Seattle Cuts Its Own Payroll

The mayor called a special meeting of the city council for Thursday at the request of the joint finance committee. When both houses met, the principal ordinance adopted reduced the salaries of city employees. Another ordinance made the city comptroller the city's finance officer.

The joint finance committee reported that tax collections had fallen far behind. The committee believed there would be an unusually large delinquency, and that revenue for current expenses and interest would not amount to more than half of what had been provided for in the annual estimate. It therefore determined to meet the situation by retrenchment in all directions.

The committee revised the salary roll, making what it called a thorough revision and dropping employees whose services could be dispensed with without absolute detriment to the public service. The revision was expected to save at least $1,250 a month, or $15,000 a year. Accounting was concentrated in the comptroller's office; the license inspector's duties were given to the comptroller; and the enrolling clerk, tax clerk, special officer in the municipal court, fireman at the city hall and jail, bookkeeper in the water office, foreman of the domestic service gang, one draftsman, one computer, one compiler and one assistant in the engineer's office were dropped. Salaries in all departments were reduced, with the exception of the police and fire departments.

In the board of aldermen, Alderman Sweeney was elected chairman in the absence of President Miller. Bills relating to the comptroller's duties and to revising salaries passed. Alderman Jordan objected that the city authorities were trying to steal thunder from the municipal league and voted no.