Connecticut western news., 1909-02-11
DISTRICT CANNOT
 ABATE ITS TAXES
SEWER ASSESSMENT MUST STAND
Power to Change Charter Rests With Legislature-Committee has For muIated Amendments Which Pro- vide for Board of Relief.


 muIated Amendments Which Pro-
 vide for Board of Relief.
 The special meeting called for the pur- pose of giving consideration to the pro- position to abate or reduce sewer assess ments, was held Saturday afternoon ill town hall.
 At the suggestion of J. IB. Reed, J. Henry Roraback, chairman of the execu- tive committee of the district, was cal led upon, who remarked that the act under which the district has proceeded during the past year might be improved providing the legislature can be induced to amend the act passed two years ago. When the act was passed we were not wholly satisfied.b it was the best we could get at the tiEae and we proceeded committee received request from eight or ten taxpayers asking for an abate- ment of their sewer tax. A week ago l told these gentlemen that the committee AS DUN cIlCHO bO 6bIV Ah 4OSoAo DO OAN~S SN~~~ and I am satisfied I was right. I be- iieve any vote taken herI to-day to abate taxes would be illegal and would not re- ieve anyone from the responsibility ot paying taxes. MT. Roraback. to sub stantiale his belief, read an opinion of the attorney general in a similar case.
 Continuing, he said: "The only way this abatement could be brought about would be by an act of the General Assembly. The question of taxation is purely statutory and can only be acted upon as authorized under the statute under which the tax was laid. Redress can be given only by the body by which the statute was made. The charter of the sewer district provides that anyone aggrieved has the right to appeal to the Superior Court which court has the authority to furnish relief. The time specified expired and no appeal was made therefo.e the only present source of ap- peal is the General Assembly. The seIectmen of town or the burgesses of @ borough have the authority to abate taxes only for those who are too poor to pay them" Mir. Rorabaok read from an other opinion to substantiate his state ment that the sewer district committee is powerless to change or abate the taxes already assessed.
 H. R. Whitford wanted to know if it was right to olnit certain people in town and put ou others not on the sewer line.
 MT. Roraback remarked that the con- mittee did the best they knew how to make the assessments equitable but in all probability had made some mistakes. Having made the assessment, the time for objection having expired and no one having taken an appeal, there is nothing to do but to pay the tax.
 Dr. c. W. Camp, a member of the ex- ecutive committee substantiated what MT Roraback said relative to the efforts of the committee to lay just tax.
 MT. Roraback said that the act needs to be amended at this session of the leg islature and that petition to amend must be introduced in the General As sembly not later than Feb. II. "I think one amendment should provide Board of Relief which may meet to hear griev- ances after the executive committee has made out the tax list. This would pro- vide means of relief the same as towns have. Under other methods the whole community might get together and vote to abate their taxes, then where would you beP There must be some iron-clad provision relative to taxes or they would never be collected. You must proceed in the letter of the law which, in this instance, says you must take your appeal to the Superior Court within 15 days and ask them for relief. No appeal was made, the tax must stand, you cannot escape 1t. ,"
 J. B. Reed-I presume MT. Roraback is correct and we must pay the tax. After the tax list was filed some of the tax payers looked at it and found the conditions were prohibitive. No man is fool enough to hire couple of lawyers and go to the Superior Court to get $15. We feel aggrieved. There should be some way to correc an error of that kind. It is not, as Teddy Roosevelt says, "a square deal" We must accept MT. Roraback's statement as to the law but I would like to move that the accrued interest on sewer taxes due, be postponed until March 1st This motion was car ried.
 J. c. Roraback then moved that the warden appoint committee of three to draw up such changes and amendments to the charter of the sewer district as
 Continued on page 5.)