The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-02-24

increased more than B per cent,
 while the population has increas-
 ed less than IF per cent.
 The highest tax rate ever laid in tn
 history of Bridgeport was imposed up
 on the property of tax payers, las
 night, by the Board of Apportionmen
 and Taxation.
 The board had before it the bigges
 grand list ever compiled by a board 0
 Assessors in this city. It had befor'
 1t the largest increase in taxable prop :. Bridgeport in a single year, an increas, o6 s4,5OO0O0.
 :; While the minority of the board { thundered into the ears of their fellow members the need of economy, show ing that the city is unnecessarily pay , ing each year $39, 600 in cash and tax rebates more than it ought to. or. needs to, for water, the majority, a scant majority of two men, calmly concluded that no economy should be had at the expense of the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company, and ferociously blazed a new path through the maZes of ex- travagance into which the city has been plunging at 8. reckless pace for the past three years
 The expense of carrying on the city i has been increased in a single year almost s1oo, 900, in exact figures. ss6.- crease of s10.oO0 in revenues not ob- : tained by taxation.
 The population of the city has i1- creased in one year about 2 per cent. The cost of conducting the city has gone up almost ten per cent.
 This enormous tax burden fS az A1 other cities by the fact that under the local plan of making assessments an enormously Infair part of the valua- tion is placed upon homes.
 This Inequality has been further ag- gravated by the plan of tax equahza- tion which the existing administration has adopted.
 effective in finding dwelling house property that has been underestimate ed.
 But no official eye has been able to detect the enormous undervaluation in the property of the Gas, the Electric Light and other great public service properties.
 No official eye has discovered that the Naugatuck dock, which is owned by the New Haven road, is underval- ued, although for the purposes of su ing the city the officers of the com- pany have disclosed for 1t a. value many thousands in excess of its listed value.
 And so it goes; thousands for the ruling group but not one cents worth of economy for the home-owners.
 The tax rate in the First district is six and seven-tenths mills, and nine and one-tenth mills in the Second dis trict, a total of 15.8 mills. The total grand list in both districts is S79, ,22O, ,353. trn In hn fy-cf 4cfr 0f r. side of the Second district which is only liable to the tax of 67 mills, is valued at $3 3487, ,986. The remaining S75,484,9 ,986 is liable to the full tax of 15.8 mills.
 Materially there are only a few changes in the final list from the pre- liminary list. The sum of $500 was the assessors. MT. Setzer consented to $1,00O being taken from the $7,500 reappropriated for the purpose of get ting the garbage plant out of town in case it should prove a nuisance.
 The appropriation of $500 asked for the purchase of instruments for bac- astrological examinations and $1,O00 for g. ibacteriological expert was defeated, although it had votes in favor to four against it.
 MT Phelan advanced the argument that such an expense was not needed, | IS the c1Iy dMedOy ndQ instruments for the testing of milk and could send any samples away to Middletown if | further examination was needed
 On the recommendation of MT. Smith | an additional $1,0O0 was allowed for l school repairs. Upon the request of Mir. Sherwood $150 was allowed the town clerks office for rebinding books. Upon the advocacy of MT. Phelan, the property owners who have been asking .or the grading of Madison avenue for the past 20 years, were allowed $2,O0O. Perhaps the most important elimina- Ion was the $6,000 allowed for block maps. MT. Phelan voted to eliminate l. With the understanding that it be moulded again next year..
 Because there are so many wind '@oKen horses in the department it was 'oted on the advice of MT. Setzer to Idd l,O0O to the appropriation for the ire department.
 It was found that the S1 300, which lad 'peen appropriated a year ago. be- ause or the protest made by the Po- ice Commission against the payment f the back pay of several patrolmen . ad not been used President Hill claimed a year a,e,o , hat the department was going to be hort. This money was voted by the , onnnnpn Council. |,