OFFICE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 569 



such charts religiously in order that he need not rely upon his knowledge 

 of the office to ascertain those parts of the routine which are getting behind. 

 The new man is not so familiar with the office routine that he can afford 

 to rely wholly upon his intuition. After experience is gained, he may be 

 able to dispense with the use of the charts, but too often he is apt to neglect 

 them entirely until one or two bad experiences force him to rely upon 

 them again. After all, the amount of energy necessary to keep these charts 

 up-to-date is small and the value of the record both for managing purposes 

 and as a record for future reference is worth much more than the effort 

 necessary in keeping them. 



Keeping the Records. 



In this part of the chapter are discussed the various records to be 

 kept in the park department and suggestions as to the method of their 

 recording. Records have been divided into five general classes: (i) Laws 

 establishing and governing the park department; (2) Official proceedings 

 of the deliberations of the governing body; (3) An inventory of park pos- 

 sessions including a brief discussion on insurance; (4) Financial records; 

 (5) Performance records and business statistics. Park departments will find 

 other records than those described convenient in the operation of their 

 park system, those outlined here being only of the most essential character. 



Legislative acts establishing park department. The secretary should make 

 a compilation of all state laws and statutes as well as provisions of the city 

 charter and any general county laws bearing upon the establishment of 

 the park department and defining its duties and powers. This may all be 

 found, in fortunate cases, in one legislative act or city charter provision, 

 but in other cases, especially those of the older commissions, acts relating 

 to the legal establishment of the commission may be found in various 

 places. All these should be gathered together and made available for ready 

 reference at all times. 



Supplementing such compilation of laws, statutes and ordinances, all 

 important court decisions and attorney's opinions on various detailed sub- 

 jects involving the interpretation of the law should be gathered together 

 as a most necessary addendum to the original laws. When it is realized 

 that these documents constitute the rules of the game for the park depart- 

 ment, the importance of their collection is readily seen and it is obviously 

 the duty of the secretary to be thoroughly familiar with them and to see 

 that all actions, official or otherwise, are taken in accordance with them. 

 In many cases, he may be fortunate enough to have the legal advice and 

 assistance of an attorney, but even when such is the case, he should be just 

 as familiar with these documents as his limited legal knowledge will permit 

 him to be. 



