The Finance Department acts as the treasurer and custodian of all money and funds belonging to the City. In addition to other duties set forth in the charter or by law, the Finance Officer maintains accounting control over the finances of the city, prepares financial reports at least quarterly, and performs such other duties relating to budget management and control as the board of mayor and aldermen may require. The Finance Officer was previously known as the Treasurer, and the office was known as the Treasurer's Office.
Collections
Accounting records created by the Office of the Treasurer while conducting official city business. The collection consists of handwritten ledgers documenting specific financial transactions of the local government, and include Account Ledgers, Appropriation Ledgers, Cash Books, and Receipt/Draft Ledgers.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen, noticing the economic hardship faced by Manchester families of Civil War soldiers, passed a resolution on April 25, 1861. The resolution authorized an appropriation of $10,000 to set up a fund to loan money to these families. These records document the disbursement of these funds, and include information about Civil War soldier from Manchester.
This collection consists of official financial budgets and reports that are created by the Finance Department. The reports create a linear history of Manchester’s finances from the early 1970s to current. Included are Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Federal Financial and Compliance Reports, and Budgets. Together, these records document the modern-day financial status, compliance, actions, and decisions of the City government.
Early Treasurer Records, 1842-1946
The early records of the City Treasurer, which is the predecessor of the Finance Officer and Finance Department, consist of a wide variety of record series related to the finances of the Town and City of Manchester, which are listed below:
- Check Books, 1939-1946 (Accession 2007.3)
The checkbooks list check number, payee and amount. On the opposite page are warrants with the departments, type of expense and amount authorized. Types of payments included payroll, money to cover the warrant, perpetual care of cemetery lots, the Federal Music Project and the Hillsborough County Food Stamp Office.
- City Bond Certificate Book, 1865 (Accession 2002.8)
This is a certificate book of City Bonds (called Loans) with payment coupons attached. The bonds were issued in 1865 and the term of each bond ranged from five to twenty years. Price increments ranged from $100 to $1000 each. Six percent interest was paid to the bearer each year. These bonds were authorized by a resolution, passed by the City Council, on March 7, 1865.
- City Coupon Payment Journal, 1848-1872 (Accession 2002.5)
Coupons were issued with each certificate of City Stock, promissory note or loan. They represented yearly payments of interest. The City Treasurer kept a journal of payments made on each certificate. Each page indicates the number of the certificate, the amount of the certificate, length of term and the amount of the yearly coupon. There are columns for date paid, to whom paid, the amount paid and the date of endorsement (date certificate was issued). At the bottom of each paid, there is the notation “Principal Paid”.
- City Loan Certificate Books, 1856-1863 (Accession 2002.6)
Copies of Manchester City Loans with payment coupons. Loans were issued in $100 to $3,000 increments and were payable over periods of 5, 10, 20 or 30 years. The purchaser would earn 6% interest per year.
- City Loan Ledger: Debt and Interest, 1899-1941 (Accession 2002.10)
The City Treasurer utilized a ledger marked Beneficiary and Guaranty Fund to record the debt and interest for City loans issued from 1899 to 1941. Handwritten columns are labeled: Date of Issue and Time (i.e. April 1, 1899 to 1919); Purpose of Loan Creation; Rate (Interest); Original Amount; Present Amount; Annual Payment; Annual Interest; and Sinking Fund. Other columns are labeled January and July; February and August; March and September; May and November and June and December but it is unclear what they indicate.
There are information sheets on notes and stocks issued by water and power companies and the Kingdom of Belgium as well as financial statements written by the City Treasurer and notices of City of Manchester Bond Sales.
- City Stock, 1854-1894 (Accession 2002.4)
City Stock Certificates with payment coupons attached were issued in twenty, twenty-five and thirty-year increments. The stock certificates were labeled loans and paid 6% interest. Each stock certificate book was created as a result of a resolution passed by the City Council. Resolutions were passed in May 1862, February 1863, March 1864 and April 1864. Coupons are marked paid or have the name of the payee on the back.
