Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-29
TAX BILLS ARE OUT
Collector Thoms and Assistants
 Have Been Busy.
BILLS ARE BIGGER'N EVER

IuoSe eOple w uo D allcu 10 LOOK OfcI
 the Lists Last Fall Are Surprised at
 the Size of the Bills-There is Only
 One Remedy, Now, However, Pay
 Up and Save Interest, Liens and
 Costs.
 Collector Thoms is sending out the annual rate bills and many who are receiving them think the assessors got their property mixed up with that of other people. Tn some instances the bills are four times as high as they were last year and in other cases where the jump taken Is not quite SO high as that still it is sufficient to cause the recipients of these communications to wonder where they are at and wish that they owned nothing taxable. Some of the south end people got hit hard and naturally they are wondering why. Rents in that part of the town don't pay well and it is a notorious fact that land is cheap. The school officials have found this out and if they cared to say word on this quesA ton they would be obliged to admit that they were somewhat surprised at the low figures offered them for school sites in places where they will not have to blast rocks, level hills or fill in swamps. The board of public safety bought what is considered a cheap lot in Brooklyn, but the price is exorbitant compared with some or the figures submitted to the board of education for school sites i'll the south end. This is probably the best test as to what land is worth and yet it seems taxes were pushed higher there last year than in any other part of the city, that is considering the market value of the property. 1t is said that F. J. Coogan, whose property is located on Luke and Baldwin streets, is taxed more for some of his houses than it
 cost to build them. If this be true there must be something wrong, for it
 is no secret that property is not listed
 on that basis all over town. If 1t were
 nobody would be paying over ten or fifteen mills on the dollar.
 But the south end people must not think that they are the only ones who
 are somewhat surprised at the increase in the size of their rate bills and are
 puzzled to know where the money is coming from to square their accounts with the collector, Of course there is always more or less fault finding about tax bills, but the kick is more general this year than ever before. Many claim that between taxes. water l rents, interest and cost of repairs what they lose on account of people who 1 move out and neglect to pay they cans l not make ends meet and feel that they made a mistake ill ever attempting to own homes of their own. This feeling | is prevalent in the outside districts
 where property owners find it hard to
 keep houses rented regularly, and it is | felt, too, to some extent i'll places where 1 the price of rents is about as high as anyone can hope to see it. But people ! who are wasting all their strength railing at the assessors are foolish. They should keep little in reserve for l the water board. These bills will be ! submitted to the board of public works | this afternoon who will order them | transmitted to MT Thoms for collec- ton and after they set the water rents 1 and tax bills before them then they will be in q position to give full vent to their indignation. And the worst thing about it is that there Is no re- dress. A man would be foolish not to come down with the dust. If he goes into the courts he stands good chance of losing his case and supposing he
 should happen to win it would cost him
 more to settle with the limbs of the ! law than his whole place is worth. 1t is q wise move to pay these claims promptly. A man who sets down to stew over them and neglects to settle
 within a given time will have the per
 centage added and then he will find himself confronted with additional bur- dens. But what's the use worrying oneself to death about such things. I Isn't it worth something to be able to say that you are landlord?