The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, June 03, 1949, Image 17
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Opportunities Declares Mayor
(Continued From Page One)
countying /the proportionate
msion which 'growth makes
try in the whole system,
the city’s operations depend
ent upon receiving $4,500 per
month from the profits of the
utilities and with the profits hav
ing to be used for capital expan
sion to take on these new cus
tomers, it can easily be seen that
from the cash standpoint the sit
uation is becoming rapidly criti
cal.
’ “In this the city is in the posi
tion of a man on a salary just
sufficient to support his growing
family but at the same time build
ing a substantial addition to his
house to care for a large family
and trying to pay for it from his
salary. That man will obviously
either have to increase his income
some way or cut down his family
living costs or go to the building
and loan association and get the
capital cost of his addition and
then pay for it over a period of
years. Our bond issue is in the
nature of the last and we think,
the only sensible solution to the
situation in which he and our city
find ourselves.
“Nevertheless several objections
have been leveled at our pro
posals and some persons are ac
tively working to defeat them.’*
“One group of objectors is made up
of those people with whom unfortun
ately every community is saddled
-those who are “agtn everything.’’
They are against all progress, even
against all changes, good or bad.
Many of them have all they want
in an economic way and regard
with apprehension every change
for fear that their own Uttle boat
may be rocked. They are not will
ing to risk anything to gdin any
thing for they are complacent with
what they have already gained.
They are the same ones conspicu
ous by their absence from the
board of every civic organisation.
Their opposition to our proposal to
welcome if the people only recog
nise their brand of public spirit. 1
“Then there are those who sin
cerely contend 'that our proposal
to too large. I think most of them
would not think it too large If
they could see our problem In Us
right proportion sad- knew all Hie
available tacts.
“Compared to what we have for
years and years been ▼
away through failure to move
ahead with the competing com
munities who hare taken our
young people from us $901,000 to
a drop fh the bucket Neverthe
less, we know that $904,000 is a
lot of money. But it to nothing
like as much for the Camden of
today as it would hare been for the
Camden of only 4 few years sgo.
For example: The total Intake of
the city, Including its utilities in
1941 was $272,000. Wjth only about
$35,000 represented by Increased
tax revenues, and In spite of a
small reduction in electric ratee
the city’s total Intake has grown
to $570,000 for this year. Practi
cally all that Increase to the re
sult of more people and more-
business, calling for more city ser
vices. Assuming that the entire
bond Issue is spent over a four
year program city council will
have'tless than 50% more available
funds per annum, but all of whit^
increase to to go to improvements.
“Consider again the number of
new electric customers > the city
“1 am In favor of selling about
$900,900 of the bonds now to take
advantage of the present very low
interest rates and not te issue any
more until we see that the need
for the additional bonds to going
to be definite. Personally, while
1 recognise Its necessity at tUnas,
I hate debt I do not want any
part In putting upon the people of
Camden a single cent of debt for
an unnecessary or unwise purpose.
And I 'certainly do not want to
ever be faced with the harden of
living down any charge of reckless
of the city to make. In the first
place, I don’t like the idea back
ing out on n good faith contract
even if It were illegal. But before
concluding that this contract to il
legal l suggest that the critics of
it look into the law on the mbjeet.
They will find that the utility con
tracts of the city have the same
force and latitude as they would
hare if the utilities were privately
owned. While we never expected
to please everyone with all feat- those
ures of our proposals, we did net
expect that anyone would oppose
spending, or erf having dons thostqtbe whole because of objections to
things which ought not to have
been done.
’In further answer to those who
think we have proposed too large
an Issue let me direct their atten
tion to the fact that there are ab
solutely no frills in our proposals
It would be nice to have a new
city hall and a small auditorium,
but It Isn’t essential so 1$ Isn’t In
cluded. Curbs, gutters and side-
walk, are nhSe u> have but not!that if we vote the bond toss, our
absolutely essential, so, except tor (taxes will double? It would be
one block, they are not In the much nearer the truth to say that
plans. Idore ground level water if we don’t vote the bond tosne our
storage capacity and a heating taxes will have to be drastically
minor feature or features.
If many adopted that attitude we
would never get very far.
