Waterbury Democrat., 1902-04-22
BOARD OF ALDERMEN.
Sustained Mayors Veto in Regard to Assessors Clerks Salary.

Assessors Clerks Salary.
 The board of aldermen held an ad- journed meeting last night. Chairman | Goss presiding and all the members being present except Alderman Ches- son and Ford. The principal features of the session were the yetos received from the mayor, one disappearing of immediate action relative to a new fire house in Brooklyn and the other declaring against the action of the board in fixing the salary of the as- # sessor's clerk at $1,200 per annum. ! Both were sustained.
 The veto relative to the assessors office read as follows:
 To the Honorable Board of Aldermen
 of the City of Waterbury:
 Gentlemen:-I herewith return to you without my approval the resolu- tion passed by your honorable board, April ', 1902, fixing the salary of a clerk for the board of assessors at $1 200 per annum.
 AS 1 understand it. the members of the board of assessors have been re- ceiving and do receive for their ser vices, the sum of S1,000 per annum, and while the matter of fixing the sal ary of a clerk for this board may not be germane to the question of the sal ary of the members of said board, I believe that there is an indirect con- nection, i'll this that for some time past it has been the custom for the members of the board of assessors to pay for such clerical work as they de- sired to be relieved from. The mem bers received this salary of $1,O0O q year and were supposed to perform all the duties pertaining to their office, and if they saw fit to have a portion of their duties performed by others, they paid for the same out of their own pockets.
 l am strongly opposed to continu- ation of the methods which have pre- vailed in the office of the board of as sessors, and I have no hesitation in saying that under the methods hereto fore pursued, the members of said board do not render service equivalent to the value of their salaries. They only spend short period of each year I in the actual duties of their office. l I am of opinion that if the members of this board devoted the proper amount of time to the performance of their duties the need of clerical assist ! a consequent saving to the city would result
 am of opinion that they should de vote more time to the duties of their office. If past methods are to be pur- sued. the result of this resolution fix l ing the salary of a clerk at S1 200. is practically a gift to the members of said board, i'll this, that it saves them from any outlay for clerical work, and the city has no assurance that they will devote any more time to the du- ties of their office than they have here J tofore.
 | If said board is really in need of clerk, believe that the amount of the salary fixed is excessive The city clerk has to devote every day and many nights each week to the duties of his office: he receives S1.500 q year: the comptroller of the city, an officer l with great responsibilities and cares. receives S1,500 year; the assistant city clerk. an officer of importance with many duties to perform and oc- cupylng much time day and night re- celves Sl.0O0 a year; the superintend- ent of the poor receives S1.2 200 a year. Your further consideration of this matter of salary is respectfully sug- ! gested
 EDWARD c. KILDUFF. Mayor. April 16 1902.
 Those who voted to sustain the veto were Aldermen Blakeslee Stanley. Goss, Gates and Pagan The opposi- ton was composed of Messrs Walker. l Filling. Beach, O'Brien, Murray, Bro phy, Foley and Keefe. It takes ten votes to defeat a veto and there being but eight registered against it, it stood
 The salary was then fixed at S7OO. no one opposing this but Mr Stanley. who remarked in an aside that when 1 the question was up before he was willing to pay $600, but after hearing l the mayors veto he wasn't sl1re whether he wanted to pay anything. MT Filling also stated that on second 1 thought he believed the mayor was right and that in case the assessors { should need an additional clerk it i would be no hardship upon them to pay for such choice if they did not care to do it themselves.
 '.On thinking this over" said AIder- man O'Brien, I'm inclined to think the veto is all right The assessors are paid $1.000 each and you never see one of them there in the daytime. One of them should be there all the time during office hours. If they should de- eide to do things this way there the assessor who would be in the office could attend to some of the clerical work. The people want more atten- tion paid to that office by the men who are settling salaries for looking after it''
 The veto in reference to the Brook lyn fire house was opposed by Alder men Blakeslee, Beach, Walker. O'Brien, Brophy and Murray. The rest of the members voted to sustain it. It held it's own. The reconmen- dation of the board of public safety was then amended so as to give the board power to purchase a site for an engine house at an expense not to ex- ceed S2,OO0
 A communication was received from the Connecticut Lighting and Power Co relative to the extension of the troll ley line from Oakville to Watertown Colonel Burpee was heard on the mat ter. When this road was being plan ned the selectmen included in it's con ditions that the piers of the railroad bridge at Oakville be removed off the I<.x.. IT, FI&1