Norwich bulletin., 1911-07-27
TAXES AND LOCAL VALUES
IN CONNECTICUT TOWNS
Average Price of Land in voIuntown
Is $3.50 an Acre.

bin has issued an Illuminating PAM
phlet of statistics showing concisely
the standing of Connecticut towns, as
regards taxes and local values, and
what the work of the tax commits
sioner's Office really is. The pam
| phlet reviews the tax rates in the diff
ferent parts of the state and makes
interesting comparisons and strikes
averages that are still more interest
ing. The work of assessors, boards of
relief and tax collectors, is covered
in an abbreviated form. shorn of the
uninteresting part, showing how the
| different towns stand in the commits
sioner's office.
| May 1 is the popular day in the state
| for taxes to become due, 113 towns
| having made that the day, while in
| SO towns the lists become due between
| May 1 and September 1. In nine towns
| the taxes become due in October, and
| in Naugatuck, Derby. Colchester and
| Chatham they become due semi an
| nualIy
Wethersfield and Woodstock pay
! their assessors the lowest wage, 81
| day. The assessors in Woleott, Boz
| rah, Columbia and Bolton have jobs
| that may be termed as snaps" put
| ting in four days a year in each town
! IN making up the lists, while the max
| imum time is put in at Hartford, New
Britain, New Haven, Waterbury, Siam
| ford and Bridgeport. where the as
SCISSORS labor the year round Andover
| boasts of having the smallest number
| of tax lists, showing only 140, while
New Haven. proudly taking her place
| as. the largest city in the state, has
| 1868. The smallest town grand list
| for 1910 is that returned by Marlbor-
| ough, which totals $144.004, and New
| Haven again proves a top notcher,
having the largest town list, aggre-
eating $126,S04, 456 New Fairfield has
the smallest number of lists of nom
| resident taxpayers, IS, while Milford
| has the most nonresident taxpayers,
| 1,459.
The average number of days work
! by all the assessors in the state was
| 81 while the average pay a day was
$2.70. The total number of taxable
lists in the state was 1882, while
the number of exemptions, owing to
service in the army. navy, blindness
ETC., amounted to $5,963,7S2. The av-
erage percentage of fair value of as
sessments. as estimated by assessors,
was 81 per cent.
One advantage of a small town is
that it reduces in proportion the num-
Der of kickers in it. The pamphlet
would indicate that the minimum
| number of these live in the towns of
Bridgewater, Thorua ston Bethany
East Haven and Killingworth, where
the boards of relief sat only two days
last year. The boards of relief in New
Haven and Middletown established a
maximum number of days work, sit
ting 80 days. This brings Middle
towns board in line with the biggest
city in the state in the amount of
work the board had to do, sort of an
echo from the series of descriptions
in that town since Mayor w. c. Fisher
began to stir things and people up
down there. The assessors Job in the
town of Warren no
a graft by any means, for Warren
distinguishes itself in the list of other
towns by having the smallest per
diem wage for it's assessors of any of
them, They get II cents day. In
Hartford the highest per diem wage
paid for this kind of work. $40 day
The average per diem wage through
the state was $3.50. The following re-
capitG1ates the work of these boa rds
throughout the state:
Number of lists reduced. 2491
Amount of reduction. s2,463, 795
Number of lists increased, s99
Amount Of increase, S579105
The compensation Of tax collectors
throughout the state ranges from two
fifth of one per cent. in THOMPSON to
! 2 per cent in East Haven and
from $50 in Eastford to $4,000 in New
Haven. The amount collected on the
1903 list was Sf1,0I9. 1910 or 81 per
cent of the whole. The total uncol-
iecleQ taxes on Inc ilSC Tor that year
is 1851. 10S12
The lowest town tax rate is seven
| mills in the towns of Suffield, Wall
| inaford and Norfolk. while Eastford
has the highest rate, 80 mills. The
average rate throughout the state is
IA 1-5 mills The total number en-
rolled in the state for the personal tax
is 2S5,9S4. as against a voting regis
tration of 21S,077 In 43 towns the
personal taxes are collected by spe-
cial collectors.
Ten towns made large increases
in their grand list in the last year,
the percentage being as follows:
Cranky 3d.; Redding IS; Westbrook
80; Manchester 81; Stamford 35; Gov
entry Al; Windsor 40; Chatham %;
Oxford 25: MiGdletown 20.
The actual percentage of increase of
grand lists by towns over the proceed
ing year was six per cent. Forty
towns had no additions by the board
of equalization. In Voluntown one can
buy whole acre of land for about
what it would cost to talk to a real
estate agent in Hartford The average
price of land there per acre is 81 so
The average per acre throughout the
state is $32. Marlborough has the
smallest number Of dwelling houses
of any town in the state, SO, and New
Haven has the largest 21,065.
The values of stores, mills, manu-
factories and distilleries were separat-
ed in last years list for. the first time
The number of stores in the state was
IBIS, and their average value was