Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-12-07
ABOUT LIENS.
Excessive Fees Allowed Under che Pres ent Statute.

Excessive Fees Allowed Under che Pres r ent Statute.
 Mayor Kilduff presided at the meeting of the board of finance last night. Bills amounting to s34. .137.O5 were approved.
 The bill of Attorney J. F. Kellogg brought out considerable discussion When the new charter was being framed in 1890 a committee of forty was appoint ed to do the work and this committed delegated all its powers to a sub-commit- tee. consisting of G. E. Terry. l.. F. Bur pee. F.. G. Kilduff, J. P. Kellogg and E. A. Smith. Mir Smith never asked any, thing for his services and MT Kellogg al. lowed his bill to run for about four years before sending it in. His services he con- sidered worth $50. There seems to be something peculiar about the bills of that charter committee, anyway. Each mem Der seemed to be hanging back to see how much the others would ask for. and who knows but that is what Alderman Kiefer had reference to when he made a motion at a meeting of the aldermen that the sewage cC mmittee give it's services to the city gratis.
 The matter of liens and the expense connected herewith was discussed al length and 1t was made clear to all that this business is regulated by statute law.
  cases the cost runs from s25 to sG0. They are fixed by the statutes of the state and 1t makes no difference whether the amount at issue is $50 or S5, 900. They in | clude the entry fee, trial fee, writ fee. ofn- | cers' fee and others. There is not a single one of these people whose cases are included in the bills of the district court clerk. but have had from two to five years to pay their sewer assessments. Cost: have not been levied on a single person who has come to my office and said hs
 would pay sl a week or even S2 month. ' It would seem from what could be learn
 ed from the meeting that the city is ( little too lenient with it's debtors.
 | The matter of taxing up *67 ,500 or tenn porary loans and re issuing them at { lower rate of interest was also discussed. | The stand taken by Rev Father Treanoi | in the matter of liens seems to be mis understood. It is the system that he i, | opposed to. He is not agitating this mat | ter to make trouble for or find fault witt | the city attorney The agitation is in | tended to create public sentiment and re peal the law. Father Treanor believes
 that proper notification should be giver
 either by advertising or otherwise before
 liens are foreclosed. He also thinks tn,
 fees are outrageously high. The claim
 that due notification is always given |
 disproved by a case to which Fathe Treanors attention was called. woman | neglected to pay a sewer assessment anC
 without receiving any notification | other than the assessment no
 tice printed in the papers. a lien wa
 placed upon her property. Then she be gan to pay. by installments. and onl. S12.50 remained to be paid. when he
 property was advertised for sale. Tn, | whole amount would have been paid, bu
 for the fact that City Attorney Burpee wa
 not at hIs office when the lady called t
 make a final settlement. This is one cas showing that under the present law peopl,
 who mean to do right may be made suffer
 The matter is not ended yet and Fathe
 Treanor will probably have something
 further to say in the near future.