Barre evening telegram. (Barre, Vt.) 1898-19??, 1899-02-27
A QUESTION ASKED The MAYOR.

Mr.. Editor Or:-Belng Interested in TIT
welfare of our city and being desiroa'
Of voting intelligently at the coming
election, | have been trying to inform
myself as TO the financial condition o
the city by reading and studying thu
Mayors message, and thatl may more
fully understand the figures which oul
mayor has given Us, would like to ask
his Honor through the columns of your
valuable paper what he means by his
"pay as you go policy also what he
means by "being within reaching dis.
tance of a 50 tax"
1t would seem as though debt OF
The City, when it becomes due, is as
much an obligation. which the city i.
bound 10 meet and pay, as it is the debt
| incurred by reason OF the building of a
City Hall or the building of bridge or
highway, each as a debt and until paid,
remains debt. and if one of those
debts is to remain unpaid, it makes no
difference which one, provided they
are each for equal amounts,
Now the Mayor tells us that among
the items of our indebtness there is one
note which became due in 1898 and is
unpaid, amounting to $4,000, one which
becomes due in 1899 amounting to
$4,000, seven short time notes due July
LIST 1899 amounting to $222jO.37, and
water loan amounting to $l45l943.
and he tells us that after cutting down
the finance committees estimate, for the
ensuing year several thousand dollars,
our other current expenses will bring
the estimate down towaro $7O,0O0.
without questioning at this time his
claim to superior tinuncial ability over
that Of the finance committee, we take
his estimate for the present at $4,000,
making in tho whole that must be
raised by taxation in 1899 s13l ,7G9.S0
If we pay as we 60.
This would require tax of over &3.
76 on a grand list of $4,000. Is this
the reaching distance to which our May
or alIudes? wCuld also like to have
his Honor tell the people, OF if the May
or does not wish TO commit himself,
some Mcdonald might answer it for
him, what application has been made of
the water rents received by the city
since the 3 LIST. day of March 1898, and
how much have those rents amounted
10, and what the actual expense has been
for taking in the Martin Baook supply
If water, including labor, material, etc.
1t appears to me from reading the
Mayors message, that the water rents
nave been used for the payment of cur
'ent expenses, il lam correct in this it
would seem that we are not gaining as
last as | thought on first reading, for
t understand the Mayors policy we
nave for the last three years been in the
business of paying as we 60, that in
he last year we have been obliged to
ncur extraordinary expense, Oh account
If building City Hall, land damages,
grading etc., and we have gone outside
,f our regular business of ''paying cur
'ent expenses as we CO. and purchased |
water plant, which requires consider
lble expense to operate. and we have !
'un in debt for the entire plant and pay |
interest on it from the 3lst day of March
1893.
Now if instead of paying this inter-
.st Or using the income from that plant
o pay that interest with, we have en-
pended that income in paying rurieLt
expenses, it has helped our business Of !
,ayin% our cnrrent expenses as we gof
,ut our water plant is running us in
tebt to the same extent if not more, SO .
hat if we want to ascertain how much |
We are in debt we must know how
much we have taken from the receipts
If that water plant and add it TO our
,thcr indebtedness, as long as we are
our debt and interest for !
he water plant.
In other words, if we disregard the
water debt and interest, we must use
he receipts from that water plant to
'educe that Indebtedness, and disregard
hose receipts in making up our esti-
mates for the current expenses during
he coming year.
| wish for an answer ut an early date
because if am wrong us to the appli-
,ation of this income from the water
9ant. may have some further ques-
ions to ask the mayor in regard to this
natter before the 7th of March.
Taxpayer.