ciril Sfmir^ Comm 
 Prnnon Heterdt 
 Part of fii/frau of 
 
 Sianditrtii 
 
 "r^aenf 0»pf of 
 Tknrs tr ff»its%mtn1t. 
 
 AffiG/5Tf!ATe5 
 
 the M-iijOri fremnf 
 fioiuor of fippointlny 
 ^^tsfratei 
 
 ELECTIONS 
 
 Bipartisan Board of 
 
 mtncled in a RecsntlttooA 
 of the Comm of (hxoUntx 
 
 BQ. OF CITY »eC0ftO 
 
 TO Supfrviit Pub/Kdfioii 
 of Cif^ Record and 
 Printing Sanfrall^ 
 
 PPES/£>£MT 
 BORO. OF rHESftONK 
 
 Ctiairman of Local Imftforf 
 mont Board, ftesponalbit 
 for tnlfiation ofa/t 
 Loeef Impravtment*^ 
 
 PpeS/PBNT 
 BORO OFqUSeNS 
 
 ctiairman of Local Improrw- 
 m»nt Board Responsible 
 for tnittotion </ttfl 
 Local Improvfrnents 
 
 PRESfDSNr 
 eORO. OFRfCHMOND 
 
 Ctmirmrm of Local lipprorv 
 menf Boei'-d Rfaponiibfe 
 for Imt-afionof all 
 Lotrt/ Imp I off/n enti. 
 
 BOARD OF EST/MATF AND APRORT/ONMEN T 
 
 I 
 
 COt^MITTEE 
 Of{G/^NfZi9TION 
 
 ^ppropnatti Corr>mitt<fOi of Board di 
 R9^uirfd 
 
 I 
 
 tfpproprlatr Bureaus of Soard for 
 Ht/yics and l/tforrndfion. 
 
 CITY 
 /MANAGER 
 
 Fitf OfpH^cludinq fyrrao 
 of Fire Prtvanftdfi 
 
 SLOG. IN SECTIONS 
 
 81/rr^u* af ffulldiaat 
 Firf Prtvmntlin 
 
 Wattr Wattr' {w^.itft) 
 Fxam Bd 0/ Ptu/ttbrra 
 Bd of 8l4g Enamlneri 
 
 lOGi. PLANT J^CQUIP'T 
 
 Publn Buildings 
 
 Bridqa% 
 
 UrmOi 
 
 MuniC 
 
 ■nOru Board 
 iniQpai €aia\ 
 
 TBt4Bt^aNT H0U5E. 
 
 Prri,f,t T H Pept 
 
 Mlfyufi^ allied floififiili 
 Hespifiili of 0*fi't of Pvlf Our- 
 
 Dfp't oflUlfh ' 
 
 9/olln»briotu 
 
 bJ e) limbtiUnCr StrriCf 
 
 Pvh Oi^ritAbk Inifitutiom 
 
 5TFE£T CLEANING 
 
 L Borough t 
 
 QOf^RECTlOt^ 
 
 All 8oroiigh% 
 
 PUBLIC WORK$ 
 
 CoDitructicn f fftinfritdixv 
 
 of itfl^t* 
 Cooffriictio/i Iftf^ntrtMiKr 
 
 of Srarrs. 
 Topoijrafihiral V/orM 
 
 PUBLIC UTIUTfES 
 
 Doclfs f femes 
 
 Water Supplu.Cai tcitct 
 
 Watte t; tltctrii Wirmj) 
 
 PUBLIC WELPmS 
 
 Supervisor, of PUJktnifttiAm 
 iccl^l Inirtftigationi 
 citUd Wolfare 
 Poblic ^t^lomrmtt Btrv*v 
 
 HENRY BRUERE 
 CHAMB£RLA/N OF THE C/TV OF N£W VORH 
 
17 
 
 The comptroller is made the chief financial officer of the city in fact as 
 well as in theory. In addition to exercising his present duties he is made 
 responsible for the work of the chamberlain's office and is given control 
 over the collection of all municipal revenues, including water income. This 
 centralization of revenue collection will mean much better control at less cost. 
 
 Under Plan 1 the borough presidents, in their capacity as " local mayors," 
 have been given control of all local improvement matters such as streets, 
 sewers and parks. If the borough presidents are to retain administra- 
 tive responsibility it seems desirable to add to their present duties control 
 over the park systems of their boroughs and to make them accountable for 
 the development of programs for public works. To balance the addition 
 of these new duties to the borough presidents, it is suggested that they be 
 relieved of their present functions of caring for public buildings and of 
 supervising building construction. The former activities are transferred to 
 a central department for the care of buildings, plant and equipment, estab- 
 lished with the bridge department as a nucleus,* while the latter duties are 
 transferred to a central department of building inspections. Such changes 
 will, it is believed, make for much more effective service. The borough 
 presidents will be relieved of the cares attendant upon the administration of 
 the bureaus of public buildings and offices and the bureaus of buildings, 
 and will have a greater opportunity for working out important problems of 
 local public improvements involving city planning. The provisions of 
 Plan 2 with respect to the borough presidents will be discussed later. 
 
 The most radical change suggested in this report involves the as- 
 sumption by the board of estimate and apportionment of more complete 
 responsibility for the effective management of the city. To enable it to 
 discharge this responsibility the board is empoweredf to appoint a city 
 manager who shall have charge of the administration of the following 
 departments : 
 
 Under Plan 1 Under Plan 2 
 
 Fire Fire 
 
 Building Inspections Building Inspections 
 
 Buildings, Plant and Equipment Buildings, Plant and Equipment 
 
 Health Health 
 
 Street Cleaning Street Cleaning 
 
 Correction Correction 
 
 Public Utilities Public Utilities 
 
 Public Welfare Public Welfare 
 
 Tenement House 
 
 Parks 
 
 Public Works 
 
 * Subsequently in part accomplished by the creation of the Department of Plant 
 and Structures by legislative act taking effect September 1, 1916. 
 
 t The principle is not substantially altered if the city manager is appointed by the 
 mayor ; the arguments are forcible for either method. 
 
18 
 
 But even this change is not so radical as it may seem at first glance. 
 Since 1909 the tendency of the city government has been towards the cen- 
 tralization of authority and control in the board of estimate and appor- 
 tionment. The functions of this board have developed from the mere 
 apportioning of funds in accordance with the estimated requirements of 
 the various branches of the city government into the functions of a board 
 of directors, but the board of directors has so far been without a general 
 manager. 
 
 This tendency towards centrahzation has been expressed in part through 
 the increased responsibility which the board, of estimate has assumed with 
 respect to the preparation and adoption of the annual tax budget and in 
 part by the establishment of bureaus in the board itself to supply it with 
 information. The budget for 1908 was no more than an appropriating 
 ordinance setting forth in slight detail the objects for which money was 
 appropriated. In 1909 the board of estimate commenced to restrict expen- 
 ditures to the specific purposes for which funds had been appropriated. 
 This was done not only by making appropriations in greater detail than 
 ever before but also by adopting resolutions as integral parts of the budget 
 limiting the authority of administrative officers with respect to the use of 
 appropriations. In 1909 one such resolution provided that no changes 
 should be made in the rates of salaries and wages unless authorized by 
 twelve votes of the board of estimate and apportionment. The 1916 budget 
 resolutions continued this provision, and in addition, limited the transfers of 
 funds between accounts, provided that vacancies should not be filled unless 
 the board had affirmative evidence that the position was required, provided 
 that new appointments should be made at the minimum of the grade, and 
 established other rules for the guidance of expending officers. 
 
 Centralized Administrative Responsibility 
 
 All this has tended to centralize in the board of estimate control over 
 appropriations, and hence, to a large degree, over the actual operation of the 
 government. In addition, the bureaus of the board established in 1914 to 
 provide it with the means of keeping currently informed as to administrative 
 needs have made it possible for the board to base its decisions upon facts 
 and have rendei;ed more effective the exercise of this centralized control 
 over appropriations. 
 
 But there has been in New York no disposition as yet to centralize 
 administrative responsibility. This is in part due to the fact that the past 
 seven years have been fully occupied with the problems attendant upon the 
 development of the board of estimate and apportionment as the responsible 
 appropriating body. Now that this has taken place, the next logical step is 
 the provision of an agency for the co-ordination of the administrative activi- 
 ties of the city government. 
 
 The principles of sound administration demand that some one officer 
 should be held officially and publicly responsible for the proper performance 
 
19 
 
 of the general administrative services of the city government. The most 
 practicable means of attaining this end which has suggested itself, is the 
 creation of the position of city manager. The government of the city would 
 then parallel in its essentials the government of a great business corporation. 
 There would be a board of directors with its president or chairman and a 
 general manager. In other cities of the United States there has been a 
 marked acceptance of the city manager principle. Up to date, there are 73 
 municipalities which have adopted that form of government. The largest 
 of these is Dayton, Ohio. Although New York is forty times as large as 
 Dayton the problem here is not forty times as difficult. In some respects 
 it is easier because of the more effective subordinate organization that the 
 city is able to maintain. 
 