- City Stock Certificates/Promissory Note Agreements, 1847-1859 (Accession 2002.3)
Record of city stock certificate sales and promissory note agreements. A blank copy of each certificate with the payment coupons is included. There are two copies of this book, with one serving as a working copy. A coupon was marked paid when the $30.00 annual interest was paid. These early books differ from later volumes because information includes remarks written by the mayor and the city treasurer as well as the stock number, date sold, and the purchaser’s name. Stock certificates were sold to wide variety of individuals including many who did not live in Manchester and women purchasing stock under their own names.
The promissory note agreements consist of a paragraph signed by the Mayor, the City Treasurer and the City Clerk agreeing to pay an individual a certain sum with interest. The payments are listed at the bottom of each note. Individuals loaning the City of Manchester money include Levi Sargent, Nehemiah Hunt, James Dodge, Israel Merrill, Daniel B. Stearns and Lucinda A. Evans.
- Coupon Interest Book, 1872-1936 (Accession 2002.7)
This is a handwritten record of interest payments made by the City of Manchester to the bearers of various City Bond coupons. Bonds were issued for water loans, McGregor Bridge loans, improvement loans, school house loans, city loan funding, bridge refunding and the destruction plant. Information provided includes the amount paid, the date and the number of the corresponding bond. The type of each bond, the interest rate and the date issued are written at the top of each page
Digital Items: Daily Ledger (Pages 1-100) 11MB; Daily Ledger (Pages 101-200) 10MB; Daily Ledger (Pages 201-314) 12MB
- Journal of Pine Grove Cemetery Lot Sales, 1890-1907 (Accession 2006.5)
This is a journal of lot sales at the Pine Grove Cemetery. Each individual had his/her own listing which gave the date sold, lot number, square footage and how payments were made. Many of the individuals paid extra for perpetual care.
- Ledger of lots sold at Pine Grove Cemetery (Accession 2006.4)
This is a ledger of cemetery lots sold at Pine Grove Cemetery. The date of the sale, the purchaser, the lot number and the amount paid are given. There is also a running account of the amount of money collected and interest earned.
- Everett G. Tarbox System of Accounts, 1918-1923 (Accession 2006.21)
On May 21, 1918, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to adopt the Everett G. Tarbox System of Accounts. The accounting system listed Revenue Asset Accounts, Revenue Liability Accounts, and Non-Revenue General Liability Accounts.
- Letter book of Fred L. Allen, 1896-1898 (Accession 2001.7)
The letter book of Fred L. Allen, City Treasurer, contains handwritten carbon copies of correspondence. Many of the letters accompanied payments to creditors for goods, services and salaries. Some related to the refunding of water bonds and the acquisition of temporary loans by the City. An alphabetical index in the front of the book lists the recipients of the letters and the page(s) on which the letters appear.
- Loan Book in aid of the Suncook Valley Railroad, 1869-1887 (Accession 2002.2)
Two copies of a City Loan Book with loan certificates issued in aid of the Suncook Valley Railroad. One book served as a working copy with coupons representing six months interest were stamped paid when money was disbursed to the loan holder. Loans were for various amounts, and the length of term ranging from three to sixteen years at 6% annual interest. In the City annual report, the Suncook Valley Railroad is listed in the appropriations section of the Account of the City Treasurer.
- Payroll Records, 1876-1885 (Accession 2005.4)
The Treasurer maintained payroll ledgers which recorded payments made to city employees either for a specific type of job (macadamizing, paving, watering streets, etc.) or by working in a specific department. Each employee had to sign their name indicating that they received payment. There are three books which designate Payroll District #2 and one specifically for teachers.
- Receipt of Payment Book, 1846-1849 (Accession 2009.6)
This is a ledger of payments made by the City Treasurer to individuals who provided services to the City of Manchester. The individuals signed the receipt book to signify that they received the money.
Digital Items: Payment Book (Pages 1-100) 9MB; Payment Book (Pages 101-183) 9MB
- Record of Bond Sales, 1881-1930 (Accession 2002.9)
Bonds were issued in support of various municipal projects and were authorized by the passage of resolutions. Information includes the bond number, time to run (i.e. 30 years), value, delivery date, purchaser and date paid. The bonds were issued in $500 and $1000 increments. Civic projects supported by the bonds included the McGregor Bridge, School Buildings, the Piscataguog River Bridge, new sewers, Hallsville School and the Granite Street Bridge.