“Filially, there are these who ob
ject to the bond tosne because they
tear higher taxes will result. For
anyone to say that the bond Issue
wUl double <tor taxes to just plain
silly. After all property taxes now
constitute less than one-fifth of
the city’s income. Why
plant at the waterworks would be
nice, but not being essential, wef
omitted them, so alpo s swimming
took on last year. Multiply these
300 new customers by the number
in the average family and one can
get an idea how fast our commun
ity is growing. And we have just
begun to grow. Our great reslden- property owners,
tial growth will be over the next
pool would be nice, but not
tial. All these were eliminated In
cutting onr proposals to include on
ly those Items we sincerely think
soon
are immediately essential or
will be essential.
Other persons have objected to
our paving proposals because we
do not plan to assess the adjacent
The argument
few years. »
“Those who object to the'stoe
of our proposals say quite correct
ly that it will not require $909,000
to do everything wthteh is now
necessary to bring our city up to
scratch. We have repeatedly and
frankly explained that this is true.
Our answer to that to lay out a
four year program on the assump
tion that Camden was going to im
mediately cease to grow—that the
duPont plant will bring no more
people to our utilities area, would
be folly. Unless we plan with a
reasonable consideration of the
future we are doing mighty poor
planning. As a matter of fact, I
am afraid thyit in this respect our
bond tosde proposals are too mod
est. Allowance is made in them
for 300 new utility customers in
the next four years which is the
same number we added last year
akrasi.
“Frankly, I think $900,000 or
$950,000 would bring Camden up
to scratch if it doesn't grow any
more from this day forth. Would
e hhvB us plati that
n't grow any more from this day
forth?
for the,assessment method is bas
ed upon the ‘eye for an eye’ view
that, because the existing pave- .
meats were partly financed through fall behind
paving asaeasments so should all las it was fifty years ago it would
future paving. There are several have fallen disgracefully behind
xatoed. For there are many things
which cost money that must be
done, bond issue or no bond Issue.
We must provide the facilities, as
best we can to supply service to
new residents and the money wHl
have to be gotten from every pos
sible source to meet the resulting
capital demands.
, “A4poet half of the proposed
bpnd Issue to for revenue produc-
ing improvements. The rest is to
keep Camden a good place in which
to live by comparison with other
cities. Being a good town Is pure
ly relative. To stand still to to
If Camden was Just
jm
•yMi
like its real value,
ly, nevertheless, so
tax Income will steadily Increase.
’•However, thw real major source
Mm
of the funds to pay <** these bonds
-to our electric revenues. The av
erage profit per customer to about
$$.00 per month. By simple mi
ca iation it can bp eeen that if last
year’s record of now electric cus
tomers keep# up for four years,
and then stops, thb profit from
new customers atom will,
over a peeled of twenty year*, be
almost sufficient.to pay the entire
principal 'of the proposed bond to-
•oe.
’Titos bond issue win mean mdre
work to be dO»e hy all of us In
your city > government. We have
nothing to gain from,it but the
feeling of satisfaction of hating
done our Job na we see it We hope
everyone hy supporting us in qnr
efforts in this direction may share
that feeling With US.
, “To this end I urge all property
owners who have not signed the
election petition to promptly sign
snd return H so that the electio
may bo held and we can get on
with the big job we have to do.
“To each.and every cittoqn and
S 3 petty owner of Camden I say,
us unitedly and wholeheartedly
accept the challenge which to of
fered ns. Let us fearlessly - fate
the future and do those things
which ought to be done. ,
“Life Is too short to waste In
critic peep of cynic hart,
“Up, mind thine own aim, and Ood
speed thy mark "
Karachi, Paki&tary will buy a
sheet-glass plant to tur nout 10
tons a day.
How do you like
our new shingle?
i
We’re your new headquarters for General
Becftic Automatic Heating Equipment.
Our new appointment is a big event for yum
It meaas that General Electric Heating
Equipment is avaHtble—right aow—right
hare la your own community. It means met
•yon now have our organization at band m
install G-E equipment-end keep it serviced.
We welcome the chance of telling you pet
tonally just why G-E besting It “just right'*
There ere s lot of things you will want to
know about coat installation, how the equip-
mcm worn, mqq wny u world Dvttcf.
