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Domestic News
October 15, 1918
The Seattle Star
Seattle, King County, Washington
What is this article about?
Citizens' advisory committee criticizes county departments for past budget overspending and debt accumulation. They aided in preparing data for the 1919 budget adoption by commissioners and recommend strict adherence to prevent taxpayer burden.
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That County Budget
What is a budget?
An estimate of expense.
Why is a budget?
To limit expenditures.
Then if a county government department estimates expense for next year at $50,000 but actually spends $75,000, the budget system is a joke, is it not?
That's what the citizens' advisory committee to the county commissioners thinks. And to prevent this favorite little joke on the taxpayers, this committee has recommended that a watch dog be kept on the job to see that the 1919 budget isn't sidetracked into a dusty pigeonhole.
The big idea of budget making for governmental purposes is to administer public finances sensibly. But county governmental departments, for years and years, have failed to grasp the big idea. Result: A big, bothersome debt, that eats up interest and must be paid off by the taxpayers.
For 1919 the county commissioners have adopted a careful budget. Thanks to Committeemen Lawrence Coleman, Lawrence Booth, George B. Lamping, John T. Condon, John H. Powell, Frank Terrace and Frank Mullen, a mass of data was prepared to permit an analysis of the needs of each department. Fine.
Now it's up to county department heads to respect the budget.
What is a budget?
An estimate of expense.
Why is a budget?
To limit expenditures.
Then if a county government department estimates expense for next year at $50,000 but actually spends $75,000, the budget system is a joke, is it not?
That's what the citizens' advisory committee to the county commissioners thinks. And to prevent this favorite little joke on the taxpayers, this committee has recommended that a watch dog be kept on the job to see that the 1919 budget isn't sidetracked into a dusty pigeonhole.
The big idea of budget making for governmental purposes is to administer public finances sensibly. But county governmental departments, for years and years, have failed to grasp the big idea. Result: A big, bothersome debt, that eats up interest and must be paid off by the taxpayers.
For 1919 the county commissioners have adopted a careful budget. Thanks to Committeemen Lawrence Coleman, Lawrence Booth, George B. Lamping, John T. Condon, John H. Powell, Frank Terrace and Frank Mullen, a mass of data was prepared to permit an analysis of the needs of each department. Fine.
Now it's up to county department heads to respect the budget.
What sub-type of article is it?
Politics
Economic
What keywords are associated?
County Budget
Overspending
Taxpayers
Debt
Commissioners
What entities or persons were involved?
Lawrence Coleman
Lawrence Booth
George B. Lamping
John T. Condon
John H. Powell
Frank Terrace
Frank Mullen
Domestic News Details
Event Date
1919
Key Persons
Lawrence Coleman
Lawrence Booth
George B. Lamping
John T. Condon
John H. Powell
Frank Terrace
Frank Mullen
Outcome
county commissioners adopted a careful budget for 1919; committee recommended oversight to prevent overspending.
Event Details
Citizens' advisory committee criticizes past county department overspending beyond budgets, leading to debt. Committee prepared data for 1919 budget analysis. Urges department heads to respect the budget.