Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-12-15
BOARD OF ALDERMEN
Teachers Salaries and Other
 Money Matters Talked Up.

l budget until nearly midnight an 9 then adjourned until next Thursda l night without doing anything. Al
 the members were present except M @ Malone, who is on the sick list. r lt was evident from the outset tha . the republican side of the house fel
 that they had the drop on the othe , fellows, and in way they had. bu luckily or otherwise, when 1t cam
 to the rounding up they were shor
 one vote, and as a result they vii be obliged to make another try. A the meeting held week ago las night the chairman informed M Larkin and other members of the so called minority that it would be ;
 good idea for both sides to mee
 some evening during the week an( talk things over among themselves
 but the chairman was not requested
 to call such meeting. The republi
 can members of the board got to-
 gether themselves, however, ana
 after looking over the field, evident.
 petent to deal with the question
 themselves, and they came mighty
 near making good.
 When the meeting was called tO
 order Alderman FitzSmons moved
 that the board go into committee
 of the whole to discuss the budget.
 The motion was carried and from
 that time until twenty minutes Of
 , 1t was talk. talk, talk. It ought
 to be said, perhaps, that it was a
 pleasant session, and while he
 members differed from each other
 very widely as to what was best to
 do, nobody's motives were impugned
 and no bad feeling was noticeable
 when time was called. Aldermen
 Hayes and Larkin were the principal spokesmen for higher rate of taxa ton than that recommended by the
 board of finance, 14.7, giving as their
 reason that the salaries of the teach CTS could not be met out of the item
 as it came to them; that the DriggS school should be $12,000 instead of $S,O00; Walsh school $34,5OO in stead of $25,00 teachers salaries $179,200 instead of $177,500, and that the fire department be made $S5,000 instead of $90,000. By doing this and pushing up the rate to 15 mills the money asked for by the board of education could be raised.
 Aldermen Lawlor, Mackie. Galla- gher, Spain and Fine were not op- posed 10 change of the items so as to give the schools more if necessary, but they were very much opposed tu making the rate higher than 14.7. A recess was taken for ten minutes and on reassembling MT Spain thought it the easiest way out of the trouble to make the rate 15 mills. | All the republican members of the board and Aldermen Hayes and Hur- | ley thought so, too. Commissioners Kelley and Mcdonald of the board of education spoke for the schools, and wanted more money Alderman Lawlor called attention to the dul, times, which, he said, are not vet over. The past year depleted the treasury of many taxpayers and they ! will be worse off next year than they are now, because at the opening of the hard times they had little ahead. In the discussion which en- sued Alderman Gallagher said that if Mill Plain has big debt it is due to conditions forced upon them by the board of education, who insisted that they build and borrow if neces- sary. They have big school now and heavy debt. Prior to the pres ent order of things they had prac- tically no debt and gave the youth of the district a good common school education.
 Chairman Scully, who is a mem- Der of the board of finance. explained that they sent committee and an | architect to the Driggs school, who reported that the needs of the en- suing year there can be met by an outlay of about s6,0O0, but in order to make sure of no mistake being made they put it at $S,00O. Pro vision was made to purchase three lots and put up an addition to the Walsh school. The board of finance did not consider the quarry on the north side of the school suitable for a playground and made no provision to buy 1t. The coal bill is in the same shape now it has been for years, the school being behind that amount right along, and while it would be well to clear it up, the board of finance did not think the present an opportune time to take 1t up. The teachers salary was close upon what was asked for, and much of what it lacked would be made up in the difference in salary paid to regular teachers, who will be absent from time to time, and that given to substitutes. But this did not avail and after all got tired talking the changes as mentioned above were carried and the committee of the whole arose and the regular meeting was called. The report of the com mittee of the whole was accepted. after which the estimated resources for 1909 were approved Then vote to pass the items as amended. . offered by MT Larkin, was put and lost by the following vote: Yes, AL , dermen Larkin, Templeton, Buck. | Walker, Fitzsimons, Hayes, Spain, | Hurley, Sellew; no, Aldermen Scullv, ! Gallagher. Lawlor, Mackie. Fine. II takes ten votes to raise the rate C. taxation recommended by the board i of finance. This explains why nine votes were not sufficient to adopt the . appropriations as amended A mo- tion was then offered by Alderman Lawlor that the appropriations as submitted by the board of finance De q q6nntph h,1t u-ac b,- o =