Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-01-13
AS YOU LIKE IT.
Stray Leaves From Reporters Not
 Book.


 Stray Leaves From Reporters Note Book.
 THE question of taxation is one of the most important that Waterbury has to deal with. It is one that everybody is in | terested in to some extent. High taxes mean high rentffor the man who is not his own landlord. The system of rating and assessing property in Waterbury was adopted at a time when state tax upon 1 the grand list of towns was levied. There is no use denying what everybody knows to be fact-the grand list was kept down in order to pay as little as possible to the commonwealth. Nearly every city in the state adopted tactics similar to Water bury, with the result that the people have been educated in system which is radi- cally wrong, and all efforts up to date to re- wise it have not met with the full measure of success. On the contrary, whoever tries his hand at tax revision can hardly have any further political aspirations. If he has the chances are that they will be knocked from under him by suspicious and unappreciative public. Property in Waterbury has been assessed at anywhere from one-sixth to one-half of its value, more | often the former. The present board of assessors started in with the avowed inten- tion of equalizing taxation and rating property on the basis of one-third it's | value. They have met with considerable opposition because in most cases it was found necessary to increase rather than | lower valuations. Without 8 doubt, in some cases, through error of judgment or other cause, property has been listed too high. The board of relief will surely exercise it's powers in such cases But every property owner who is assessed at only one-third of the full value of his l property should be satisfied, because if this is more than he has. been accustomed to pay in the past he has not contributed his full share to the public fund. An in- cident that came under the writer's obser- vation will serve to illustrate the work of the assessors. A lady who felt aggrieved 1 because $100 had been added to her prop erty valuation, called upon her sister, who owned property in another part of the l town, to talk over the matter, but had nothing to say when the latter explained that the valuation of her property had been 1 lowered $200. The one had never paid as much taxes as the assessors considered she should have paid, while her sister her share. r
 IN his annual message Mayor Kilduf
 
 recommends more radical change thar even the most enthusiastic reformer haG hoped. In brief, he advocates listing property at it's actual valuation and gives logical reasons for his conclusion that i would be to the great advantage of the city to make such change and thereby reduce the tax rate fully two-thirds. The mayor is all right in theory, but if he could heal the objections that are being made even against the slight raise in valuations de termined by the assessors, he would Sc, that the change he suggests, and which ii right, cannot be brought about in day It will require years of study to brine about tax revision in Waterbury. And as have said before, the man or men wht would cause the reform must b, willing to sacrifice their political ambi tions, because the question is one that il bound to create dissatisfaction until it i better understood.
 cir may seem strange to you, but it is fact that the hard times has seriousl, effected our business" said well-know1 barber to the writer the other day. In tn first place more men than usual are wear ing full boards this winter. Then, owin, to the dullness in the factories, many hav left town. But by far the greatest loss i due to the fact that many customers wht have been in the habit of taking bay run or lavender, for which an additiona charge is made. now go without tn 'fixins.' And then more men shave them