Seattle's 1894 Budget Crisis: $89,787 Short and Cutting the Police
A comptroller's statement exposed a looming deficit, the council created a retrenchment committee, and eight patrolmen were dropped from the force—over the mayor's personal objection.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
CAUSE FOR ECONOMY.
The retrenchment policy of the city government has not begun a day too soon or cut too deep, if cash payments are to be made this year. The administration yesterday procured from the comptroller's office a statement showing the probable revenue and expenditure. It shows a possible deficiency of $89,787. The taxes paid in leave a delinquency of $143,009, and whatever is paid in of that amount will go to reduce the shortage. As delinquent taxes bear a penalty of 5 per cent and interest at 2½ per cent, all who can will pay as early as possible, but there will be no sale of property this year to act as a fresh incentive to payment.
The city council last night appointed a joint committee to consist of the house finance committee and Aldermen Gise, Lovejoy and Miner to devise measures so that the city's expenses shall be kept within its income. Fire Commissioner A. M. Gilman has resigned in order to accept the position of engineer of the water department.
REDUCING THE FORCE.
At the meeting of the police commissioners last evening the matter of reducing the police force was taken up, and the board, consisting of J. U. Niggle, W. S. Kutz and J. M. Wallingford, recommended that owing to the shrinkage of receipts from the different sources which go to make up the police salary fund and on account of unusual deficits, patrolmen F. Bursman, J. F. Cummings, C. H. Cummings, T. B. Jackson, J. E. Brosnan, J. Leonard, D. W. Noule and J. S. Steppier are dropped from the force on May 1. The recommendation was adopted. Mayor Phelps said he knew he was voicing the sentiment of every member when he said it was much against his wish to drop any men from the force, but it had become an absolute necessity, as could readily be seen by the balance statement furnished by the comptroller, which shows the expenses of police maintenance for the balance of 1894 and the amount available for salaries, leaving a shortage that made the reduction necessary.
“It was much against my wish to drop any men from the force, but it had become an absolute necessity. — Mayor Phelps”
Seattle's 1894 fiscal panic—layoffs, a hiring freeze, and a fight over whether the city could pay its own salaries—rhymes with every modern budget shortfall, from police staffing to the argument over what counts as essential city service.
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