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This newspaper page contains 12 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Boston Post
Location
Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
Date
Feb 08, 1910
Page
8
Mayor Fitzgerald outlines a program for a unified Boston government emphasizing business and moral progress. He highlights tax reform, waterfront and industrial development, subways for Dorchester and South Boston, and extending public works, with a memorial plan funded by the Parkman trust.
Honorable John F Fitzgerald speaks on Boston adopting non partisan municipal government. He argues the new system excludes national party influence and may lead to improved finances and administration, urging a full trial of charter changes while preserving executive and legislative separation. He notes concentrated power in nine councilmen and a mayor, with a 15 member municipal authority, and warns debt growth hinges on voter choices and tax base.
The first city government formed under the amended Boston charter marks a historic shift toward non partisan municipal rule. This milestone signals a new era in Boston governance and a notable departure in American city administration.
The amended charter expands mayoral powers and limits council influence. The Mayor gains absolute veto and budget initiation, with council approval needed for appropriations and contracts beyond one year. New state bodies the Finance Commission and Civil Service Commission join city government, while the council gains limited oversight over administration and can compel mayoral attendance and public hearings.
The city reforms require the mayor to certify appointees as city focused and qualified, with Civil Service Commission approval before taking effect. Unpaid boards now need commission consent too, and bidding for contracts of 1000 or more becomes standard practice, signaling broader control over city expenditure beyond the mayor’s reach. The piece notes current spending shares: schools, police, fire, debt, and state taxes dominate, leaving little room for unilateral mayoral authority.
The report compares ten year tax rates in Boston, noting state taxes rose most while city costs kept pace with valuation. City and metropolitan debt total about 107.77 million, with most debt outside limits and a 71.85 million city share excluding metropolitan. It argues debt reduction requires limiting outside-limit loans and aligning borrowings with sinking funds growth.
Boston bears 64 percent of the metropolitan debt totaling over 36 million dollars while providing 80 percent of the region’s park system and shouldering most park, sea wall, and bridge costs. Nonresident inebriates and offenders impose added police, court, and correction costs, with 838 nonresident prisoners at the House of Correction and weekly costs exceeding a thousand dollars. The fire department also aids neighboring municipalities, straining Boston’s resources.
The inaugural call favors a metropolitan council and water front remodelling to boost transatlantic shipping and free port activity. It urges a public utilities commission, reorganization of public health for tuberculosis, and opposition to burdensome debt while promoting a Park Street South Station subway and expansions to South Boston Dorchester. It proposes an independent railroad link via Buffalo and supports Parkman fund projects including Marine Park aquarium and Franklin Park zoological garden.
The text argues that certain city functions should be run by men and women with proven experience in professions or business who supervise through qualified salaried staff, even if they are not experts in the specific work. It warns against interpreting the charter so narrowly as to exclude current appointment members serving on major municipal boards.
The amended charter restricts awarding contracts without advertisement. Contracts over $1000 must be advertised unless the Mayor approves otherwise. Department heads must supply the Mayor with a signed detailed reason for not inviting bids, and this statement must be published in the City Record.
Boston urges dispassionate view of city finances arguing against per capita comparisons. It points to vast improvements and metropolitan burdens from state schemes, noting tax and debt scales reflect state actions and metropolitan apportionment rather than local mismanagement.
A Boston speaker argues taxes rise mainly from State levies, urging redistribution of corporation tax and fair allocation to cities. He notes 1909 gains from reform, exposed concealed property, and criticizes state highway funding shifting costs to Boston while local roads burden remains high.
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