A phone call or s poet card will bring ybu
the ^aswets.
MOODY HEATING
411 Hampton Ave.
DEALER
CAMDEN, S. C.
311
answers to this objection. In the
first place most of those who paid
peving assessments for paving did
so more than 25 years ago. Twen
ty-five years to supposed to be the
full life of that paving. In other
words those who paid their assess
ments for that paving have gotten
their full money’s worth in the
years they have had it while oth
ers continued to swallow dust and
slide through mud. The paving
program of about ten years ago
also involved a rather liberal WPA
aid allowance eo the owners’ as
sessments were comparatively
small. Also, there is less reason
for a property assessment in our
program than there was under th<-
first program by reason of the dif
ference In tha amount Involved.
The paving put down in Camden
in the 1920’s cost about $49,090
per mile, while that we are plan-
to put dowa will coat about
$10,000 per mile. We could not
poesiMy get more than $40,000 to
ward our paving program from pav
ing assessments. If that were
money saved the community that
yvould be one thing, bnt It is not.
It still costs the community as a
whole. By assessing we would be
simply shifting to a special group
of the city part of the load, the
benefits of which all of us will en
joy. It will coat the people Of Cam
den not over 40 cents per person
per year tor 20 years not to put a
proportionately much larger bur
den on some of onr people In the
'form Of peving assessments. This
sum to much lees that the people
will save In street maintenance
through having those streets pav
ed. Also, to Impose paving ssssss
ments we most have petitions
from the majority of the adjacent
owners on any street If a major
ity fall to petition we cannot prop
erly Integrate any logical street
system. Also, the bookkeeping, of
fice work and engineering involv
ed in making paving assessment
over twelve miles of streets would
eat up a considerable portion of
any savings to the city, which
might result from assessing abut
ting properties.. This to an eco
nomic waste. Finally, with the
State Highway department paving
some streets the inequity of a pav
ing assessment becomes glaring.
If the City Council can designate
certain streets to be paved by the
Skate Highway department with
out assessment and others to be
paved by the city with assessment,
we think the injustice of assess
ments becomes obvious.
Then there are those who ob
ject to the whole program because
there are minor features which
they dislike. Typical of this arw
those who object to the provision
in the proposal tor the completion
of the work agreed to be done in
the contract with the Jaclyn Hos
iery Mills, when the need is shown
They would have the city welch on
its contract on the ground that
the contract was beyond tbb right
and could not by any measure be
considered to be a good town in.
which to live and raise one’s fami
ly today.
“Finally, there are the inquiries
as to how we plan to pay the inter
est on these bonds and pay the
bonds off. This very proper and
important question comes from
some who are simply fearful and
from others who are seeking in
formation on this very important
potato To those who are simply
if earful the answer to that we will
pay the bonds off just as all the
bonds which were Issued, in the
past for all of our existing facili
ties were paid off. Relatively, both
in relation to population on wealth
the bond issue we propose Is not
nearly/so large as some which-have
been" made lit Camden tn the 4 past
“For those who ask this ques
tion to get the facts here are our
Jdmai. .We halfcva that to take
advantage of the prevailing low
interest rates a substantial por
tion of the bonds should be sold
as soon as possible and the money
not he need in the (Current year’s
program should be invested in U.
8. Government bonds, the interes'
on which will largely offset our
interest charges Those funds
which are spent Hill for the most
part tin mediately start .producing
either revenue, from utilities, or
savings, on street paving and wa
ter operations.
“Meanwhile Camden to now
building at the rate of $1,099,000
per year. This bnfldtng tends to
ip our tax base; true at nothing
IIEllllllHlil
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Hllli !! H
Broad and Ruiledgs Sis
CAMDEN. S. a
FrL-SaJL June $-4
Ambush! Follow “Rocky” to
new Thrills and Danger!
Allan "Rocky” Lane—in
-SUNDOWN IN 8ANTE FE~
Also: Chapter 2 of “King of
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Spine-chilling Thrills
the bottom of the sea!
-18 FATHOMS DEEP-
Filmed in Vivid Ansco Color!
Alsot Nsws and Coussdiss
Wsd.-Thura M June 8-1
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starring—Jane Frazee
Warren Douglas jg.
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