Council Meeting Monday Night

COUNCIL MEETING MONDAY NIGHT

Attempt to Pass Salaries Over Veto Failed

IT LACKED BUT ONE VOTE

City Employees Will Get Pay Before Christmas - Fence Viewers Appointed - Finding Fault with the Lights

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The aldermen failed to pass the $25 allowance for their services on boards of election, registration and review during the year Monday night. But they only lacked one vote of doing so with two aldermen, Ald. Burg and Jenney, absent.

The mayor's veto was laid on the table and later on Ald. Koch's motion it was taken from the table. Ald. Schlenker moved that the allowance pass notwithstanding the mayor's veto.

Ald. Coon thought the $25 very reasonable, computing the time spent, but it was useless to pass it over the mayor's veto if the mayor wouldn't sign the warrants.

Ald. Hamilton said he had expressed his views before. The allowance was illegal.

Ald. Schumacher didn't want to be called a grafter. The council had voted $250 to reimburse a man who had lost on his contract with the city, they wanted to give $450 for property worth $150, and yet they called it a graft to vote $25 for all the services they had performed. No taxpayer had kicked to him. It had been the men who paid no taxes.

Ald. Schlenker said that this was not a salary grab. If the aldermen were not worth 50 cents a week they were not worth anything.

Ald. Clancy said this was his last year in the council and he was glad of it. He thought as a matter of right they were entitled to the $25 a year. Why didn't the mayor veto the city engineer's $100 a month at this time of year?

Ald. Douglas said the time spent on the board of registration, election day and on the board of review should be computed and the allowance previously customary made and nothing added to it.

Ald. Fischer said the council had worked eight days to get $25. The clerks of election were allowed $4 and the aldermen $2.

Ald. Grose said we are up against the law.

City Attorney Sawyer paid the mayor a high compliment. He said it was an unfortunate condition of things but compensation was fixed in the old days when wages were very low. Of course the city had no right to run things on the pauper principles but the charter law must first be changed.

Ald. Hamilton, Douglas, Grose and Coon voted to sustain the mayor's veto, and Ald. Koch, Schlenker, Clancy, Kearns, Schumacher, Roberts, Fischer and Pres. Haarer voted to pass the allowance over the mayor's veto. It took 10 votes to do this, however, and only 9 could be mustered.

When the minutes of the previous meeting were read, Ald. Hamilton wished to change his vote on the $25 allowance to No, but the council refused to let him do so.

Ald. Hamilton moved that the police, firemen and city employees' salaries be paid in advance this month, and it was so ordered.

Ald. Coon wanted fence viewers appointed, and the council appointed the following: First ward, B. F. Watts; second ward, Eugene Oesterlin; third ward, Morgan Williams; fourth ward, William Boyle; fifth ward, Newton Felch; sixth ward, Comstock F. Hill; seventh ward, A. J. Sawyer, jr.

The committee on parks reported that lot 114 in block 3, R. S. Smith's third addition, could be bought for $475, and the John and Sarah Moselty property for $2,100.

Ald. Schumacher told how dark it was on Olivia avenue, Hill street, Oxford road and Washtenaw avenue early in the evening. He wanted the eltctric light company made to light up when it was dark.

Ald. Schlenker didn't approve of the present system of lighting the city, which he said was good only for open ground.