State Governor Rescues Tacoma Water Infrastructure
A last-minute bill from Governor Hay saves the city's waterworks project from financial collapse.
Governor Hay took the indemnity companies off the necks of the banks of the state and lifted Tacoma out of a financial slough which threatened to stop the contemplated waterworks improvements by a message over the telephone to Controller Meads this morning announcing he had signed the bill validating city warrants as collateral for banks used as city depositories, in lieu of an indemnity bond. Bids were called for $260,000 city warrants Tuesday to invest in waterworks improvements. No outside investors would take the warrants. The Fidelity Trust company and National Bank of Commerce agreed at the last minute to help the city out and furnish the money if the bill went through at Olympia making it possible for them to deposit the warrants with the treasurer instead of an indemnity bond. The financial committee held a session with John S. Baker and A. P. Albertson this morning. While they were in session, word came from Governor Hay that he had signed the bill and the council will meet tonight in special session to close the contract for the money.
“Governor Hay took the indemnity companies off the necks of the banks of the state and lifted Tacoma out of a financial slough.”
This 1909 scramble to fund critical infrastructure illustrates the perennial tension between municipal growth and the tight credit markets of the time. Today, Tacoma's infrastructure challenges have shifted toward massive, multi-decade capital projects, but the local reliance on state-level legislative action to unblock city finance remains a familiar hurdle.
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