 The city manager is not to be an irresponsible over-lord of the city 
 government. He is to be a chief commissioner responsible to the board of 
 estimate, or to the mayor, and is to be tested by the results he accomplishes 
 in the operation of the city government. It is customary to grant the city 
 manager full power to appoint heads of departments under his direction. 
 In New York it may be wise to limit this power by requiring the approval 
 of the mayor. 
 
 In considering the proposal to create the office of a city manager, it is 
 hoped these points will be borne in mind : 
 
 1 The city manager will be selected for executive work and will be 
 
 judged wholly by results. 
 
 2 The selection of a city manager by a board of estimate or mayor 
 
 such as New York is likely to elect will probably be as free 
 from political considerations as is the selection of a superin- 
 tendent of schools. 
 
 3 The city manager will have no responsibility for policy except as 
 
 an adviser of the board of estimate when his advice is re- 
 quested. He will have nothing to do with the police depart- 
 ment or with the civil service or law departments. In other 
 words he will be able to give his entire attention to operation 
 problems and will be at the same time controlled by the civil 
 service commission and the law department over which he will 
 exercise no authority. 
 
 The city manager should be made a general manager for the depart- 
 ments of government under him. Through his office the various similar 
 activities of the departments might be co-ordinated. Employees could be as- 
 signed to different divisions and departments as work required. Uniformity 
 of office practice could be enforced. Standards of service could be estab- 
 lished and maintained through the initiative of the manager's office. In a 
 hundred ways problems which are now dealt with independently by different 
 departments could be considered with reference to the entire city, to the 
 advantage of the city in money and services. I am confident that savings 
 amounting to several millions of dollars on the basis of the present expendi- 
 ture of the city could be achieved by this one change alone. 
 
20 
 
 Through the city manager's office much of the standardizing work now 
 brought about by the board of estimate as an incident to budget-making, 
 could be accomplished. It would be the duty of the city manager to look 
 upon the part of the city government for which he would be responsible (the 
 major part) as one whole and not as a collection of independent units. 
 Under the present form of organization even with the best of good will on 
 the part of department heads, it is most difficult to bring about co-ordinated 
 effort between departments. The city manager would, therefore, be a co- 
 ordinator, chief commissioner, and standard maker for the operating depart- 
 ments of the city government. He would develop habits and methods of 
 management in the city government. The creation of this office would 
 tend to remove from political influence a great part of the government of 
 the city and would open the door to what is so great a need of city govern- 
 ment everywhere, the development of permanency and continuity in re- 
 sponsible executive positions. It is quite as important that the great service 
 departments of the government should have continuous expert direction as 
 it is for the schools to have at their head an executive chosen for fitness and 
 kept without regard to political or partisan considerations. 
 
 A city manager for New York will enable succeeding administrations to 
 devote their time to large questions of policy and city development. New 
 York needs all the capacity and energy it can muster to plan its physical de- 
 velopment. Traffic, transportation, housing, commerce — these are the great 
 problems before New York. Let the mayor and the board of estimate be 
 freer to devote themselves to these great questions without detriment to the 
 already developed services of the city. Let these services be put on a 
 genuinely efficient basis. These are the arguments in summary for the 
 board of directors and manager plan. 
 
 Plan 2 differs from Plan 1 chiefly in that it removes all administrative 
 responsibility from the borough presidents. Each borough president is made 
 responsible for the initiation of local improvements in his borough. He re- 
 tains his membership in the board of estimate but has no departmental 
 jurisdiction. He is freed to devote practically all of his time to the duty 
 of supervising the general city government and directing its policies as a 
 member of the controlling board of estimate and apportionment. It is 
 assumed that the board of estimate will meet almost daily in order to deal 
 promptly with the questions of policy involved in conducting the depart- 
 ments of the government, in authorizing public improvements and in other 
 matters. New departments of parks and public works are set up under the 
 city manager to take care of the work assigned to the borough presidents' 
 departments by Plan 1. In addition, the tenement house department is 
 continued as a separate department, although Plan 1 suggests the consoli- 
 dation of the sanitary inspection work of the present tenement house 
 department with the health department, and the merging of the work of 
 inspecting the construction and alteration of tenement houses with the 
 
21 
 
 department of building inspections. It may seem wise not to divide tene- 
 ment house work in this way. If the tenement house department is main- 
 tained as a separate department it will be possible to make it the agency 
 for all future housing betterment and control. A separate tenement house 
 department can easily be provided for in Plan 1. The two plans suggested 
 are in this and in other respects susceptible of modification with respect to 
 details. The fundamental feature of Plan 2 is the removal of all adminis- 
 trative responsibility from the borough presidents and the complete centrali- 
 zation, under a city manager, of the service departments. 
 
 Theoretically, no member of the board of estimate, which is the board 
 of directors of the city, should have direct administrative responsibility. He 
 has not time enough to perform both tasks adequately. The general policy 
 and legislative duties of the board of estimate are even now of great magni- 
 tude. If there be added to them greater responsibility for supervising the 
 administration of the government, membership in the board of estimate will 
 itself assume the proportions of a full sized task. The necessary pre^ 
 occupation of the mayor and comptroller in their special work would make 
 it all the more important to have the remaining members of the board free 
 for committee assignments and first-hand inquiry into and study of ques- 
 tions coming before the board. With a proper central organization, the 
 functions now performed by the five borough presidents could, it is believed, 
 be more economically performed by a city-wide organization. But neither 
 plan goes as far as this. 
 
 THE MAYOR AND HIS DEPARTMENTS ; '• 
 
 (Plans 1 and 2) 
 
 As the head of the city administration, the mayor should be the chief 
 factor in the determination of the policies of the city. Accordingly, it is 
 suggested that he be given exclusive control over those administrative 
 departments that have to do primarily with policy. He therefore is given 
 the power to appoint and remove the police commissioner, the board of edu- 
 cation, the board of taxes and assessments, the board of assessors, the civil 
 service commission, the board of elections and the corporation counsel. It 
 may be regarded wise to give him power to appoint and to remove the city 
 manager with or without the concurrence of the board of estimate. In 
 addition, as proposed in an earlier report on central purchasing, he is given 
 a dominant voice in the board of central purchase on the theory that the 
 principal users of supplies should not have control over their purchase. He 
 also retains his control of the board of city record, and continues to appoint 
 city magistrates and justices of Special Sessions. 
 
 The performance of all these duties, together with the collateral obli- 
 gations which a mayor must fulfill, will perhaps take more of his time 
 than he can easily give. But there are so many arguments against entrust- 
 
22 
 
 ing any of the above mentioned responsibilities to other hands that it seems 
 infeasible to recommend such a transfer. 
 
 Mayoralty 
 
 It is important, however, to emphasize the need of Uberating the mayor 
 of the city of New York, no matter who he may be, from detailed responsi- 
 bility for supervising the great operating departments of the city govern- 
 ment. The mayor is now charged with four vast responsibilities. First, he 
 must represent the city in its public relations. In New York this is in itself 
 a stupendous task. There are interviews that must be granted on important 
 questions consuming a large part of every working day. There are public 
 functions almost endless in their just and imperative demands on the 
 mayor's time. There are public crises, such as strikes, epidemics, disasters, 
 which compel his thought and action. These duties are important, they 
 are urgent, they require fine qualities, and are a severe tax on strength and 
 resourcefulness. Second, he must appoint department heads, plan their 
 programs with them, keep in touch with their activities and guide them 
 into conformance with the policies of his administration. This is a full 
 task for the most capable man. It involves the direction of an organiza- 
 tion having responsibility for the most vital services involving annual ex- 
 penditures greater than the total expenditures of the seven next largest 
 cities in America. As now organized, the duties of the mayor leave him 
 little time for this important work. Third, he must preside over and in a 
 measure lead the board of estimate and apportionment. The board is as 
 important as the boards of directors of the largest corporations in the 
 country. The chairmen of comparably great corporation boards are 
 highly paid men who are expected to devote their entire time to their 
 special tasks. For the mayor of New York, this work is only a small part 
 of the day's work. Fourth, the mayor has to determine on the policies of 
 administration, consult with advisers and subordinates with reference to 
 these policies, keep in touch with public opinion, represent the city in regard 
 to matters of legislation, and pass upon bills enacted by the legislature afifect- 
 ing the city. The volume and importance of these tasks correspond, of 
 course, to the volume and importance of the city's business. The mayor's 
 duties in 1916 are more than twice as onerous' as were the mayor's duties in 
 1898. It is for this reason that the reorganization herein suggested is be- 
 lieved to be the most important next step in bettering New York City's 
 government. 
 
