Milwaukee, a Debt Free City - Milwaukee (Wis.). Office of the City Comptroller

Sep 21, 2026

Bibliographic microform target record for Milwaukee (Wis.) Office of the City Comptroller’s Milwaukee, a debt free city (1944), filmed by Preservation Resources in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with technical microform specifications and restrictions on use. The accompanying bibliographic irregularities section documents missing, illegible or damaged pages and other irregularities in the original material. The text describes how Milwaukee eliminated bonded debt through cash street paving payments, deferred installments with interest, and a Public Debt Amortization Fund created in 1923 to retire the remaining debt.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Best Copy Available

Milwaukee

A Debt Free City

Elimination of Bonded Debt Through Street Improvement Finance

Creation and Funding of the Public Debt Amortization Fund

98-84393-5 Milwaukee (Wis.).Officeof the City Comptroller. Milwaukee,a debt free city [Milwaukee] [1944] # COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIESPRESERVATION DIVISION BIBLIOGRAPHIC MICROFORM TARGET ORIGINAL MATERIAL AS FILMED-EXISTING BIBLIOGRAPHIC RECORD 30BZ(Wis.),Box 693 Milwukee。city comptroller. Milwaukee,a debt free eity.ByWi11inm H。Wendt,comptroller,Milwaukee,1944, 8,p.31° 5.8353!ONL ED RESTRICTIONS ON USE: eproduclions may nor bo mace wimou permssion from Coumbia Lniveorsity Librarias TECHNICAL MICROFORM DATA 5mmREDUCTION RATIO: 14:1MAGE PLACEMENT:IA M IB IR FILM SIZE: DATE FILMED: 4/9/98TRACKING\#: 26693 EC NITIALS: FILMED BY PRESERVATION RESOURCES,BETHLEHEM,PA # BIBLIOGRAPHIC IRREGULARITIES MAIN ENTRY:Milwaukee(Wis.).Office of the City Comptroller. Milwaukee,a debt free city ………………………- ………-… … # Bibliographic Irregularities in the Oriqinal Document: List all volumes and pages affected;include name of institution if filming borrowed text. Page(s)missing/not available: Volume(s)missing/not available: Xllegible and/or damaged page(s):__ text missing-pages [2]-[8 Page(s)or volume(s)misnumbered Bound out of sequence:_ X Best Copy AvailablePage(s)or volume(s)filmed from copy borrowed from:_ Other:_ nserted material:_ # BEST COPYAVAILABLE # MILWAUKEE A Debt Qree CityBY WILLIAM H.WENDTCOMPTROLLER The City of Milwaukee has achieved is goal of a debt-free city.How this has ben accoplished is wellknovn by those familiar with Milwauke's outstanding record in th field of fnanciemanagement.Hovever,to acquaint the uninformed,there is presented herein a complete accountethe elimination of he bonded debt of the city. It is necess ry to refer to the year 1915 for the logical starting point of this story.Prior tothat time it was the custom to issue to contractors of stret improvement work,the cost of whichwas asesed agair st the local property benefited,certihicates which were redeemable as the propertyowners paid their special assessments.This meant that the contractor either had to wait a longtime to secure his money,or had to discount the certifcates at a bank.As a resuit,to compensatefor the delay or lk ss through discount,the contract prices were higher than they might have beenIn 1915,the Com ztroller sponsored a policy of paying the contractors on stret paving work incash,ineluding the assesable portion of such work for which the property owner had six years timeto pay.Deferred installment payments bear 6%interest,the same as when held by the contractor.The plan worker satisfactorily and effected a saving to the taxpayers in the cost of suchimprovements. When the jolicy of paying contractors in cash was put in effect,it was thought that for thecity to carry the load it might be necessary to issue funding bonds,permitted under that lawtocarry the deferred installments and to redeem such bonds and interest thereon asthe property ownerspaid their deferel installments with interest.However,after several years of experience with thenew plan,it was cetermined that the city could finance the work without resorting to bond issues.Meanwhile,the city was collecting the 6%interest.It was allowed to accumulate through the yearsuntil by 1923 it an ounted to $398,000 The dispos tion of this accumulated interest money prompted the idea that it be set aside ina trust fund for tne eventual elimination of the bonded debt.A plan was worked out and presentedto the common cc uncil where it was unanimously approved,and in 1923 the Public Debt Amortiza-

FAQs

What is the main subject described in the document text?

The document text explains how Milwaukee achieved its goal of becoming a debt-free city by eliminating the city’s bonded debt.

What earlier policy change helped Milwaukee manage street improvement payments?

In 1915 the controller sponsored paying contractors for street paving work in cash, including the assessable portion, while deferred installment payments bore 6% interest.

How did the Public Debt Amortization Fund contribute to retiring bonded debt?

Created in 1923, the fund set aside interest earnings from deferred street improvement payments and related earnings, accumulating until it equaled the outstanding bonded debt and then used to meet remaining payments as they became due.

Sep 21, 2026

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