Waterbury evening Democrat., 1906-11-14
ESTIMATES FOR 1907
BeaId Of filance Already Looking oIt For Cits Aslds.

mates Tor 1907, and while 1t is ex- pected that many of them will be re- duced considerably from what tho several boards recommended, every body hopes that preference will be gwen to such things as are practical ana concern the whole people. For some time past the board of educa. ton has been endeavoring to eet | sum sufncient to enable the depart men, to purchase all supplies needed TOT the pupils and thus do away with the confusion caused by supplying some things and having the children Duy some more. The fund to meet all lacks something in the neighbor- mood Of $2,600 and 1t would be econ omy to make up this deficit and let the supplies be bought at wholesale price and at the lowest figure. In addition to giving people the benefit or the low price 1t would also do away with the annoyance to teachers and parents and make things much more pleasant in the schools than they ever can be under the present ar rangement.
 The board of public works learned great deal in their tours through other states and promised to intro ! duce some practical reforms at the nrst opportunity. First of these, an l amendment to the charter authoriz- Ing the city to set curbing and lay sidewalks where 1t opens new streets and charge what Ia fair for that class or work against abutting property owners, just as they saw done in all the progressive cities in New Eng
 land. They boasted that 1t paid municipalities and was a big saving 70 property owners. If this be so, no time should be lost in getting down to that way of doing things here. for While 1t might mean mill iu the rate or taxation It would save great deal more than that in the rounds of the year to rate payers, and besides the pubic would have the benefit of uni form walks in all parts of the city where such improvements would be made. Waterbury is said to be a con- servauve town and as . conseuuence IL IS dificult to get some to give up the old way, and this explains in measure at least why our expenses are so high and the returns not al ways satisfactory. A few years ago many we'll meaning citizens opposed the sidewalk repairing law, some going 30 far as to ask that 1t be re- pealed. The man who would say a word against 1t now would leave him. self open to charge of knowingly working against the best interests of the community. since 1t has been demonstrated, especially during the present season, that 1t means money saved to the taxpayers as we'll as suitable footing for everybody at a price that nobody ever dreamed it would he had. What is this but re- ducing taxation and lessening the burden upon rate payers without i'm fiicting any hardship upon others? It required charter amendment to enable the city to fix the sidewalks. It was passed and without opposition, and those who opposed 1t at the out set have since been forced to admit that they didn't quite understand it and that 1t was the best amendment ever passed to the city charter. With this evidence available and such in- formation as the board of pnblic works gathered in other cities, 1t is no wonder that the commissioners should want to go a step farther and have another charter amendment em- ! powering the city to assume entire control of laying walks where public necessity and convenience demand them and let the question of benefits be adjusted in the same manner as 1t is when the streets are permanently improved The city can do the worl, for less than half what private indi- viduals pay for it, and So long as this is so it would be an uphill job for any administration to convince sane peo- pie that it is working for the public good if the present law should be al- lowed to stand any longer.
 A vast amount of money is expend- ed by the city in opening streets where public necessity and conyen- fence do not warrant the outlay, but private enterprise is often so hard to combat that operations of that char acter are forced upon the city from time to time without any correspond- ing return for the money invested. At the present time Waterbury has miles of streets that are but sparsely settled and many of them will not bs built up for the next ten or fifteen | years. so that there is no sense In carrying this line of work any farther until there is real demand for it on the part of the public. If private in- dividuals want to develop their prop critics and get 1t on the market they should be permitted to do so under certain conditions. one of which should he that they meet the cost themselves. From business stand point it Is the height of folly for the city to be''pursuing" land spectators with water mains and other thingG of that sort into the rural districts. and doing 1t largely st the expense ! of people who live in the full taxa ton district. Sections that are ripe for public improvements should bs brought into the second district and people who don't want to come in and pay should be put on the waiting list and made sensible of the fact that they must not look for such things until they are prepared 10 contribute their share of the money that goes to put them within their reach. The system of taxation in Waterbury is msnifestly unfair and until it is made more equitable oficizls should bs very slow about branching out" ss some bright men put 1t when they want something for nothing