- Record of City Notes, 1859-1909 (Accession 2004.47)
Individuals loaned the City of Manchester money for a period of time and were issued promissory notes (City Notes). The notes promised to pay the money back plus interest. These notes were signed by the Mayor and the City Treasurer and were stamped PAID. The final volumes have full page promissory notes for much larger sums of money. These notes were signed by the President of the Common Council, the Mayor, the City Clerk, the City Solicitor and the City Auditor. They are called temporary loans and represent loans that were advanced in anticipation of tax collection.
- Reports-Trustees of Cemeteries, Sinking Funds and Annual Expenses, 1873, 1917-1920 (Accession 2006.20)
The volume is a leather file folder containing loose reports issued by the City Treasurer. There are also cemetery bills of sale and a 1920 resolution to borrow $520,000 through bond sales. The reports to the trustees of cemeteries list the names of individuals who purchased plots in a given year.
- Scrapbooks of Bills, Correspondence & Receipts, 1908-1917 (Accession 2006.12)
The City Treasurer pasted bills, correspondence and receipts into a scrapbook. There are records of interest payments, statements of the city's financial condition and treasurer's reports. There is a 1908 newspaper article on voting to save the electric arches over Elm Street. The 1910-1917 scrapbook has monthly totals of receipts.
- Town of Manchester: Record of Town Notes, 1841-1847 (Accession 2004.41)
This journal contains pre-printed Town Notes that are bound together. Each note promises to pay an individual or institution a sum of money for a period of years plus interest. Underneath each note are the dates and amounts paid. The Notes are signed by the Selectmen of Manchester until December 1846. They are then signed by Manchester’s first Mayor, Hiram Brown.
- Town Treasurer Journal: Departmental Expenses, 1839-1846 (Accession 2002.11)
Expenses were logged on a departmental basis by the Treasurer of the Town of Manchester. The journal was audited every year by an auditor and approved by the Selectmen of Manchester. The final audit occurred on September 8, 1846, the day the government for the new City of Manchester was organized.
During this time period, two town houses (City Hall buildings) were built. The first was constructed in 1844 and burned the same year. Immediately construction was begun on a new building. The expenses for both are logged in this journal. Other costs included care of the town’s poor, school construction, building the Hooksett Road, the payment of soldiers’ rations and the salaries of the town officers. There is a separate subject index for the journal.
- Waste Book of City Expenses, undated (Accession 2006.16)
This undated journal lists City departments on separate pages with running tallies of expenses.
- Waste Book of Legal Fees & Expenses, 1866-1898 (Accession 2006.15)
The provenance of this running account of legal fees and expenses has been assigned to the Office of the Treasurer but this is not clear. The journal could also have been kept by the City Clerk or the City Solicitor.
- Water Loan Bonds, 1872-1876 (Accession 2002.1)
Two Water Loan Bond Books, one of which is a working copy. The Water Loan Bonds were issued on January 1, 1872 in accordance with an ordinance passed on August 1, 1871, on July 1, 1874 in accordance with an ordinance passed March 4, 1874 and again on July 1, 1876 in accordance with an ordinance passed on June 6, 1876. Each entry indicates the number of the Bond, the length of time the Bond ran; the value of the Bond; the Date of the Delivery; To Whom the Bond was delivered to; to Whom the Bond was Payable (usually blank) and when the Bond was due. There are columns for coupon payments on one side of the Bond Book. When a bond was issued, coupons were also issued. They represented yearly payments to the purchaser. Bonds were issued in $100, $500 or $1000 increments for periods of 20, 25 or 30 years.
- Town/City Treasurer Yearly Account Ledger, 1843-1851 (Accession 2001.10)
A yearly account ledger kept by Town Treasurers, Herman Foster (1843), Moody Currier (1844) and Thomas Hoyt (1845) and then City Treasurers Thomas Hoyt (1846), J.G. Cilley (1847-1849) and James M. Berry (1850-1851). Expenses included rebuilding of the Town House (City Hall) in 1845; Town and City Officers’ salaries; School District costs and the salaries of the Night Watch (Police).