The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1908-03-05
Skowhegan's Annual Report.


the Municipal officers of the town of
Skowhegan has just been issued from
the job department of the REPORTER,
and is now ready for distribution.
1t makes pamphlet of seventy two
pages and in many departments is
much more comprehensive than any
previous issue. Every citizen should
procure copy, give it careful
study before town meeting day and
take it to the hall with him next
Monday, where it will be wanted for
reference many times during the SEES
sion. All those who have not already
done SO should begin file of the
town reports with this years issue,
preserving the town reports and the
school reports of each year for future
reference. This custom is followed
very carefully by all Skowhegan at
torneys, and we know of other citi
zens who have files of all issues OF the
school, town and village corporation
reports as far back az the seventies.
The annual receipts and disburse
ments of our municipality are now
close to one hundred thousand dol
lars annually and we believe a care
tul reading of the annual report will
convince the voters that this large
sum has been justly and carefully ex
pended. The itemized accounts of
the various departments are given in
orderly detail and the accuracy OF all
the figures given are certified to by
F. A. Nolin as town auditor. The
law requiring the publication of the
name of each delinquent taxpayer,
with the amount of his unpaid tax, is
operative for the first time this year,
and this list appears in the annual
report. The report of the officials of
the Fire Department is given this
year with much more detail than
formerly. Besides the usual account
of alarms responded to, enumeration
of property, ETC., all signals are given,
as well as the number and location of
| fire alarm boxes. During the past
year, under direction of Chief II. M.
Weston, all hydrants and reservoirs
have been given number and these
lists, with the number and To-
cation, appear in the report, most
valuable addition to the classified in
formation pertaining to the fire de-
partment.
In the account of moneys received,
on page of the report, will be noted
the item of 81 1908 from the state,
Skowhegan's share of the school fund
and mill tax. This is the amount ac-
cruing to us under the law which
named one mill as the basis of this
| tax and, as new law went into eff
| feet on January LIST, making the basis
of this assessment one and one half
mills, the total fund thus raised will
| be increased about 80 per cent, and
| Skowhegan's share will be augmented
in about the same proportion. We
shall undoubtedly receive something
over SO, 900 from the state this year as
our share of the school fund and mill
tax and this increase, about $1,000, can
be counted upon, enabling the town,
other things being equal, to reduce
by that amount its appropriations for
schools.
Among the resources appears the
very handsome cash balance of S1b,
644. OF this amount, $4,000 is from
the loan made for the municipal
building and not yet called for by the
committee. Aside from the cost of
the municipal building thus far in
Cured, the town made a reduction
in its liabilities during the past year
of not far from $1,000.
A matter which does not appear in
the report, but on which the select
men may call for an expression OF
opinion from the voters at the annual
meeting, concerns the erection of a
new barn at the town farm. Lumber
has been cut on the farm, the past
winter and hauled to the mill of the
Skowhegan Lumber Company, suffi
cient to provide most of the material
for barn 55 by so feet. The old
barns are not worth repairing and the
selectmen think a basement should
be built the coming summer and that
a good barn of the size above men
toned should be built early in the
building season of 1909. In getting
out this lumber it was necessary to
hire a man for part of the time and
this fact accounts for the slight in
crease in the cost of board at the
farm as shown in the report.
The following are the more impor-
tant tables, reproduced as they appear
in the pages of the report.
VALUATION.
Real estate, resident, S2,740, OILS;
nonresident, S20s, $40; total, $2,678,
555; personal estate, resident and
nonresident, 1889, O20 total valua-
ton, $3,647 ,575 Number of polls,
1888. Rate of taxation, two mills on
one dollar. A comparison with last
years report shows gain of 1853, 0sO
in total valuation and decrease OF
SO in number of polls.