The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-02-24
HEARING ON THE CHARTER
MANY CITIZENS APPEARED BEFORE
THE COMMLITEE.

ter-Want it Submitted to All the Voters
and Assessors-A Variety OF Suggestions
offered.
The public hearing before the sub
committee of the general committee of
fifty appointed by the mayor to adVo-
cate the passage of a new charer for
the city was we'll attended last evening
and several points in the charter were
effectually considered. Chairman Bush
nell presided Other members Of the
committee present were Messrs. Wolfe,
Watrous, Martin, Osborne and Beers.
Charles A. Baldwin of the board of
assessors offered the following amend
ment in behalf of the board:
The members of the board of assessors of
said town in office in the month of May,
1888 shall continue to serve until the first
of July, 1898, when their term of office shall
expire by limitation.
Thereafter there shall be board of as
SCISSORS in said city consisting of five mem
bers, not more than three of whom shall
belong to the same political party.
Mode Of Appointment.-ln the month OF
June, 1898, the mayor shall appoint three
assessors to serve for six years ana two to
serve for four years from the first day or
July, 1898 and thereafter as terms of office
expire there shall be appointed by the may
or to fill such vacancies assessors to hold
office for six years from the. first of July
following the expiration of said terms.
Each assessor shall receive dollars per
year as compensation for his services.
ClerkS-Said board of assessors may ap-
point clerk, or clerks, as the necessities
Of the office may require, the compensation
of the same to be confirmed by the board Of
finance
Duties and Powers.-Said assessors shall
have the same powers that are now incum-
bent upon the town assessors under state
laws
Among the reasons urged by the
board for the amendment offered by
them We're the following:
We find upon the average that $780,
900 is built during those six weeks, and
that if we shorten the time $125000 will
be added to the grand list that would
otherwise escape taxation for full
year. if a board of three. or five We're
to assess, as has been the past Gus
tom.
We think this point alone should lead
you to recommend that five assessors
should be the number appointed.
The work of the assessors is con-
stantly increasing, and the larger part
of the same cannot, as we think, be
delegated to clerks, however efficient
clerks may be, and we do not think
taxpayers would be satisfied to have
clerks lay an assessment on their prop
lerty
The increase of work is caused largely
by the increased number of taxpayers,
for when they buy lot the title of the
same must be looked up, new lists made
and prices put on the land.
| By the proposed act the board of re-
! lief is abolished and the work that now
consumes two months at an expense of
s., 900 each year will devolve upon the
new board just at the time when there
| is some of the most important work
of the year to be done, and we cannot
see clearly how the number Of asses
sors can be reduced to three and have
| the work properly done.
| While three assessors are needed in
| the office, two assessors are occupied
during October in finding new firms
and noting changes in old firms and
investigating the amount that such
firms should be assessed.
If this work is neglected, we have no
! doubt that a large amount of taxable
property will escape taxation, for a
large number of taxpayers never come
in to make a list, as you may see by
the list of those that now pay 10 per
cent.
In the last few years we have been
convinced that a change was necessary
in the system under which the annual
assessment of new buildings and addi-
tions to the old have been made.
It has been the custom for years for
our full board to visit each of such
pieces of property, but as the number
of such buildings are constantly in
creasing, requiring six weeks to assess
them, the board has decided to make
two working parties, which we think
will shorten the time to three weeks,
or less.
General e. E. Bradley thought that
it was quite essential that the board
/ Of aldermen and councilmen should be
represented on the park commission in
order that the work should be properly
| looked after.
Mayor Farnsworth approved of what
the gentleman before him had said.
! Ex-Mayor Sargent said: 81 want to
refer to one point in the charter which
gives to those living outside the city
limits the right of voting upon it's ac-
ceptance. 1t seems to me that the
charter should be approved by all the
people of the city and that it should
be submitted to those inside the city
limits as well as those outside, and I
would so amend the charter under con-
sideration'
| Rector George L. Fox of the Hopkins
Grammar school said: 'T favor the
! charter for the many good principles
which it contains of consolidation of the
government, the application of the re-
form principle in the appointment of
officers and in giving the executive
more power and making him RESPONSE
BILE. But the provision for a bicameral
! legislative body is outside of all pre-
cedent outside this country and only
one-quarter of the cities of over 5000
population in this country have it. The
thirty cities in New York state all have
/ one body in their council and if we
adopt it here it will be contrary to pro-
cedure. [ also would wish that it
should be expressly stated in the char
ter that any citizen of New Haven
otherwise eligible shall be eligible for
J the common council without regard to
/ the fact whether he lives in the ward
lit IL. i- l,.os- j