The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-24

1cO cAe 1onor1ple Board or Appor-
 tionment and Taxation of the
 City of Bridgeport:
 Gentlemen:
 Judging from the reouisition of many of the boards and '.ity officers submitted to us at this time, they must have been aware of the fact of a largely increased grand list and regulated their acquisitions accord ingly If the acquisitions asked for were granted it would necessitate the imposition of a tax rate of about grand list. But it is not right that their requirements should be based in any way on the size of the grand list, merit alone should govern lA dealing with the wants of the de- departments. The taxpayers natural H expect, and with reason and jus ttce, that as direct result Of the in creased grand list, there ought to be a corresponding reduction in the tax rate.
 We ought not to continue to raise our grand list by leaps and bounds, and at the same time impose the game rate of taxation which was pre- viOusly levied on the smaller grand list There ought not to be any necessity for such higher taxes and they would be too ourdensome for the taxpayers to tamely submit to them The various city departments ought to be satisfied if their reason able wants are provided for with such improvements as the city can afford, without taxing too heavily.
 Unpaid Taxes and Assessments.
 IT will be a revelation to many of our taxpayers to be informed that there are taxes and assessme ents due and unpaid on the collectors books, oEgregating more than $SOO,OOp-OO
 I have considered it my duty on several previous occasions, to call at tenlion to the failure to collect such taxes and assessments, although the ne. power is vested in the collector by the laws of the State to- force Eeodec- ton of the same.
 The collectors have been in the past mere receiving officers. If tax payers desired to pay they could come to the collectors office and set tie, but if they did not do SO, little ef- fort was made to collect from the deiinquents. If our merchants tran sacted business in this manner they would soon become bankrupts It ssors to swell the grand list, if the collector fails to collect the taxes, merely acting as a receiving officer, content to accept from those who are willing to pay. would suggest that provision be made in the cohec- eor's office for outside solicitor or see those who were in arrears for taxes or assessment and impress on them the desirabiIity of paying or taking the consequences of non-pay- ment.
 It is unfair to prompt taxpayers that others who are perhaps better able to pay than they, are allowed
 It is noticeable that some persons who are well able to pay allow thelr taxes to become in arrears and then ask that the interest and expenses, and some times the principal, in whole or in part, be abated- The abatement of taxes or assessments ought to be very carefully consider ed, in justice to the other taxpayers who have paid promptly.
 Tax Rate of the First District Only.
 Outside the limits of the Second Taxing district there is territory known as the First District only, which territory has a grand list of about $4,50O,00O, and on which has been levied for the past eighteen years an average tax of about 5.6 mills each year. About $4,0OO,00O of this grand list should be in the Second district because practically the residents and property therein enjoy all of the benefits enjoyed by the residents and property of the ter of course, that If they enjoy the benefits they ought, in all fairness and justice, to share the burdens al so. 1 have, on several occasions, deemed it my duty to call attention to this inequality of taxation and be- HeYe that it should be remedfed as
 
 The only effectual way, in my judg- ment, is to annex to the Second dis tr1ct, all of such outside territory now enjoying or desiring in the near fu- ture to enjoy, Second district bene-, fits. or course nothing can be done towaFds the accomplishment of this venes, but as this is less than a year hence, it Is not any too soon now to map out programme acceptable to every fair-minded person in either n the First district only have candid Iy admitted to me that present con- and in justice to the taxpayers. of the Se> 2nd- district ought to be rem edied at she earliest practicable mo
 Bonding for Improvements.
 have always consistently advo- cated bonding for all reasonably per nnanent improvements. and paying as we go for all current expenses. I think mat it. is the only safe rule to out of-aII proportien to--oar ability to pzy -it.t
 While our city debt is extremely low as compared with other cities, or in proportion to our grand list, or population, still it takes about one tenth of our annual resources to take care of it and we ought to be extreme 1y careful not to add to it for any expenses that are properly current ones. At the same time. we ought not to pay from the proceeds of taxa tion for betterments or public inn provements. the benefits of which are extended over a long period of years. Bonding is the proper method for all such and the term of the bonds should be made as long the life of the improvement thus bonded for. As all of our recent issues of bonds are serial in form, payable in annual tn- stalments, we are virtually paying as we go for even so-called permanent improvements thus bonded for and are not burdening posterity with any unfair proportion of such bonded l debt.
 Schools.
 The maintenance of schools and the | erection of new school buildings call ! for and require the largest appropria- | ton, about 25 per cent of the entire | city revenue is thus absorbed. With |