 Police Department 
 
 To the present police department it is proposed to add the functions 
 now performed by the' department of licenses and the bureau of weights 
 and measures. The licensing of dance halls, pool rooms, theatres and the 
 like is a police function. As a matter of fact, the department of licenses 
 now grants no license to a dance hall or a pool room until the application 
 
23 
 
 has been reported on by the police. The honest weights and measures cam- 
 paigns, and other corrective work carried on by the bureau of weights and 
 measures, could be done efficiently by the police department. The super- 
 vision of weights and measures is an important part of the activity of many 
 European police departments. Fraud through short weighing is one of the 
 most important crimes against property and should be under police control. 
 The present bureau of weights and measures now has only 21 inspectors. 
 The use of policemen for this work would obviously make it possible to 
 extend its scope. 
 
 Department of Education 
 
 The present functions of the board of education have been enlarged in 
 the proposed plans to comprehend all the educational and recreational activi- 
 ties of the municipality. The College of the City of New York and Hunter 
 College are transferred to the control of the board of education and the 
 playground and recreational work of the park departments is similarly 
 transferred. At the same time it is proposed that the membership of the 
 board of education be reduced from 46 to not more than 9. A small, com- 
 pact body, made responsible for the entire educational program of the city, 
 can be held directly accountable by the mayor and the public. An unwieldy 
 board of 46, responsible for only part of the city's work in the field of edu- 
 cation and recreation, cannot be held similarly accountable. Experience in 
 other cities of the country shows conclusively that the present tendency is 
 towards small boards of education. In Boston the schools are administered 
 by a board of five members ; in Baltimore of nine, and in St. Louis of five. 
 New York's schools need leadership and responsible control. The present 
 legislative assembly which serves as a board of education will never achieve 
 the effectiveness of a small and responsible board of school control. Under 
 this board there should be provided high-grade competently organized 
 executive agencies — one for educational direction and one for the business 
 management of school construction and operation.* 
 
 Civil Service Commission 
 
 The civil service commission might properly assume the functions of 
 salary and work standardization now performed by the bureau of standards. 
 It might also maintain a pension bureau in which the administration of all 
 pension funds of the city would be centered, though the alternative of vest- 
 ing this function in a bureau immediately controlled by the board of estimate 
 may on further consideration seem preferable. The suggestion, however, 
 is to vest in the civil service commission as much control as possible over 
 questions affecting personnel. The power to fix salaries and grades would, 
 of course, still be vested in the boards of estimate and aldermen, but action 
 by these bodies should be based increasingly on the recommendations of 
 the civil service commission. The civil service commission should take over 
 
 *The position of Executive Manager recently established is the first step in the 
 direction of efficient educational organization. 
 
24 
 
 the supervision of the educational work for city employees now conducted 
 under the supervision of a special mayor's committee with the cooperation 
 of New York University and City College. In short, it is proposed to weld 
 together the entire present program for civil service efficiency. 
 
 Central Purchasing 
 
 Provision has been made in the proposed plan of reorganization for 
 the establishment of a board of central purchase under the mayor. During 
 1915 and 1916 considerable progress was effected in central purchasing 
 through the mayor's central purchase committee. The work of this com- 
 mittee has been hampered, however, by legislative restriction. A bill was 
 presented in the 1916 session of the legislature empowering the city to 
 create a central purchase board, and making possible the extension of the 
 work so successfully commenced that year. This bill provided for a board 
 composed of the mayor, comptroller, a member of the board of estimate 
 named by the mayor and two others named by the mayor, not necessarily 
 existing city officials. This board would appoint a director of purchases and 
 a director of stores. The central purchasing plan outlined is already 
 to a large extent in operation in the mayor's departments by means of a 
 working agreement between department heads, but the measure was not 
 passed by the legislature. 
 
 Board of Elections 
 
 At present the members of the board of elections are appointed by the 
 board of aldermen upon the recommendation of the Democratic and Re- 
 publican organizations of New York and Kings Counties. Prior to 191 1 the 
 mayor had power to appoint the commissioners of elections. In that year, 
 however, this power was transferred to the board of aldermen for political 
 reasons. I believe that the mayor should again be made the appointing of- 
 ficer and that the number of commissioners should be reduced from four to 
 two. In September, 1915, the commissioner of accounts submitted a report 
 to the mayor in which he urged this change, recommending that : 
 
 " An amendment to the statute should vest the power of ap- 
 pointing the commissioners of elections in the mayor * * *. a 
 further statutory amendment should provide that incumbent com- 
 missioners may not hold over after the expiration of their terms. 
 This would prevent a person unacceptable to the mayor from re- 
 maining in office while his organization refused to recommend another 
 and to continue in dead-lock with the mayor. Such amendments also 
 would restore a needed check upon organization dominance of the 
 board of elections. 
 
 " The number of commissioners should be reduced from four to 
 two, of opposite political faith. Appointment should be made from a 
 list of candidates recommended by the two leading party organizations 
 in each of the counties within the city. This would eliminate salary 
 
25 
 
 waste, promote efficiency, remove undue preference from New York 
 and Kings Counties and give the mayor a larger field from which to 
 select the best men." 
 
 Other Departments 
 
 No structural changes are suggested for the remaining departments, 
 except that the office of the commissioner of accounts be placed under a 
 single head. I have already submitted a report on the reorganization of this 
 office. In the tax and law departments administrative adjustments are no 
 doubt possible, but the^y will be worked out as a matter of progressive de- 
 velopment. In this report I am seeking to deal only with the broad outlines 
 of the government. If the plan proposed matures in part or whole into a 
 reality (several bills were introduced in the last legislature to carry out 
 certain of these suggestions in detail*), the local authorities will be able to 
 make material adjustments as experience suggests. 
 
 DEPARTMENTS UNDER THE CITY MANAGER (PLAN 1) 
 
 Plan 1 provides for the establishment of eight service departments 
 under the city manager as follows : 
 
 Health Department 
 
 The proposed health department is made up of the present health de- 
 partment, plus the hospitals now under the trustees of Bellevue and 
 allied hospitals, the hospitals and public institutions now under the com- 
 missioner of public charities, and the farm and industrial colony operated by 
 the board of inebriety. The new department also takes over the work of the 
 board of ambulance service and assumes responsibility for the sanitary in- 
 spections now conducted by the tenement house department. These changes 
 make it a department of hospitals and health, but for convenience the title 
 " department of health " is continued. The administration of all the city's 
 hospitals and institutions is thus centralized in one department in place of 
 three, and all work closely related to the health of the city placed under the 
 control of one official. I have already submitted a memorandum on a pro- 
 posed enlarged health department. 
 
 Building Inspections 
 
 A central department of building inspections is established to do the 
 work of the bureaus of buildings now under the borough presidents, 
 of the fire prevention inspectors, of all inspectors of the tenement house de- 
 partment who pass on the construction and alteration of tenement houses, 
 and of the electric wiring and water waste inspectors of the department of 
 water supply, gas and electricity. In addition, it is suggested that pro- 
 
 * 1, Central purchase board ; 2, single-headed commissioner of accounts ; 3, plant 
 and structure department ; 4, enlarged health department ; 5, public welfare department ; 
 6, transfer of water revenues to finance department; etc., the second and third being 
 the only measures adopted as yet 
 
26 
 
 vision be made in this department for the work of the examining board of 
 plumbers. This board now examines and certifies to the fitness of all per- 
 sons desiring to practice plumbing. This is a routine matter which could easily 
 be left to an ex-officio or appointed board in the department of building in- 
 spections. 
 
 Since the foregoing lines were written and the chart prepared there has 
 been adopted and put into operation a compromise measure which vests in 
 the bureaus of buildings under the borough presidents structural control and 
 in the fire department occupancy supervision, except in reference to tene- 
 ment houses. There will neither be wisdom in advocating nor advantage in 
 considering a readjustment of this arrangement until it has been thoroughly 
 tried out. 
 
 Buildings, Plant and Equipment 
 
 A new department of buildings, plant and equipment is proposed, with 
 the department of bridges as a nucleus. A bill to effect this change has 
 been drafted.* The new department as provided for in the bill is to take 
 over the building construction and maintenance work of the various depart- 
 ments, other than education, water supply, and docks and ferries, as the 
 board of estimate may determine. In the plan now submitted, the depart- 
 ment of buildings, plant and equipment would take charge of all building 
 and construction work except that of the board of education. 
 
 The department of buildings, plant and equipment would be the cen- 
 tral agency for all matters pertaining to the upkeep of the city's physical 
 plant. After some experimentation it should also be possible to make it 
 in part a mechanical bureau which could take over the work of repairing 
 fire apparatus, street cleaning equipment, etc. The department would also 
 operate the municipal garage until this service is otherwise assigned. 
 
