Putnam patriot., 1913-02-21

| f Putnam on the 4th day of March, at
 7:30 o'clock P. M., and that notice thereof be given to every person in- terested by reason of said proposed assessment by publication of the
 same, together with this vote once
 in the Putnam Patriot and once in
 the Windham County Observer said
 publication to be at least ten days
 before said time of hearing and the
 City Clerk is hereby directed to
 cause said publication to be made as aforesaid.
 Attest
 FREDERICK W. SEWARD City Clerk. i To the Court of Common Council of
 the City of Putnam
 l The undersigned committee. ap- pointed by your Honorable Body for 1 the purpose of preparing proposed assessment of such part of the cost of the sewers as they deem reasona- l ble upon the property abutting upon
 the streets and highways through which the sewers are laid or upon property which may be in any way benefited or improved thereby, beg ' i the matter their attention They find l that the amount of money already expended on the sewers and neeessa- i " rights and appurtenances is one
 hundred four thousand two hundred i thirty-eight dollars and forty-one cents f$104, ,23S.41). Under contracts l for sewers the sum of two hundred ninety-three dollars and sixty-seyen ! cents t$293.6D will be due May 10, 1913, and a balance of two thousand
 seven hundred ninety-five dollars and 1 fifty-three cents ($2795.53) was due
 Nov. 10, 1911, but on account of pend
 ing litigation has not been paid. The sum of the above amounts IS one l hundred sever thousand, three hun
 dred twenty-seven dollars and sixty one cents ($107 ,337.61.
 Your Committee has, given much time and thought to the question Of
 the most equitable method Of dis 1 tributing the cost of the sewers
 among the parties specially benefited
 and those generally benefited The
 methods employed in other cities in ] tn state have been carefully studied. l These methods are of all kinds; from those that assess practically the 1 whole cost on those specially benefit : ed to those that place the burden wholly on the general tax payer.
 The portion assessed to those spec l iaIly benefited is distributed in many ways by different cities. In some cit 1 ies it is divided in direct proportion l to the lineal feet of land abutting on i the sewers, regardless of the depth or shape of the land. There has been
 a decision of the Connecticut Su- l nreme Court that this method is not ] lawful
 l Several cities apportion a certain amount to each lineal foot abutting
 on the sewer and each square foot of l land within a specific distance, such
 as one hundred feet, from the street
 where a sewer has been laid. l Some cities assess an annual rent 1 al Your Committee believes that in Putnam it would be reasonable Tor
 those specially benefited to pay about three-auarters of the sum already paid by the city for the sewers and that due. at specified dates. Your 1 Committee are of the opinion that each lineal foot of land abutting on
 the sewers should be assessed ten cents and each square foot Of land i within 100 feet of the street line op- posite each sewer should be assessed | nine mills.
 In order to provide for various ir-
 regular cases, your Committee thinks the above rule should be modified as | follows:
 1. Each square foot of land be-
 yond and within one hundred feet of
 the end of a sewer and within one hundred feet of the street line, where the sewer does not end at a cross street. should be assessed live mllis.
 9 So much of any lot as IS less than thirty (30) feet deep where bounded on one side by river or pond should be omitted.
 8. So much of any land as lies lower than the bottom of the sewer taken in a direction sixty (60) de
 grees upward from the line of the sewer should be omitted.
 4. Church and school property, in
 cluding parsonages, should be as- sessed at one.half the regular rates. 5 Property owned by one party
 extending from one street to another street less than one hundred and fif- 1 ty G5O) feet therefrom, shall be as- l SGSS6u Ou d1 Cd oh0 1 feet deep from one street only. i 6. Where property is reached by sewer built by the city over private right of way, it should be assessed nine mills for each square foot oI such property that is within one nun dred (10O) feet of the sewer. The Committee recommends that sewer assessments be made payable either in one payment, due on the first day of May, '13, or in two install
 ments, the first one, of fifty per cent.
 due and payable on May 1st, 1918. and the second, of the remainder oI the total assessment together with one years interest at six per cent per annum thereon, due and payable on
 May 1st, 1914. .. Your Committee recommends that the proposed assessment, provided for by Section 40. as amended, or the Charter of the City of Putnam, be as follows:
 Proposed Sewer Assessment Ap0uut