Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-04
NOW THE CHARTER
Aldermen Will Pick it to Pieces
 To-Night.
POWER GIVEN THE MAYOR.

buSlneSS Men-A comparison or NA-
 terbury's Grandlist With Some of the
 Others-The Way to Handle the
 Taxation Question.
 The board of aldermen will meet to- night TOT lne purpose or hearing peo- pIe who desire 10 nave say regard Ing the proposed concentration or the town amt clfy governments. It was sald to-day that many or the manufac- turers are very mucn opposed to nav ing the board or assessors and the board of renef appolnted by the mayor. because they fear that boardS thrust into oHlce ln thls way mgnt noI 3pe as plaDle as if they mad 10 take their cnances at the poils. Those wno keep an eye upon the tax lists Of the state ! clalm that large corporations 1n Wa terDury pay less taxes than i'll any other town ill Connecticut, and con tend that this is one reason why the grandllst is net increasing in propor- lion to the development or the town. In support Of this statement it is said | that tie Coe Brass Manufacturing con- pany of TOrrington is down on the grand list of that place for $SUS, 1Oo, within 8 few, dollars of twice as much as the combined property valuation of
 
 Manufacturing company, as shown on l the grandlisl of Waterbury. The Needle shop in Torrington is down on the grandlist at S454, GOO and Eagle Bicycle company at $1O5, ,OOO. Water l bury derives no such revenue as this from its manufacturing concerns, al- though some of them are said to be l the finest plants of their kind in the 1 world. We have concerns in Water
 
 | to two million dollars that are entered in the grandlist at considerably less than $1GO,OO0 In fact, some of them are not assessed at 10 per cent of the amounts they are insured for. so that | it is no wonder that people are curious | to know why the grandlist is not in- | creasing more rapidly. Some Of the big brass shops sold out to the trust for the munitcent sum of two million dollars, and when you come to look at the assessors books you see that these same concerns are listed for about SiOO.OOO. No one wants to see anything done that would work hard ship upon the manufacturing concerns but when it is taken into account that property owned by private individuals especially that listed in the name of mechanics and common laborers, is taxed pretty high. there seems to be no good reason why the corporations should be getting off on payment of less than half what similar plants pay in other places.
 Another objection to the bill, as pre- pared by the committee, is thai it does not go far enough. If we are to have union of the two govern ments, let it be consolidation in fact as well as in name. Make the basis of taxation the same in all parts of the city or allow things to remain as they are for the present. People will say that it would not be fair to ask q man to pay as much faxes on lot in Mill Plain as if the property were in the center. Of course it wouldn't, and nobody wants to do that It would not be right to tax a man as much for farm in Mill Plain as for q small lot ill the center but the basis of taxation can be the same and yet do justice to both parties. If the lot in the center is worth $1O.OUO let the owner pay q 33 or 30 mill tax on 8 property valuation of $1O,0OO, and ii the Mill Plain lot is listed at, say $1OO have the owner pay the Same rate o1 taxation on that amount as the man ill the center does on the $1O,OOO lot If the consolidation bill passes the rate of taxation levied by the alder. men next fall should be uniform all over the city. and then leave it to the assessors to determine values and de eide what each piece of property should pay. That was the way things were fixed when the city of Water bury was incorporated in 1853 and il has remained so ever since, and We are not aware that anyone ever asked that the system be changed, although some of the people never had do1lal of city money spent about their prem ises from that day to this. This sys- tenn of taxation would simplify matters and would give us consolidation. What we have been offered is nothing but 6 mere sham.
 SCHoOT, TEACHEp uANrrn