 The central department for the construction and maintenance of build- 
 ings used by the general city service departments is only a logical step in 
 recognizing that the city is one concern and that the great volume of busi- 
 ness of like kind demands specialization. The fact that these departments 
 are to be under the general control of a city manager will make a single 
 agency for plant and structure building and maintenance as necessary and 
 logical in the interest of economy and efficiency as the continuance of the 
 present scheme of subdivision of responsibility would be ill-advised and 
 wasteful. 
 
 Department of Public Welfare 
 
 Centralizing all hospital control in the department of health, as sug- 
 gested in this report and in a previous memorandunl, will take away 
 from the department of public charities, a large part of its present ac- 
 tivity. That department is now primarily an institutional department. It 
 
 * The department is termed " Plant and Structures " in the act passed at the 1916 
 session of the legislature carrying this suggestion into effect. 
 
27 
 
 is proposed to iriake it a regulative, investigative and socially constructive 
 department. JThe present day understanding of public relief demands con- 
 sideration of causes of distress and public dependence and constructive 
 dealing with these causes. The present name of the department is largely 
 outlived and does not meet the modern conception of a public program 
 with regard to poverty. It is proposed to change it to " department of 
 public welfare, 'Qto conform with reorganization in other American cities. 
 To this department will be assigned the present field investigation of 
 applicants for aid. The head of the department will exercise the functions 
 of the supervisor of the poor. He will commit to private institutions 
 children and adults, as the commissioner of charities now does. He will 
 exercise supervision over the service standards of private institutions 
 receiving city charges. He will accept in behalf of the city applicants 
 for admission to institutions for the aged and infirm as now and will 
 commit them to one of the institutions to be conducted by the department 
 of health. The department of public welfare will conduct the municipal 
 lodging house and the public employment bureau, and, in my judgment, 
 should take over the investigative work of the board of child welfare now 
 administering the widows' pension law. It is expected that this new depart- 
 ment of public welfare will vigorously and constructively take up ques- 
 tions affecting poverty in the city of New York, call to the attention of 
 other departments matters in which they might be of aid, and gradually 
 develop for the community a program and policy with reference to unem- 
 ployment, poverty, dependence and their prevention. 
 
 Department of Public Utilities 
 
 In this department it is proposed to combine the present water depart- 
 ment, including public lighting, the present dock department, including the 
 operation of ferries, together with such other public service in the nature 
 of utilities as the city may undertake. The purpose of this grouping is to 
 consolidate this general function of the city under one head. The different 
 services will require independent staffs because the problems are technically 
 dissimilar. Questions of public policy governing the development of the 
 city's port and waterfront should be one of the major concerns of the board 
 of estimate. It is in this field that New York's future largely lies. Its pros- 
 perity as a community and its financial soundness as a municipality are 
 closely related to the development of a comprehensive, bold and productive 
 port, terminal and dockage program. It would be the duty of the utilities 
 department to execute this program, to maintain the existing plant and to 
 negotiate for its proper use. All water revenue control should be assigned to 
 the department of finance, the utilities department being concerned with the 
 maintenance and operation of the water system. The functions in respect of 
 lighting now performed by the department of water supply, gas and elec- 
 tricity would be discharged by the utilities department, while electric wiring 
 control would be assigned to the central department of building inspection. 
 
28 
 
 Borough Presidents Under Plan 2 
 
 Plan 2 differs from Plan 1 chiefly in respect of the functions of the 
 borough presidents. It provides for complete centralization, creating a 
 department of public works to take over the public works activities now 
 performed by the borough presidents. In all the suggestions regarding the 
 reapportionment of functions now administered for their respective boroughs 
 by the borough presidents it is not intended by any means to minimize the 
 importance of the borough presidents or to decrease the power of the local 
 communities to obtain consideration of their needs. On the contrary, it is 
 proposed to utilise more fully than is now possible the interest and personal 
 contact with local opinion of the borough presidents in affecting, supervising 
 and directing city-wide activities. In this way the city will be welded to- 
 gether in one co-ordinated organization. Under the present system the 
 borough presidents represent their boroughs in the board of estimate, but 
 only in a slight degree assume responsibility for the government of the city 
 in general. Under the proposed plan it is suggested that they become active 
 members of the board of directors concernd with the operation throughout 
 the city of all the departments under the city manager. As local repre- 
 sentatives they would, it is suggested, continue their present power of 
 initiative and control over matters of local improvements in their respective 
 boroughs. 
 
 DEPARTMENTS UNDER THE CITY MANAGER (PLAN 2) 
 
 Plan '2 makes no changes in the powers or duties of the mayor or the 
 board of estimate as outlined in Plan 1. It provides, however, for the estab- 
 lishment of eleven departments under the city manager, instead of eight. 
 The departments of fire; building inspections; buildings, plant and equip- 
 ment ; health ; street cleaning ; correction ; public utilities ; and public welfare 
 are constituted as under Plan 1, except that the work of the present tene- 
 ment house department is not divided between the department of buildings, 
 plant and equipment and the department of health. As indicated in the 
 chart describing Plan 2, in addition to these eight departments it is suggested 
 that the city manager be responsible for a department of parks, a depart- 
 ment of public works and a tenement house department. 
 
 The new department of parks is composed of the four present depart- 
 ments of parks, which under Plan 1 are distributed among the borough 
 presidents. A consolidation of these departments offers no administrative 
 difficulty nor will the operation of a single department result in anything 
 but more economical and effective management. 
 
 The tenement house department is continued as a distinct agency as 
 now. Supervision of tenements is of such vital importance to the city and 
 involves services of such special character that the continuance of a separate 
 department for this work seems in many ways desirable. Moreover, there 
 is the widest opportunity for the further development of a city policy 
 
29 
 
 regarding housing. It should be the business of the tenement house depart- 
 ment to furnish at least suggestive leadership in this field. 
 
 Public Works 
 
 [The most important addition made by Plan 2 to the duties of the city 
 manager is the creation of a dep?irtment of public works, which, it is 
 proposed, shall be made responsible for the construction and maintenance 
 of the streets and highways, the construction and maintenance of sewers, 
 and the prosecution of all topographical work in connection with the 
 city map. This work is now under the borough presidents^ Plan 1 pro- 
 vides for its continuance under them. 
 
 [.Paving streets and building sewers present similar problems through- 
 out the city. With the growth of traffic and the rapidly increasing use of 
 motors, highway construction in New York City requires the highest skill 
 and the development of highly scientific methodsj The great highway pro- 
 jects of states are under one central administration. The highway adminis- 
 tration of the city should be under single control. The automobile has 
 made borough lines for highways wholly artificial. The city cannot af- 
 ford not to have the most skillful and scientific highway construction and 
 maintenance organization obtainable, neither can it afford to maintain five 
 such departments. Highway development and construction must increas- 
 ingly be conducted from the standpoint of the entire city and not from the 
 standpoint of local districts. City-wide experience would enhance the 
 efficiency of highway service for every borough. 
 
 Similarly, sewer questions, including sewage disposal, are city-wide 
 questions. While borough needs should carry great weight in considering 
 plans for the development of the sewer system, the execution of these plans 
 may certainly without disadvantage be entrusted to one department for the 
 entire city of New York. 
 
 Board of Aldermen 
 
 The board of aldermen is continued in both plans as a frank compro- 
 mise with a local tradition. New York apparently desires to continue a 
 locally elected legislative body. In other cities the large council as an insti- 
 tution of government is being abandoned. In these cities it is thought that 
 a small conspicuous body such as the board of estimate is on the whole 
 better able to represent the desires and needs of the city than a large body 
 brought together from limited localities and elected on matters of local 
 rather than city concern. But New York is an exceptionally large and 
 diversified city. One of the great" problems of its administration is to keep 
 the government in touch with local sentiment and local needs. The alder- 
 men have never been fully utilized to effect this result. In some way it 
 should be possible to bring these representatives of localities into more 
 definite contact with the details of governmental administration. But it 
 
