The City vs. The Citizens: A Sewer Standoff
Property owners refuse to pay for city improvements they claim were botched, poorly contracted, and overpriced.
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.
Because it never has been completed according to contract, the sewer project is in dispute. The City Surveyor made a mistake of over $500 in the amount of excavation and put in a box drain, which was not called for and is useless, at a cost of over $600. The sidewalk was put down in a cheapened manner from contract, and no rebate was allowed. There was considerable sidewalk work paid for by order of the City Council but a short time before, and the contractor used the same and charged us at the rate of $18 per thousand feet, allowing no rebate for the lumber so used. We petitioned the City Council at two different times to make a just rebate for work not performed, and declared we were ready and willing to pay what was just, but they refused to grant our petition. We have refused to pay an unjust bill to fill the pockets of unjust men, and concluded to wait until there was a Council that would render justice.
“We refused to pay an unjust bill to fill the pockets of unjust men.”
This 1884 dispute over Local Improvement District (LID) assessments and alleged municipal graft mirrors current frustrations with Seattle's public works budget transparency and the fairness of tax-funded infrastructure improvements.
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