Guide to the La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Comptroller, Financial Materials of the City of La Crosse, 1872-1963

La Crosse Series 053

Table of Contents

Summary Information

Historical Note

Scope and Contents

Administrative Information

Controlled Access Headings

Collection Inventory

Summary Information

Abstract

These financial materials of the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, were generated mainly by the comptroller’s office, although there are also some treasurer’s volumes intermixed. It was not always clear which office had created a certain volume. The financial materials series consists of ledgers, journals and orders paid, 1886-1959. Ledgers contain financial data from 1886-1959. Arranged chronologically, these include accounts for each fund, such as fire, poor, general fund, streets, etc., and include income as well as expenditures. Financial journals contain data for the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1886-1963. Arranged chronologically, these include accounts for each fund, such as fire, poor, general fund, streets, etc., and include income as well as expenditures. The older cash journals (1856-1877) were incorporated into La Crosse Series 50 Licenses, since the financial information before 1886 is not consolidated, and the licensees were sometimes mentioned by name in the old volumes. Orders paid (expenditures) include drafts written by the City 1872-1906. These help to fill in the gap in the financial record from 1872-1886 when modern accounting practices began to take hold in La Crosse municipal government.

Collection Title

La Crosse, Wisconsin, Office of the Comptroller, Financial Materials of the City of La Crosse

Date of Materials

1872-1963

Creator

La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Comptroller.

Call Number

La Crosse Series 053

Amount

16.0 cubic feet

Physical Description

7 archives boxes, 8 flat boxes, 19 volumes

Language of Materials

English

Repository

La Crosse Public Library Archives

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Historical Note

These financial materials of the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, were generated mainly by the comptroller’s office, although there are also some treasurer’s volumes intermixed. It was not always clear which office had created a certain volume.

The financial materials series consists of ledgers, journals and orders paid, 1886-1959. Ledgers contain financial data from 1886-1959. Arranged chronologically, these include accounts for each fund, such as fire, poor, general fund, streets, etc., and include income as well as expenditures.

Financial journals contain data for the City of La Crosse, Wisconsin, from 1886-1963. Arranged chronologically, these include accounts for each fund, such as fire, poor, general fund, streets, etc., and include income as well as expenditures.

The older cash journals (1856-1877) were incorporated into La Crosse Series 50 Licenses, since the financial information before 1886 is not consolidated, and the licensees were sometimes mentioned by name in the old volumes.

Orders paid (expenditures) include drafts written by the City 1872-1906. These help to fill in the gap in the financial record from 1872-1886 when modern accounting practices began to take hold in La Crosse municipal government. Acc. No.

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Scope and Contents

The modern method of accounting with a general ledger and journal system was adopted fully by the City of La Crosse comptroller’s by 1888. This series may contain two older ledgers originally belonging to the treasurer rather than the comptroller, as there were two sets labeled “Ledger A” and “Ledger B” that overlapped in terms of date “Comptroller Ledger A” and another volume labeled “Comptroller.” The total coverage for the general ledgers is 1886-1959.

The GENERAL LEDGERS are financial summaries of each account listed by fund name and include income as well as expenditures. Besides the general ledgers are three small ledgers devoted to the WPA projects the city undertook in conjunction with the Board of Public Works, and date from 1937-1942.

The total coverage for the JOURNALS is 1886-1963. The journals are financial summaries of each account listed by fund name and include income as well as expenditures. See La Crosse Series 50 Licenses for the early cash journals kept by the treasurer (1856-1877).

ORDERS PAID include “Record of Orders, 1872-1906,” which were created by the treasurer in all likelihood. These volumes include the order (draft) number, amount, to whom payable, and the amount is categorized by Council Committee (e.g. Fire, Police, Poor, Grounds & Buildings, etc., each have their own column). Some dates overlap with this subseries and the next titled “Record of City Orders, 1888-1905.” The volumes in this subseries look a bit different and were created by the comptroller. Although still arranged in chronological order by draft number, a fund was listed rather than having columns of the Council committees, and a column “Returned from Treasurer” is included. Finally “Record of School Orders, 1888-1905” consist of orders drafted by the treasurer for school expenses and were also created by the comptroller.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

La Crosse Public Library Archives 1999 February

Access to Materials

Materials in this collection are available for patron use.

Acquisitions Information

(Accession no. 1998.003) These financial volumes were located in the City Clerk’s basement area of City Hall; authorization of transfer by Teri Lehrke, City Clerk, April 1998.

Processing Information

Processed by Anita Taylor Doering, Feb. 1999

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Comptroller.
• La Crosse (Wis.). Office of the Treasurer.

Geographic Name(s)

• La Crosse (Wis.)--Appropriations and expenditures

Subject(s)

• Finance, Public--Wisconsin--La Crosse
• Municipal government--Wisconsin--La Crosse
• Public records--Wisconsin--La Crosse

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Collection Inventory

General, 1886-1959