30 
 
 has not been done. It might be desirable to increase the membership 
 of the board of estimate by one member, and have the board of aldermen 
 choose one of its members to sit in the more important board. The sug- 
 gestion has frequently been made that the board of aldermen be reduced 
 in number. This does not seem material to me. During the ten years of 
 my observation the active work of the boai-d has been carried on by a very 
 few members and its power exercised under a principle of majority and 
 minority leadership. The board has during this time been organized along 
 lines of party divisioti and not according to locality. In other words, it has 
 not been a council of representatives of the seventy-odd constituencies by 
 which it has been elected so much as an organized expression of city-wide 
 political alignment. Reduction in the size of the board would probably not 
 affect this, although it might make it easier to bring each alderman in more 
 definite contact with the city government and enable the city administrators 
 in this way to avail themselves more effectively of the knowledge of local 
 needs which an alderman should possess. It is my belief that a board of 
 estimate chosen as the present board is chosen and composed of members 
 relieved of administrative duties to the extent suggested in this report will 
 be able fully to represent public opinion, but the weight of the arguments in 
 favor of continuing the board of aldermen, largely sentimental though they 
 may be, is recognized. This report, moreover, deals primarily with the 
 administrative rather than the legislative aspects of city organization, so 
 that no final conclusion regarding the readjustment or reassignment of the 
 aldermanic function is attempted. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 In each of the two plans herein discussed the underlying principle is the 
 centralization of responsibility and the organization of functions for most 
 eiTective service. The electorate chooses a board of estimate or a board of 
 directors. The mayor, as the chairman of that board, is made solely respon- 
 sible for those departments which determine the policy of the city. In both 
 plans the comptroller is continued, as now, the head of the department of 
 finance, but the functions of that department are extended. The five borough 
 presidents are, under one plan, given administrative responsibility of their 
 own, and under the other, are relieved of that responsibility in order that they 
 may give more of their time and attention to the broad problems of city 
 policy which are constantly before the board of estimate for determination. 
 The board, acting as a whole, or the mayor as the principal officer of the 
 city, selects a city manager, who is made directly responsible for those 
 departments which render definite public service and whose problems are 
 not so much determined by questions of public policy as by the physical 
 needs of the city. The city rnanager, with or without the approval of the 
 board of estimate or the mayor alone, as may be determined, selects as the 
 
31 
 
 head of each one of his bureaus or departments an executive whom he 
 makes directly responsible for the proper conduct of the department.* 
 
 Let the details of such organization be what they may. The principles 
 involved are believed to be sound by experienced administrators of public 
 business throughout the country. A city government administered in ac- 
 cordance with them should render a degree of service to the public which 
 under the present arrangement is impossible of attainment. Neither of the 
 two plans is revolutionary. Use is made of existing organization and exist- 
 ing offices. Both represent evolution along lines of recent development in 
 city management in New York and other American cities. After five, ten 
 or fifteen years' experience with the city administration thus constituted 
 it would be possible to make such further changes as would be necessary to 
 maintain the government of the city of New York in the position of pre- 
 eminence which the municipality deserves. 
 
 * In Dayton and other city manager cities, the city manager selects department 
 heads without the concurrence of the board, on the theory that being held responsible 
 for results he should be free to choose his principal aids. As a matter of policy 
 this arrangement might not prove wise in so large a city as New York. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 FINANCIAL ASPECT OF THE PROBLEM OF NEW YORK'S 
 
 MANAGEMENT 
 
 In order to give perspective to the two plans of governmental reorgani- 
 zation proposed in this report, Chapter III deals with the attempts made 
 during the past two years* to reduce the cost of government with respect to 
 both budget appropriations and funded debt. These efforts have in a large 
 measure been successful. The city must, however, be freed from statutory 
 restrictions and inhibitions so that it may organize its government along 
 some such lines as are suggested in Plans 1 and 2, herein presented, if the 
 progress of the past two years is to be continued. Greatly increased serv- 
 iceability in government and many economies could be effected if efficient 
 organization were added to the existing desire and continuous eflfort to con- 
 duct the affairs of the city without waste and in the interest of the public. 
 
 Increased Expenditures Despite Economies 
 
 The present administration took office January 1, 1914. The budget 
 for 1914 was prepared by the preceding administration and amounted to 
 $192,995,551.62, an increase of only $284,110.46, or 3/20ths of one per cent 
 over the budget for 1913. The gross funded debt on December 31, 1913, 
 was $1,224,873,631.91, of which $923,570,823.07 was within the 
 debt limit. The debt incurring power of the city as of Jan- 
 uary 2, 1914, was $51,373,749.62, of which $34,794,115.61 was pledged to 
 specific purposes, leaving $16,579,634.01 as an unreserved margin. 
 
 On January 1, 1916, this administration completed the first two years 
 of its term of office. The budget for 1916 amounts to $212,956,177.54. The 
 gross funded debt on December 31, 1915, was $1,361,483,821.28, of which 
 $1,038,958,319.18 was within the debt limit. The debt incurring power of 
 the city as of January 1, 1916, was $54,326,698.54, of which $32,094,237.53 
 was pledged to specific purposes, leaving $22,232,461.01 as an unreserved 
 margin. 
 
 In the two years, 1914 and 1915, the budget increased by $19,960,625.92. 
 In the same period the gross funded debt increased by $136,610,189.37. 
 This growth in debt and budget is a matter of very great concern in con- 
 sidering the financial problems of New York. It does not, however, indicate 
 any disregard by the administration of the city's pressing financial condition. 
 
 On the contrary, no administration in the history of the city has ever 
 devoted itself more whole-heartedly to the great task of putting the city's 
 finances on a sound basis. So far as it has been within the power of the 
 
 * 1914-1916. 
 
33 
 
 board of estimate, budget appropriations have been reduced materially at 
 the same time that the quality and quantity of service rendered to the public 
 have been increased. The board of estimate has been most conservative in 
 its authorizations of corporate stock. Although there has been this unprece- 
 dented effort in the direction of economy, the budget has grown and the 
 debt increased. 
 
 Increases were, however, inevitable. The city of New York has 
 reached the point where it must cope with the financial problems caused by 
 the lavishness of previous generations. The growth of the city has been 
 so phenomenal and its wealth has increased in such a rapid and extraordi- 
 nary manner that now for the first time, when enhanced real estate values 
 do not offset increased expenditure, the pinch of financial necessity is being 
 felt. 
 
 City Debt 
 
 One of the most serious problems that confronted the incoming admin- 
 istration in 1914 was that of the tremendous annual increase in the funded 
 debt. It was imperative that some solution be found to conserve the city's 
 credit. 
 
 It was not possible, however, to stop at once the issue of bonds and 
 thus check the growth of the debt. In many cases improvements authorized 
 and commenced in past years were still uncompleted. The cessation of 
 work in such instances would mean no economy but the most reprehensible 
 form of waste, for the prior investment would be rendered worthless. Fur- 
 thermore, the needs of the city had made imperative the building of the 
 new dual subway, the extension of the water supply system, the develop- 
 ment of the municipally owned docks and piers, and the. construction of 
 additional schools. The board of estimate has had no choice but to author- 
 ize the continuance of these great public improvements. Of the total of 
 $145,156,380.67 of corporate stock issued in 1914 and 1915, $36,725,704.84 
 was for water supply purposes, $41,172,472.00 for rapid transit, $10,620,- 
 155.10 for the department of docks and ferries, and $11,211,106.84 for the 
 board of education. It is for such reasons that the city debt has continued 
 to increase since December 31, 1913. 
 
 New Corporate Stock Authorizations Checked 
 
 M.lthough comparatively little of a remedial nature could be done with 
 respect to the issue of bonds for improvements already under way, the board 
 of estimate adopted the most drastic measures with respect to the authoriza- 
 tion of new work. Only those new improvements of immediate public 
 necessity were authorized. J 
 
 The result of this determination of the present administration to check 
 so far as possible the growth of the city's debt by limiting the authorization 
 of corporate stock for new improvements to cases of urgent necessity is 
 
shown conclusively by the following record of corporate stock authoriza- 
 tions since 1906: 
 
 Average Per 
 Year 
 
 Administration Authorization 
 
 McClellan, 1906-1909, inc $409,668,458.52 $102,417,114.63 
 
 Gaynor, 1910-1913, inc 351,807,993.85 87,951,998.46 
 
 Mitchel, 1914 14,594,670.48 14,594,670.48 
 
 Mitchel, 1915 11,585,981.69 11,585,981.69 
 
 It is true that of the huge sums authorized during the two preceding 
 administrations a large portion was for rapid transit, water supply and 
 dock improvements. 
 
 The average annual authorizations during the same period for these 
 revenue producing, and for non-revenue producing purposes were as 
 follows : 
 
 Administration 
 
 McClellan, 1906-1909, inc.... 
 
 Gaynor, 1910-1913, inc 
 
 Mitchel, 1914 
 
 Mitchel, 1915 
 
 Revenue Producing 
 
 Non-Revenue 
 Producing 
 
 $51,663,423.62 
 
 56,311,014.23 
 
 5,636,583.30 
 
 3,545,070.56 
 
 $50,763,691.01 
 
 31,640,984.23 
 
 8,958,087.18 
 
 8,040,911.13 
 
 These figures acquire added significance when it is remembered that, 
 because of interest and sinking fund charges, every dollar borrowed on a 
 50-year 4j4% bond costs the city of New York $2.69 before final repay- 
 ment. 
 
 The authorizations during the McClellan and Gaynor administrations 
 for water supply purposes were chiefly for the purpose of completing the 
 Catskill water system, while those for rapid transit purposes were made to 
 enable the city to carry out its obligations and commitments in respect of 
 the dual rapid transit contracts. 
 
