462 PARKS 



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all departments of the municipal or county government. } Examples of legal 

 provisions relating to contracts follow: 



i. "And no member of said board shall be concerned 2. "In the letting of contracts the board of park 



in any contract with said board or any of its depart- commissioners shall be governed by the same laws as 



ments (board of park commissioners) either as a con- govern the letting of contracts by the director of public 



tractor, sub-contractor, bondsman, or otherwise." service."- Ohio Municipal Code, Sixth Edition, Section 



Excerpt from Charter of the City of Stamford, Con- 4063, page 541. 

 iccticut, Section 148. 



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3. Limitations of expenditures by park authorities. As a rule these limita- 

 tions are of two kinds. First, a general limitation whereby the authorities 

 are expressly forbidden to make contracts of any nature whatever unless 

 there is money on hand to meet the obligation, or they must stay within 

 limits of the appropriation allowed by the municipal or county governing 

 body as the case may be, or within the limits of the income from a special 

 tax in instances where general park expenditures are financed by special 

 taxes. Second, a limitation on purchase or contract without submitting 

 the purchase or contract proposal to competitive bidding. It is common 

 practice throughout the United States to place a definite limit upon the 

 amount of money a park administrative authority can spend directly. In 

 some instances this is as low as fifty dollars, ranging from this minimum 

 through sums of varying sizes to one thousand dollars, which is usually the 

 maximum. Because it is not always practicable to submit purchase or con- 

 tract proposals to competitive bidding some laws provide for a means of 

 setting this limitation aside in special instances. Thus in one park system 

 governed by a park commission the commission may by a two-thirds vote 

 set the limitation aside. Other authorities, not having a specific right to 

 set the limitation aside, do so in practice by splitting contracts for supplies, 

 tools, nursery stock, machinery and similar supplies, a practice that can 

 have no possible legal defense, although practical necessity may make it 

 highly desirable at times. A detailed discussion of park financing, methods 

 of securing funds for the purchase of property and maintenance of park 

 departments, will be found in Chapter VII. 



In Regard to General Reports. 



In addition to requiring a fiscal report, most park legislation requires 

 that a detailed annual report of all the acts and doings of the authorities in 

 charge of parks and recreation be made to the governing authorities of the 

 municipalities, counties or states, as the case may be, under which the park 

 and recreation authorities are operating. In general the publication of the 

 reports is optional, although in a few instances the laws require publication 

 for general distribution. For the education and information of the people, 

 to expedite the answering of outside inquiries, and for general exchange 