 " Pay-as-you-go " Policy 
 
 In addition to reducing so substantially the annual authorizations of 
 corporate stock, the present administration, at the suggestion of the bank- 
 ing interests of the city, has taken a novel and radical position with 
 reference to the financing of public improvements. When, in the 
 fall of 1914, the city was confronted with the obligation of meeting 
 $80,000,000 of notes held in Europe, it was found necessary to decide what 
 the future policy of the city government would be relative to the issue of 
 corporate stock. An agreement was entered into between the city and the 
 bankers who financed the temporary loan floated to meet the foreign in- 
 debtedness of the city, which provided for what has been termed the " pay- 
 
35 
 
 (as-you-go " policy. This policy established two principles, (1) that 50-year 
 corporate stock should be issued only for revenue producing purposes such as 
 rapid transit, water supply and docks, and (2) that all non-revenue producing 
 improvements authorized during 1915 should be financed three- fourths by 
 15-year corporate stock (serial bonds) and one-fourth by 1-year bonds pay- 
 able from the 1916 tax budget; that those authorized during 1916 should 
 be financed one-half by 15-year corporate stock (serial bonds) and one- 
 half by 1-year bonds payable from the 1917 tax budget ; that those author- 
 ized during 1917 should be financed one-fourth by 15-year corporate stock 
 (serial bonds) and three-fourths by 1-year bonds payable from the 1918 
 tax budget; and that those authorized during 1918 and subsequent years 
 should be financed wholly from the annual tax budget.! 
 
 Outlook Encouraging 
 
 In spite, therefore, of the present gigantic debt of the city of New 
 York, and the fact that this debt has increased more rapidly than population, 
 the prospect for the future is by no means discouraging. In the first place, 
 the effect of the " pay-as-you-go " policy, together with the wholesome re- 
 straint which the present administration is exercising with respect to new 
 authorizations of corporate stock, will operate for the progressive decrease 
 of the city's bonded indebtedness. In the second place, with the very ex- 
 penditures which have caused the huge growth in debt, the city has now 
 practically completed a tremendously valuable new source of water sup- 
 ply in the Catskill Mountains, and has constructed an extended subway 
 system which will increase land values in the outlying sections and stimulate 
 a further growth in population. The city has also begun the wider develop- 
 ment of its waterfront so that the commerce of the port of New York may 
 be fostered and promoted. It has constructed modern schools and new 
 hospitals and it owns real estate and buildings estimated by the department 
 of taxes and assessments to be worth over one and a half billions. These 
 are the concrete fruits of its investments. 
 
 The Budget 
 
 Second in importance only to the huge increase in debt was the problem 
 presented by the regular growth of budget appropriations. In attempting 
 thorough-going economies in this direction the board of estimate and appor- 
 tionment again found itself in many respects helpless. It is for this reason 
 that the budget for 1916 is greater than the budget for 1914 by nearly 
 $20,000,000, for of this increase the sum of $10,600,000 is due to the increase 
 required in the debt service appropriations, and the sum of $9,400,000 is 
 due to the enormous increase in the amount of the direct state tax for 1916 
 over the 1914 figure. These two items, both of which are beyond the con- 
 trol of the local authorities, account • for the total increase in the budget. 
 If it were not for them, the 1916 budget would not exceed the budget for 
 
36 
 
 1914, which was practically the same as that for 1913, in spite of largely 
 increased appropriations for education, charities, police and correction. 
 
 The following table shows the increases and compensating decreases 
 in the 1916 budget as compared with that of 1914 : 
 
 StjMMARY OF Increases and Decreases. 
 1916 Budget Compared with 1914 Budget. 
 
 Appropriations for Increase Decrease 
 
 1. Debt service $10,601,692.46 
 
 2. State tax 9,398,718.30 
 
 3. Education, Department of 1,662,574.61 
 
 4. Deficiencies in taxes 1,500,000.00 
 
 5. Courts and Counties 525,727.69 
 
 6. Charitable Institutions, Payments to 166,318.00 
 
 7. Board of Elections 112,939.00 
 
 8. Colleges, Libraries and Park Institutions 89,718 .17 
 
 9. Miscellaneous $971,158.02 
 
 10. Departments under Mayor and Board of Estimate 3,125,904.29 
 
 $24,057,688.23 $4,097,062.31 
 
 A detailed explanation of these items of increase and decrease follows : 
 1. Debt Service 
 
 The largest single item of increase is that of $10,601,692.46 for debt 
 service. This is made up as follows: 
 
 Appropriation for 1914 1916 Increase 
 
 Interest on Funded Debt $33,995,836 . 58 $36,952,508 . 22 $2,956,671 . 64 
 
 Interest on Temporary Debt 3,750,000.00 5,068,426.62 1,318,426.62 
 
 Sinking Fund Installments 7,451,778.88 8,200,000.00 748,221.12 
 
 Redemption of Funded Debt 1,391,077. 19 3,867,275.27 2,476,198.08 
 
 Redemption of Special Revenue Bonds 6,022,825.00 9,125,000.00 3,102,175.00 
 
 Total debt service $52,611,517.65 $63,213,210. 11 $10,601,692.46 
 
 As explained above, the present administration fell heir to a huge and 
 steadily increasing debt. The increase of $2,956,671.64 in the interest 
 charges on the funded debt is due to the increase of $136,000,000 in the 
 amount of the principal of the funded debt. The increase of $1,318,426.62 
 in the 1916 appropriation for interest on the temporary debt is due almost 
 wholly to the estimated increase in the interest which must be paid on 
 revenue bonds and bills to be issued in 1916. A full year's interest on 
 $43,000,000 of bonds at 6% must be paid in 1916 from this appropriation. 
 Furthermore, the average rates of interest which the city has paid during 
 1915 on its temporary obligations will probably prove to be much below 
 the 1916 rates. Provision must be made in this appropriation for such a 
 contingency. 
 
37 
 
 The increase of $748,221.12 in the amount required for sinking fund 
 installments is caused in part by the addition in the past two years of 
 $136,000,000 to the city's debt. It is also due to the fact that the amount 
 carried in the 1914 budget for amortization purposes was less by about 
 $2,000,000 than the actuarial installments for that year called for. Such a 
 reduction was made possible by the application of an accumulated surplus 
 in the sinking funds caused by an excess of actual over estimated earnings. 
 The actuarial installments are based on an estimated annual yield of 3^ 
 compounded once a year. In fact the investments of the sinking funds have 
 earned more than this amount. An investigation made by the comptroller 
 disclosed these accumulations and made possible a reduction in the appro- 
 priations for sinking fund installments in both the 1914 and 1915 budgets. 
 Similar reductions were made in the 1916 budget but as the surplus ac- 
 cumulations are gradually wiped out the budgets must bear an increasing 
 amount for this purpose. 
 
 The increase of $2,476,198.08 in the appropriation for redemption of 
 the funded debt is due to (1) an increase of $447,878.08 in the amount of 
 the debts of the former city of New York and the municipalities con- 
 solidated with it on January 1, 1898, falling due in 1916, and (2) to an in- 
 crease of $2,028,320 attributable to the " pay-as-you-go " policy adopted 
 September 11, 1914, by the board of estimate and described above. Of this 
 $2,028,320 the sum of $1,666,760 represents the redemption of one-fifteenth 
 of the issue of serial bonds, and the sum of $361,560 represents that por- 
 tion of the estimated amount of non-revenue producing outlays which, 
 under the agreement must be borne directly from the tax levy. 
 
 The increase of $3,102,175 in the amount appropriated for the redemp- 
 tion of special revenue bonds is caused by estimated increases in those ex- 
 penses during 1915, to be defrayed by the issue of special revenue bonds re- 
 deemable in the 1916 budget, over corresponding expenses in 1913 defrayed 
 by the issue of special revenue bonds redeemable from the 1914 budget. 
 The chief items of such increase are: 
 
 1 About $1,600,000 in the expense of the public service commis- 
 
 sion due to the construction of the new dual subway, 
 
 2 About $850,000 for the department of street cleaning, due chiefly 
 
 to the increased cost of snow removal in 1915 over 1913, 
 
 3 About $400,000 in the estimated amount of claims against the 
 
 city, and 
 
 4 About $230,000 in the amount of special revenue bonds issued 
 
 for the departments of public charities and correction, due to 
 the unusual social conditions in the winter of 1914-1915, re- 
 sulting in unexpected increases in the census of the institu- 
 tions under these two departments. 
 
 2. State Tax 
 
 The next largest item of increase is that of about $9,400,000 in the ap- 
 propriation for 1916 for the direct state tax. The city's share of the 
 state tax for 1916 is $13,975,021.73. In 1914 the budget contained only 
 
38 
 
 $4,576,303.43 for this purpose. As the city of New York is compelled by 
 law to raise by taxation whatever sum is imposed upon it by the state legis- 
 lature an increase of 200^ in the appropriation must be endured, but the 
 city must realize that the board of estimate has no responsibility in the mat- 
 ter. The mayor and other city officials protested against the state tax at 
 the time of its discussion at Albany on the ground that no such huge levy 
 was necessary. 
 
 3. Education 
 
 The increase of $1,662,574.61 in the appropriation to the board of edu- 
 cation represents substantially the increase allowed in the 1915 budget. 
 The 1916 budget allowance exceeds that for 1915 by only $25,631.63. The 
 average annual increase in the budget apropriations for the department of 
 education from 1906 to 1910 was $1,305,060.93. From 1910 to 1914 it was 
 $2,406,243.62, while for the two years 1914 to 1916 it has been reduced to 
 $831,287.30. This reduction in the annual growth of school appropriations 
 has been effected in the face of a continued increase in the number of pupils. 
 At the time of the preparation of the 1915 budget it was estimated that the 
 increase in school population over 1914 would be 35,000. It proved to be 
 36,000. The estimated increase over 1915 in the number of pupils to be 
 provided for from the 1916 appropriation is 24,000. If guided by the 
 former practice, the board of estimate would have appropriated at least 
 $1,500,000 more for 1916 than for 1915. As a matter of fact, the board of 
 education requested $2,500,000 more for 1916. The careful studies con- 
 ducted in the past two years by the board of estimate convinced its members, 
 however, that a reorganization of parts of the school system, coupled with 
 some wholesome measures of retrenchment, would make it possible to ad- 
 minister the schools in 1916 within the limits of the 1915 appropriations. 
 
 4. Deficiencies in Taxes 
 
 The increase of $1,500,000 in the amount appropriated in the 1916 
 budget for deficiencies in taxes, is another increase beyond the control of 
 the city administration. So long as the present personal tax law remains 
 on the statute books the city will continue to be confronted with deficiencies 
 in the personal tax collections. The comptroller submitted a report to the 
 board of estimate in October, 1914, showing for the first time the actual 
 amount of deficiencies up to December 31, 1913. The 1915 budget carried 
 an appropriation of $6,112,092.44 for deficiencies, clearing up a large part 
 of the accumulations. The 1916 appropriation of $4,000,000 dears up the 
 rest of the otherwise unprovided for deficiencies prior to 1914 and carries 
 an amount estimated to equal the 1914 deficiencies. The city is now on a 
 sound business basis with respect to tax deficiencies. 
 
 5. Courts and Counties 
 
 The increase of $525,727.69 in the total appropriations to the courts 
 and the five counties is due almost entirely to the increased cost of Bronx 
 
39 
 
 County. The 1914 budget carried appropriations of only $273,941.68 for 
 the maintenance of Bronx County, because there was no experience by 
 which the cost of newly created offices could be judged and it was decided 
 that their maintenance should be provided for during 1914 by the issue of 
 special revenue bonds. The 1916 budget, however, contains appropriations 
 of $757,804.98 for Bronx County. The board of estimate cannot be held 
 responsible for the creation by the legislature of an additional and wholly 
 unnecessary county, nor can it be held responsible for its expenses. 
 
 6-8. Payments to Charitable Institutions, Board of Elections, Colleges, 
 Libraries and Park Commissions 
 
 The other items of increase listed above are negligible in amount. The 
 increase of $112,939 for the board of elections is mandatory. The board 
 of estimate is compelled by law to appropriate the amounts requested by 
 the board of elections. 
 
 To summarize, therefore, the present board of estimate and apportion- 
 ment can be held responsible for only about $2,000,000 of the above-men- 
 tioned $24,000,000 increase. That $2,000,000 represents the 1916 cost of 
 the new " pay-as-you-go " policy, which was adopted by the city adminis- 
 tration as an heroic measure of relief for the future of the city. The bal- 
 ance of the increase in debt service is due for the most part to the lavish 
 expenditures of previous years. 
 
 Emphasis is placed on this analysis of budget increases and on the 
 responsibility for them because it is important for the public to understand, 
 first, that the government has adopted a policy of financial management 
 which will check the onerous growth in annual expenditure; second, that 
 because of inherited conditions and the 1916 state tax the effects of this 
 check cannot be immediately made apparent. New York was never di- 
 rected towards bankruptcy, but it was pursuing a policy that would have 
 resulted inevitably in the complete demoralization of local real estate as a 
 medium for investment, and would have discouraged the progress of the 
 city in many ways because of excessive taxation and a reputation at least 
 for careless management. 
 
 9. Miscellaneous 
 
 The decrease of $971,000 in miscellaneous items is due in part to the 
 fact that the 1916 budget carries no appropriation for borough assessments 
 while the 1914 budget contained $520,015.06 for that purpose. The city's 
 share in 1916 of such assessments will be paid directly from the tax levy. 
 The balance of the decrease is due chiefly to reductions of $158,000 in the 
 appropriation for advertising and of $217,000 in the appropriation for the 
 armory board. 
 
 10. Departments under Mayor and Board of Estimate 
 
 In striking contrast to the increases in those appropriations over which 
 the present administration has had no control, are the decreases which 
 
40 
 
 have been effected in the appropriations to those departments directly under 
 the authority of the members of the board of estimate. 
 
 The total budget appropriation in 1906 to the departments under the 
 mayor, the finance department, the borough presidents, the staffs of the 
 board of estimate, and Bellevue and allied hospitals, was $48,335,458.09. 
 From 1906 to 1910 the average annual increase in the budget appropria- 
 tions to these departments was 9.2%. From 1910 to 1914 the average 
 annual increase was 2.7%, so that in 1914 the total appropriations had 
 reached the sum of $73,314,940.04. The two succeeding budgets, those 
 for 1915 and 1916, have shown substantial reductions in this total. The 
 former carried $71,781,382.02, or a reduction below 1914 of 2.1%, and the 
 latter $70,189,035.75, a reduction below 1915 of 2.2%. 
 
 The total reduction below 1914 of $3,125,904.29 in the budget appro- 
 priations to these administrative departments has been made in spite of in- 
 creased appropriations amounting to more than $1,000,000 granted to such 
 departments as public charities, correction, police, and Bellevue and allied 
 hospitals. In other words, the administrative economies brought about in 
 two years in those branches of the city service which are controlled by the 
 board of estimate amount to considerably more than $4,000,000 in tax levy 
 funds only. In addition there have been very material reductions in appro- 
 priations made from other funds. 
 
 Salary Rolls Chargeable to Corporate Stock Reduced 
 
 Each budget contains schedules of salaries paid in part or in whole 
 from corporate stock appropriations. Corporate stock is not authorized 
 or appropriated in the tax budget, but schedules are set up in the budget 
 to control the expenditure of such corporate stock when it is authorized. 
 Employees whose compensation is paid from such funds are engaged upon 
 permanent public improvements. As the result of the reduced amount of 
 corporate stock authorized during the past two years, and of careful reor- 
 ganization studies made by the departments themselves and by the board 
 of estimate's bureaus, the amount of corporate stock budget schedules for 
 salaries and wages for 1916 is less than in 1914 by about $2,000,000. These 
 reductions were chiefly in the departments of docks and ferries, bridges, 
 water supply, gas and electricity, and the offices of the borough presidents. 
 For example, for the department of docks and ferries the 1914 budget 
 contained schedules of corporate stock allowances amounting to $1,256,- 
 064.83, but the 1916 budget provides for only $102,621.95, a reduction of 
 over $1,150,000. In the bridge department the reduction is about $210,000; 
 in the department of water supply, gas and electricity $410,000, and in the 
 borough presidents' offices $200,000. Although this reduction of $2,000,000 
 is not reflected directly in the decrease in the budget total, it is nonethe- 
 less of very great importance in the general economy program. 
 
41 
 
 Some Allowances Below 1909 Budget Level 
 
 The foregoing statement of decreases of $3,125,000 in the tax levy 
 appropriations and of $2,000,000 in the corporate stock schedules of the 
 1916 budget does not fully describe the practical effect of the careful budget- 
 making of the past two years. As shown below, in many cases the 1915 
 appropriations are even less than those for 1909. 
 
 Amount of 
 Department. decrease 1916 
 
 below 1909. 
 
 Bridges $181,539.19 
 
 City Record, Board of 565,842. 12 
 
 Law 48,255.00 
 
 Parks (all boroughs) 291,240.58 
 
 Tenement House 152,894.78 
 
 Borough Presidents (Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Richmond)... 621,302.43 
 Finance 109,285.00 
 
 In the case of the department of docks and ferries no accurate comparison 
 can be made between 1909 and 1916, because in 1909 all the expenses of 
 the department were still paid from corporate stock. The 1910 budget 
 appropriation, however, exceeded the 1916 budget appropriation by 
 $1,320,382.30. 
 
 These are concrete examples of the effectiveness of local control over 
 ajjpropriations as demonstrated by the experience of the past two years. If 
 the board of estimate had the same authority over every department and 
 office of the city and county governments that it has over those depart- 
 ments in whose appropriations it has already effected such marked econ- 
 omies, further reductions could be made in the budget. 
 
 Economies Based on Study and Better Methods 
 
 These decreases have not been effected by any haphazard slashing of 
 budget estimates. They are all the result of careful study by department 
 heads, by the advisory bureaus of the board of estimate and by other agencies 
 of the city government. It is the application of the specific recommenda- 
 tions resulting from these studies that has made such economies possible. 
 The savings are not paper savings, but are actual reductions in the cost of 
 government. 
 
 Illustration of How Economies are Made 
 
 For example, the 1916 budget appropriation to the department of water 
 supply, gas and electricity is only $4,800 greater than the 1909 budget appro- 
 priation. This does not mean that the work of the department has stood 
 still in the interim. On the contrary, more water is being supplied and 
 consumed now than in 1909, and public lighting is much improved and 
 extended. The present average daily consumption is about 550 million 
 gallons while in 1909 it was 515 million gallons. There are more public 
 buildings for the department to supply with gas and electricity than in 1909. 
 
42 
 
 There are many more street lights in operation now than in 1909. This 
 apparent standstill in the amount of budget appropriation is in fact the 
 product of an increase of about $1,000,000 between 1909 and 1914 and an 
 offsetting decrease between 1914 and 1916 of about the same amount. This 
 decrease is made possible by a net saving, in spite of great extension and 
 improvement of service, amounting to nearly $500,000, in the cost of street 
 and park lighting. This saving was due to definite betterment in the con- 
 dition of the service involving such measures as the substitution of modern 
 economical nitrogen filled tungsten lamps for the old expensive enclosed 
 arcs and a reduction in the rates charged to the city. A further saving of 
 nearly $300,000 in the annual cost of lighting public buildings was efifected 
 through improved lighting equipment and waste prevention, and still other 
 economies were brought about by a reorganization of the bureaus of water 
 supply and water revenue collection. Program, desire and method were 
 the elements needed to bring about the substitution of careful for spend- 
 thrift management in this as in all other branches of the government. 
 
 The history of the decreased appropriations for the departments of 
 docks and ferries and bridges is similar. In both of them careful studies 
 were made and reorganizations were efifected which so simplified and 
 reduced the cost of the work performed that large reductions could be made 
 in the budget appropriations. 
 
 Lower Cbst and Greater Service 
 
 At the same time that the administrative cost of the government has 
 been reduced so greatly, the work of those departments caring for the city's 
 sick and poor has been extended and increased. In the department of public 
 charities, for example, there has been an increase since 1914 of nearly 3,000 
 in the number of patients and inmates to be cared for. In addition, the city 
 has recently opened the new Greenpoint hospital, with a capacity of about 
 200 beds, and has erected several additional cottages at the Farm Colony. 
 The dietary in all the institutions has been improved, and paid hospital 
 helpers at a minimum wage of $210 per annum, with maintenance, have 
 been substituted for the unpaid help formerly employed. The department 
 has increased its staff of investigators so that now thorough investigations 
 are made of the circumstances surrounding each application for admission 
 to either a private charitable institution as a city charge or to one of the 
 department's institutions. Follow-up work is carried on to a larger extent 
 than ever before, and new employees have been added for the purpose of 
 assisting the new board of child welfare in its investigating work. 
 
 In Bellevue and allied hospitals there has been a similar extension of 
 facilities. An addition to Harlem hospital, with a capacity of about 120 
 beds, has been opened, a new hospital at Neponsit Beach with a capacity 
 of 120 beds has been accepted from private donors and put into service, 
 and Pavilions I, K, L and M have been completed at Bellevue, increasing 
 the bed capacity at that institution by about 300. The dietary has been 
 
43 
 
 improved and the former wasteful system of employing unpaid help has 
 been abandoned in favor of paid hospital helpers at a minimum wage of 
 $210 per annum with maintenance. 
 
 In the health department equally striking progress has been made. 
 The welfare work of the bureau of child hygiene has been prosecuted vigor- 
 ously with the result that the death rate of infants under one year of age 
 was reduced from 102 per thousand births in 1913 to 98 in 1915. The 
 attendance at the bureau's milk stations has increased largely in the past 
 year, about 10,000 more infants under one year of age being registered in 
 1915 than in 1914. 
 
 The work of the bureau of food inspection has been extended to in- 
 clude inspections in hotels and restaurants and it is hoped ultimately that 
 examinations may be made of all persons employed in places where food is 
 handled. The regulation relative to the pasteurisation of all the city's milk 
 supply, which became effective in 1914, has added greatly to the work of 
 the bureau. This regulation resulted in the establishment of some 450 
 pasteurizing plants in the country and 50 in the city, each of which requires 
 at least semi-monthly inspection. The bureau has also undertaken the in- 
 spection of all country-dressed carcasses prepared for shipment to the city. 
 In addition, it is enforcing the provisions of the cold storage law and is 
 making periodical examinations of bakeries. 
 
 The department has also undertaken a new branch of work in its cam- 
 paign for the prevention of occupational diseases. Persons employed in 
 trades such as the fur trade which are particularly conducive to disease, 
 are examined periodically by the department's inspectors and their places 
 of employment are subjected to constant supervision. In the past two years 
 the work of the research laboratory has been greatly increased, due to the 
 growth in the demand for anti-toxins and vaccines. At the present time 
 there is great need for such serums in Europe, particularly anti-tetanus 
 serum. 
 
 Additional tuberculosis clinics have been established by the department 
 and its hospitals for contagious diseases are rendering more effective service 
 than ever before. In 1914 the capacity of Willard Parker hospital was in- 
 creased by 320 beds, Kingston Avenue hospital by 180 beds, and Otisville 
 Sanatorium by 25 beds, while in 1915 the capacity of the Otisville Sanatorium 
 was again increased by 80 beds. The department is also carrying on, through 
 its division of public health education, the work of preparing and distrib- 
 uting pamphlets and leaflets dealing with elementary questions of public 
 health. In addition to these extensions of service to the public, the depart- 
 ment has revolutionized its relation with its employees. In the 1916 budget 
 provision was made for increasing the salaries of nearly 600 of its em- 
 ployees, with the result that no person in the department now receives less 
 than the minimum rate for his position as established by the board of esti- 
 mate and apportionment. 
 
44 
 
 In the department of correction the census of the institutional inmates 
 has increased since 1914 by about 1,000. Additional keepers have neces- 
 sarily been provided to take care of this abnormal growth in prison popu- 
 lation and added allowances made for supplies and equipment. In addition, 
 the department has opened a farm colony for boys at New Hampton in 
 Orange County. Boys can now be transferred from the old reformatory 
 on Hart's Island to the city's farm and there given practical instruction and 
 experience in agriculture. It is planned later to supplement this agricultural 
 training with industrial training. 
 
 Control Over All City Expenditures 
 
 All this is encouraging and indicates the care with which the present 
 board of estimate has considered the problems of budget and funded debt 
 increases. But if the city administration is to be held solely responsible 
 for the amount of the annual tax bills, it must be given full financial 
 authority. This means not only authority with respect to the budget appro- 
 priations of the various city and county departments but also with respect 
 to expenditures from corporate stock and from special revenue bonds and 
 as regards the application of miscellaneous city revenue. In a recent report 
 of the commissioner of accounts it is estimated that of the $62,785,580.43 
 expended from corporate stock funds in 1914 (excluding advances for 
 local improvements) 22.25% was expended under mandatory provisions of 
 law and was not, therefore, subject to the discretion of the board of esti- 
 mate. Similarly, of the total 1914 expenditure of $10,224,887.88 from 
 special revenue bonds, 39.98% was mandatory upon the board of estimate. 
 As regards the mandatory diversion of revenue from the general fund for 
 the reduction of taxation, the same report shows that of the 1914 revenues 
 $13,269,378.53 was diverted by law to specific purposes, such as pen- 
 sions, relief funds, etc. This is an unsound financial practice. All current 
 expenditures should be reflected in the annual budget and all city revenues 
 should flow into the general fund for the reduction of taxation. 
 
 In summary, therefore, the principles of sound financial policy demand 
 that the local city authorities be given complete control over : 
 
 1 Budget appropriations 
 
 2 Corporate stock authorizations and expenditures 
 
 3 Special revenue bond authorizations and expenditures 
 
 4 Expenditures now made under provisions of law directly from 
 
 revenue receipts, except in so far as revenues pledged to the 
 sinking funds are involved 
 
 This result will be obtained if such legislation is granted as has been 
 requested in the two last legislative sessions by the mayor and comptroller.